Pro-Reads: Martin Jones – Powerplay 3 on 2
This week’s Pro-Read is our second from San Jose’s Martin Jones. He was kind enough to review a number of his saves from last season while on site at a local hockey retailer for an appearance, and so in addition to a pro-read, we are treated to a sound track in today’s video!
The Scenario
St. Louis on the powerplay drives across the blueline for what Jones describes as “kind of a little 3 on 2” with one of his defensemen off balance trying to check the middle St. Louis player that probably left Brent Burns unsure exactly how to play this. Does he have enough support to play man on man vs. the puck carrier? Will this become a 2 on 1 or even 3 on 1?
Consider the scenario. How would you like Burns to play this? What does Jones have to account for and how might he see this play developing? Does the fact that the Blues are on the powerplay affect your decision?
The Save
With so many possibilities at play in this dynamic situation, let’s watch the save first. Did the play unfold as you imagined? How does Jones play it from your perspective? Can you see how the play influences his save selection?
The Pro-Read
How did it play out compared to your read of the scenario? Can you see the adjustments that Jones had to make based on his read?
Watch the full Jones Pro-Read now. We love how it begins with him watching the save and then saying, “there’s not much there” as if the play is routine, no big deal, telling our Kevin Woodley, who is with him, “not much to talk about here Woody.”
But Kevin didn’t leave it; he pressed on with a few questions to get Jones to open up a bit more. And yes, he knew exactly what he was asking but as they say “a good lawyer won’t ask a question he doesn’t already know the answer to” and so Kevin got a deeper analysis from Jones.
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Comments
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I think the key here is not fully committing to what looks like the shot from the wing.
Having seen his defense collapse to the middle then spread to seal the wing, he knows he has to keep the pass to the middle as an option. As the angle from the wing shot becomes more increasingly tighter, a pass becomes the better option. I like how he knew not to explode across the crease, which kept him in the play to make the save.
I love the pro-reads feature. The continual evaluation of optimal position in any given scenario is often overlooked, but is often the difference between making the save or digging the puck out of the net.
The goalies who do this well always seem like they are in the right position.
Thanks Jason, glad you are enjoying them – we are too. So many surprises in the directions these go…we have a few new pros coming in soon too!