"After the Toronto Maple Leafs hired assistant coach Steve Sullivan on December 26, the team's once-dormant power play has caught fire. Toronto has scored four goals since Sullivan's hiring through three games, clicking at a 50 percent rate. While the small sample won't appease skeptics, or economists, the Leafs are displaying proof of concept that there's been real change under Sullivan's oversight. Matthew Knies was moved to the bumper role, and may be the greatest beneficiary of the new changes."
""It wasn't working at the net-front this year with him," Berube explained prior to a December 30 game against the New Jersey Devils. "He's got a good shot. We just kind of moved him and JT and split them up. JT spent a lot of years playing the net-front, and making plays from there and doing good things from around there, so that was the reason for the switch.""
"Knies was placed on the second power play unit, in an attempt to provide some greater balance. Nicolas Roy and Nick Robertson establish position in the offensive zone and work the cycle, before getting the puck over to Max Domi. Domi waits patiently on the wing (this is his greatest quality) as Knies inches into the bumper spot, fires the pass over, and like clockwork, the puck is in the back of the net."
Steve Sullivan was hired as assistant coach on December 26 and oversaw immediate power-play improvements. The Maple Leafs scored four power-play goals in three games, a 50 percent rate. Matthew Knies was moved to the bumper role and appears to be the biggest beneficiary. The coaching change split Knies and John Tavares to better use their strengths. Knies's new role requires quicker reads and mid-range playmaking. The second power-play unit added balance with Nicolas Roy, Nick Robertson and Max Domi facilitating play. A December 27 example shows Knies finishing from the bumper after Domi's patient wing play.
Read at TheLeafsNation
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