Pro Drills: LA Kings 2 Puck Sharp Angle Drill
Key Takeaways
- Goalies practice multiple sharp-angle save selections — butterfly, overlap, standard Reverse-VH, and shin-on-post Reverse — on the same drill rep to build versatility.
- Coach Mike Buckley designs the drill to force goalies to mentally preset their save selection before the shot, reducing hesitation and indecision in games.
- The drill emphasizes transitioning cleanly from the initial sharp-angle save into a controlled second-chance response.
- Save selection in games should be read-based, factoring in pass options, post positioning (flat vs. hinged), and whether to square up to a potential redirect.
- Buckley controls drill difficulty by varying how and where he introduces the second puck, allowing him to target specific transition weaknesses.
Watching Cam Talbot and David Rittich working on this simple two-puck sharp-angle drill before a recent practice in Vancouver, it was hard not to notice them choosing different save selections on the initial shot from near the bottom of the face-off circle.
At various points, Talbot and Rittich mixed in everything from squaring up in a butterfly, to an overlap, to a variety of Reverse-VH options, including a standard skate-on-post Reverse, a Reverse that pushed out into more of a butterfly, and some shin-on-post Reverse:
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