How do NHL players approach breakaways? It depends. The one constant? Think quickly.
By JOANNE KORTH
Published May 6, 2004
TAMPA - The instant the puck landed on Vinny Lecavalier's stick, the highly evolved hockey computer inside his helmet went to work processing tiny bits of information.
Bouncing puck.
Bad ice.
Narrow butterfly.
That's what went through Lecavalier's mind in the two, maybe three, seconds during which he skated all alone, no one between him and Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Lecavalier had a breakaway. Only this time, his brain didn't get in the way.
"A lot of things go through your head," said Lecavalier, who scored with 2.4 seconds left in the second period. "But a lot of times, if you don't score, it's because you're thinking too much. You should go with your instincts. The first thing that goes through your mind, that's what you should do.
"It's nerve-wracking, though."
What looks like such an easy scoring opportunity from a cozy seat in the upper level of the St. Pete Times Forum is actually a rare and confounding occurrence for even the most talented NHL players. Sudden, pressure-packed and over just like that. Converting a breakaway requires just the right blend of knowledge, instinct, skill and the keen ability to recognize when your next bright idea could be the one that leads to certain failure.
"It's going to be different every single time," Lecavalier said. "That's why it's hard."
The Lightning has had several breakaway chances in the typically scrum-oriented playoffs. Lecavalier converted with a quick shot, Cory Stillman and Martin St. Louis with dekes. And though each breakaway has its own set of circumstances, all three players take an almost formulaic approach to this arbitrary art.
First, they look to see if a defender is going to catch them. Then they look at the goaltender to check his positioning. Then they do their best to let instinct take over.
"Don't overanalyze it. Don't change your mind," said Stillman, who skated alone almost from his blue line in Game 3 against the Canadiens, giving him plenty of time to plan the backhander that beat Theodore to the stick side.
"Sometimes, if you commit and change your mind, the puck goes off in the corners or you get off a bad shot. Players should go in, decide what they want to do and stick with it."
If the goaltender is back against the goal line, it's best to shoot. If the goalie is out in front of the net, a stick-handling move, or deke, likely will work best.
"You're always trying to outthink the goalie," said St. Louis, who scored short-handed in Game 3 against the Islanders when he stole the puck from a defenseman and beat Rick DiPietro with a deke to his forehand.
"Sometimes, you're coming at an angle where you can try something. You can have his momentum going somewhere and bring the puck back. That's always something I like to do."
Before each playoff series, Lightning goaltender coach Jeff Reese breaks down opposing goalies and supplies a list of strengths, weaknesses and tendencies.
That's how Lecavalier knew when Theodore goes into a butterfly with his pads flat against the ice, he leaves a smidgen of room on either side of the goal. Lecavalier's shot was just inside the left post.
"Before a series, we have information for our players on tape and within our book that we give them as far as what to expect from a goalie in that situation," coach John Tortorella said. "As far as the split-second thinking that's going on when it happens, that's just offensive instincts. If you're successful, that's the talent level of the player."
And there's much more for players to consider. Good ice or bad? Flat puck or bouncing? Oh, and don't think the score in the game doesn't flash through a player's mind in those brief seconds.
"It's a surreal feeling when you see no one in front of you and everyone is looking at you," said center Brad Richards, whose winning goal in Game 4 against the Canadiens, though not a classic breakaway, was a one-on-one chance set up by a give-and-go.
"It's tough. You're not as natural and smooth. I think a lot of us would rather think we're being chased than have all the time in the world like a penalty shot."
That's for sure.
In 1999-2000, penalty shooters had a 40 percent success rate, but the next three seasons, goaltenders stopped more than 75 percent. In 2003-04, a record 57 penalty shots resulted in 18 goals, a scant 32 percent. Not since 1986-87, when shooters converted 13 of 25 tries, have goaltenders failed to stop more than half.
Most times, a breakaway isn't much different.
"It happens so quick, sometimes you surprise yourself," Richards said. "You just do something, and you don't even know why you did it. It's repetition, growing up doing it, practicing it. It's just instincts.
