Avalanche Film Room: The Nathan MacKinnon Effect

Avalanche Film Room is back! After taking a look at things like teamwork and the puck management issues of Patrik Nemeth, we’ve decided to tackle a bit more of an obvious topic today: Nathan MacKinnon. While there was a lull in his production at the end of the year, he found his familiar dominant form against St. Louis.

Below are a handful of clips of the different ways MacKinnon attacks opposing defenses and the stress he puts them under with his speed and aggressiveness.

One of the biggest changes this season in MacKinnon’s play has been the diversity of his attacking with the puck and the way the offense, specifically the power play, is structured around him and his world-class ability to enter the offensive zone with the puck.

With that, let’s get to the film.

The blow by

This is classic Nathan MacKinnon. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just pure speed and aggression. This is MacKinnon taking a puck at his own blueline, exploding through the neutral zone and zipping past Alexander Edler and drawing a penalty in the process. This is the easiest one to explain. MacKinnon is one of the fastest players in the NHL and his explosive acceleration is what makes him so difficult to defend and Edler, a very good defenseman in his prime, just got eaten alive. It’s amazing how common this play has become for MacKinnon given his reputation and the fact that teams know he is capable of doing this on any given shift.

This is the most common move MacKinnon has when he comes through the neutral zone like this. He’s a one-man show until he reaches the faceoff circle and then he quickly surveys his options. When he’s on the left side of the ice, he likes to shoot it a little more and try to go high on the short side against goaltenders. On the right side, such as in this clip, he frequently tries to make the pass back to the middle, as he does here.

The drop pass

Ahhh yes. The power play drop pass. Few things have drawn as much ire from Avalanche fans as this particular set play. It’s predictable, it’s theoretically easy to stop, and when it doesn’t work it looks like the most incompetent power play unit in the history of the world. So why even bother doing it?

Watch as MacKinnon gathers the puck and approaches the blue line. After dropping the puck, Barrie rolls into the middle and essentially sets a pick for MacKinnon to use. Now, this is where MacKinnon’s hockey IQ comes into play. He has to read the defense and react to what they’re giving him. Landeskog curls towards the middle with Mikko Rantanen on the far side. This stretches the penalty kill out and opens up lanes for MacKinnon. In this clip, you see the Vancouver defense back off and concede the blue line. He takes what’s given to him and when he enters the zone, he’s immediately marked.

Seeing that, he drops it to Tyson Jost, who is standing alone on the wall, and he drives towards the net, forcing the defense to follow him. When Jost receives the puck, he moves down into the zone until the defense collapses on him and he makes a simple pass back to Barrie. After the pass, Jost drives to the net while MacKinnon curls back out to the half wall. Now Barrie has the puck up high and can choose between Rantanen and MacKinnon for one-timers.

This is the exact setup the Avalanche are looking for the vast majority of the time. This is the entire point of the drop pass. It opens up options for MacKinnon and its success is dependent on him making the right decision.

The dominant top line

This is kind of a continuation of the first clip as it relies on MacKinnon’s explosiveness and the panic he instills in opposing defenses to create chances but it’s really about the top line as a group and the way MacKinnon is the key. The play begins with a great little drop pass from Rantanen, who immediately sags back and looks to become the trailer on the play. When MacKinnon receives the puck, he flies into the space available to him and it causes an immediate chain reaction.

The defense is automatically drawn to MacKinnon and notice he’s again on the right side and he looks to pass. As much as this is about MacKinnon, this play also shows the IQ of Gabe Landeskog, who immediately jetted to the net when he saw MacKinnon get the puck. He ducked inside Rantanen and beat the defenseman to the spot. MacKinnon made a perfect pass and his timing was unexpected as the defense clearly was looking for him to take another stride and continue to handle the puck. Instead, he fired it across the ice and found Landeskog for a great scoring chance.

This combination really shows how dangerous the top line can be thanks to their combined creativity, skill, and IQ. Every player made a good read and executed until Landeskog’s shot was stopped.

The playmaker

This begins with the toughness of Rantanen, who fights off a check at center ice and is able to make a play with the puck. You see MacKinnon adjust on the fly here as he sees Rantanen’s progress stopped and he immediately cuts across the face of the defense. This benefits him when he gets the defense because it leaves him in a one-on-one situation. What follows is an example of MacKinnon’s growth as a player this year. Instead of immediately turning on the jets and trying to bull rush his way to the net, he lulls the defenseman to sleep while surveying the ice.

This allows him to close the gap on the defender, which is a dream scenario for him. MacKinnon sees he can get wide on the defender and uses just two explosive steps to dismiss him and get behind the net with the defender now chasing and ultimately out of the play. This causes a chain reaction as the other defender has to meet MacKinnon on the other side of the goal, opening up the front of the net to be covered by just one forward.

When Landeskog and Rantanen both crash the net, it gives them a one-man advantage in front. MacKinnon dishes the puck to the front of the net and it makes it all the way across to Rantanen, who is able to adjust and put the puck in the net. This goal was ultimately disallowed for goaltender interference by Landeskog but it still exhibits exactly what makes MacKinnon so special.

As MacKinnon just completed a 97-point season, there are many more examples of how he puts pressure on opposing defenses and the ways they have to read and react to just him. That singular focus opens up so much space for Landeskog and Rantanen and both are skilled and smart enough to make lemonade with the lemons MacKinnon provides.