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Are the boards at PPG Paints Arena an advantage for the Penguins? | TribLIVE.com
Penguins/NHL

Are the boards at PPG Paints Arena an advantage for the Penguins?

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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Seth Rorabaugh | TribLive
A view of the ice and boards at PPG Paints Arena.

A native of Bloomfield, Mich., Bryan Rust’s loyalties as a hockey fan were obvious.

Born in 1992, he witnessed the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup four times between 1997 and 2008.

Much of that success unfolded at hallowed Joe Louis Arena, which was famous for a variety of reasons, most notably for the tradition of throwing octopuses onto the ice.

Perhaps the most tangible feature of that famous venue was the boards and how the star-laden Red Wings utilized their propensity for being bouncy with pucks.

“Those guys used it a lot,” Rust said. “You saw it just in the way they played. They’d throw it off the end wall, and guys would be flying. Obviously, they had a lot of hall of fame players. … But they were able to use that to their advantage, whether it was on the power play, in the (offensive) zone, trying to gain the (offensive) zone, whatever it was. They were able to use it, and they exploited it very well.”

One could suggest Rust and his teammates on the Penguins are doing something similar at PPG Paints Arena lately.

In recent weeks, the Penguins have scored three goals in which they banked pucks off the end boards of the offensive zone to set up a teammate for a goal.

The first came during a 5-4 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 27. From the left point of Vancouver’s zone, Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea shot the puck wide on the near side and the puck hit off the end boards, deflecting to the right of the cage, where forward Blake Lizotte cashed in.

Less than a week later Dec. 3 during a 5-4 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers, Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk snapped a puck from the left point of the offensive zone well wide on the near side, creating a carom off the end boards to the outer rim of the far circle. Defensive partner Kris Letang jumped on the puck and swatted in a one-timer.

Finally, during a 5-2 triumph against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 7, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby sizzled a wrister from Toronto’s slot wide to the right of the cage. The puck took something of an acute angle to the right circle, allowing Rust to direct a forehand shot into the net.

Is there anything unique about the boards at PPG Paints Arena?

It depends on who you ask.

“They’re fairly bouncy,” Rust said last week in Cranberry. “Not Joe Louis Arena like it was back then, but they are fairly bouncy. There are a handful around (the NHL) that have got that bounce. It’s nice to know which ones are which.”

Others downplay how reactive the boards are.

“Honestly, I think most places are pretty similar,” Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said. “Aside from a few places where the Zamboni door is kind of behind the net, that can kill a puck or kill the momentum of it. Aside from a few places, I think they’re all pretty similar. Guys are shooting pucks so hard now, everything is coming flying off the wall.”

Nedeljkovic saw that firsthand recently.

During a 6-2 home win against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 30, Nedeljkovic robbed Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson of a seemingly sure goal during a sequence off the end boards.

Knowing how to defend plays off the boards is probably more important than knowing how to attack off the boards.

And part of that is knowing who tends to utilize the boards, regardless of the venue.

“I don’t really scout the building,” Nedeljkovic said. “It’s something more with the (opponent). Like (defenseman) Adam Fox on the Rangers, for example. And when you have (Rangers forward) Chris Kreider at net front, he’s one of the best net-front guys in the league. So, you know they’re just trying to funnel pucks to the net. Fox isn’t necessarily trying to score every time. You know on those wide pucks that don’t get deflected, you know they’re coming right back out. More along the lines of that. Knowing who you’re playing against as opposed to where.”

Obviously, the Penguins are more familiar with their own building than anyone else. But when they’re on the road, they try to get acclimated with the boards as a visitor.

“Every building is different, and some boards are livelier than others,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “One of the things that we always try to do when we go into buildings — if we have the opportunity to practice or morning skate — is test the yellow and the white part of the boards to see what kind of bounces there are.

“We’ve got to be aware of it defensively, our goaltenders (and) defensemen in particular. Then, we have an opportunity to take advantage of it offensively. With the nature of the game and how team defenses are being played in today’s game, a lot of times, it’s hard to find a shot lane and you’ve got to find different avenues to get the puck to the scoring area. That’s one of them, is to use the backboard.”

Other environmental factors can impact how the boards react.

“Every building is different,” Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “Every day, I feel like it’s different too. I think it depends a little bit how cold it is inside the arena and where it hits on the boards.”

And it makes a difference as to what part of the boards you’re aiming for.

“The yellow part, it usually has a little bit more of a bounce,” Rust said. “The same thing when you’re trying to read plays or make plays. … Try to get it in the air off the white or try to play it off the yellow.”

Ultimately, plays off the boards aren’t necessarily part of a designed scheme. They’re generally almost accidental opportunities.

“Those goals, you can’t rely on them or plan for them when the opportunity presents itself,” Karlsson said. “Try to capitalize on them. … I don’t think it’s something that plays into any one plan. Sometimes, it works out in your favor. Sometimes, not.”

Sullivan indicated “thought” was put into how lively the current boards at PPG Paints Arena are during a refurbishment a few years ago. However, it would be an exaggeration to label any physical characteristic as key to a specific tactic or even an advantage for the Penguins.

But the home team is very aware of its presence.

“Guys in here know our boards,” Rust said. “It’s something that we try to use to our advantage in certain situations, whether it’s shooting off the end wall or reading those plays knowing that there is going to be a little bit of a bounce.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Sunday.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
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