The biggest success factor at the beginning of the season was New York’s ability to make fluent passes in the umbrella formation, leaving an uncontested Brand Pirri on right side or an uncontested Mika Zibanejad on the left.
This formation takes pressure off almost every player on the ice, where the two “trigger men” can hover anywhere between the hash marks and the top of the faceoff circle, while the defenseman sits at the middle of the blue line quarterbacking the power play.
The other two players are found at the bottom of the circles on each side of the opponent’s net, giving them the opportunity to crash rebounds or remain open as another passing option, to allow the trigger men to find open ice.