Impressive Los Angeles Kings rookie Cal Petersen spent more than an hour with InGoal early in the NHL pause, first taping an interview for the InGoal Radio Podcast, and then reviewing tape of plays from the past season and sharing his insights and reads on certain situations.
This is the fifth of those Pro Reads with Petersen, and if you haven’t already checked out the first four, they included an insightful first video review of a 6-on-5 sequence against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a lesson on handling a 2-on-0 against the Edmonton Oilers, and a couple of scenarios against the Vegas Golden Knights: first a flash-screen, against-the-grain deflection, and then a screen in which he shares strategies for finding pucks and choosing sightlines.
The Scenario
This time, Petersen is facing in-zone 2-on-1 from the top of the right faceoff circle, with Calgary Flames forward Sean Monahan walking right into the hash mark with the puck and a passing option on the other side. Taking a look at a freeze frame below, what are your first thoughts on how Monahan is set up? Notice any important factors about his passing option?
Now, what do you make of Petersen’s positioning at this point, with the passing option?
The Kings rookie shares some interesting thoughts on both, and they may run counterintuitive to the way most might think about the way Monahan is looking for that pass above, but first let’s take a look at how this played out, and whether he did indeed go across the ice.
The Save
Despite looking for that pass for most of the sequence, Monahan did indeed hold onto the puck. So, what did that mean to Petersen’s read, and how he played it as a result?
He explains how Monahan’s long look off actually worked to his advantage below:
The Pro-Read
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This Pro-Read is the 46th we have published this year. We hope that you have had a chance to enjoy most of them already.
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I’d say the left-handed option on the left is what allowed Petersen to play the shot more aggressively. If Monahan managed to pass it across to his winger, a quick release would’ve been an awkward snapper at best. The winger would’ve had to cradle the puck and put himself in a shooting position which would’ve given Petersen plenty of time to get over.
If it were a right-handed player with his stick along the ice getting ready to pivot for a shot, Petersen would’ve had to respect the pass.
Good thoughts, thanks for sharing. I don’t think enough young goaltenders learn to look for what hands guys shoot from. Probably don’t want them overthinking things at a young age but nothing wrong with challenging them in practice to notice hands even before you ever discuss why it might matter.