Revamped Lightning power play offers a much different look

BRANDON — Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel worked together on the ice for nearly two months before training camp to help prepare themselves for roles on a new-look Lightning power play.

"If you want to try and be the best, you want to learn from the best, and that's kind of what I did," Hagel said. "And we're here trying to replace one of the best power-play guys in the entire world. So that's impossible. We're not going to be able to do that. I'm definitely not going to be the guy to do that.

"But listen, I think it's just repetition. Figure out what works. It's not going to be pretty at times."

The Lightning had the top-ranked power play in the NHL last season. And for years, the threat of Steven Stamkos' powerful one-timer from the left circle consistently made the unit one of the league's most dangerous.

They had the luxury of four elite players on the first-team power play, directed through Kucherov along the right-side half wall. With defenseman Victor Hedman up top, center Brayden Point in the bumper spot and Stamkos on the left wing, opponents were forced to pick their poison. And when they did, Kucherov often picked apart the opposing penalty kill.

The Lightning's power play last season was historically one of the best over the past 40 years, its 28.6% success rate ranked third-best all-time since the 1983-84 season. When the team's 5-on-5 sputtered, especially early in the season, Tampa Bay's special teams kept it afloat. And Stamkos' 19 power-play goals were tied for third most in the league.

"When you had Stammer on that (left circle), him just being there, he's such a threat," Point said. "He scored so many goals from there, so he was a big piece of our power play, and what made it so successful. So going into this year, yeah, we're going to try some different looks and see how those go, but it's going to be a big change. And we might have to find different ways to try to score."

Now, for the first time in a long time, the Lightning are going back to the drawing board on the power play.

In their first special teams practice of training camp Saturday morning, three players were positioned in spots where they've never played before. For most of the practice, Kucherov was positioned on his off side on the left-side half wall, manning the area previously occupied by Stamkos. Hagel was in Kucherov's old spot on the right, and Point was positioned along the net front.

"It's going to be an experiment with three different guys in three different spots they've never played," Hagel said. "But I'm sure as days go on, we'll figure some things out."

Top offseason acquisition Jake Guentzel occupied the bumper spot in the slot area, a place he manned previously with the Penguins. Hedman remained as the defenseman up top.

"We've had an extremely successful power play for a number of years, but it's primarily been the same players," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "And so when that gets broken up, that's what training camp's for. You've got to put guys in there and see what they can do, and give them different looks and see how comfortable they are, and when they aren't comfortable, you have to try and make them comfortable. So that's all part of the process.

"You want to have the No. 1 PP in the league or top five every single year, and we've been blessed the last few years to be able to have that, but with some of the talent we have in this group, we don't see why we can't do that again."

Last season, Kucherov led the league in power-play points (53) and power-play assists (40) as part of his NHL-best 144-point season. Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern called Kucherov the best power-play player of all time because he can not only break down opponents from the half wall but rip a powerful one-timer like Stamkos or Capitals star Alex Ovechkin.

Kucherov, a left-handed shot, remains the catalyst of the power play, but playing on his off side is a much different look. It takes away his one-timer feed from Hedman, but still gives him the ability to feed those around him, whether its a circle-to-circle one-timer to Hagel, to Guentzel in the bumper or Point, who was mainly positioned to the left side of the net as the only right-handed shot on the first unit.

"We have a lot of really good players, really good power-play players, and obviously the top of that list is Kuch," said Halpern, who coached the power play. "So you start figuring out where his targets are going to be and what's the best spot for him to find those guys. And I'm sure it'll be a work in progress as the year goes."

Even throughout their first special teams practice Saturday, Halpern tested different looks, swapping Point and Guentzel and ending the practice with Kucherov back in his old spot on the right-side half wall and Hagel on the left, where he saw almost all of his power-play time last season.

"There's a couple things we can do," Kucherov said. "And I worked in the summer with a couple different looks, so we'll see. I can't really tell you how it's going to be."

While most of Guentzel's scoring last season with Pittsburgh and Carolina came at even strength — just five of his 30 goals in 2023-24 were on the power play — he was a critical piece of the man advantage. Still, he's a much different player than Stamkos because he finds scoring opportunities around the net and maintains puck possession.

"Looking at some power-play stuff from his past, but just seeing him out here in training camp, just as a smart, hard-working player, and probably a guy that can adjust to things," Halpern said of Guentzel. "So I think for the power play, a lot of those things come into play, and how you read off guys and how you find those little pockets and how you work to get pucks back. So having him is a big plus for our team."

The Lightning's second-team power-play unit looked even more unfamliar, with newcomer J.J. Moser and Darren Raddysh swapping reps up top, and Raddysh occasionally shifting down to the left circle for Mitchell Chaffee with Cam Atkinson in the bumper, Anthony Cirelli on the right side and Nick Paul along the net front.

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