There are many times when we have possession of the puck in the neutral zone, but do not have any built up speed (or the space to build it.) Too often in these situations we will try to stickhandle the puck into the offensive zone in slow motion, usually resulting in a turnover. One of our better options is to regroup by passing the puck back to our D, and then having at least one of our forwards take back ice to build speed.
The concept of "taking back ice" is explained well here by NHL skills coach Darryl Belfry
Our defensemen need to be vocal to let our forwards know what to do with a contested puck in the neutral zone: if they should make the pass back to initiate the regroup, or if they should Dump It Deep. We will try to be consistent in using a cross corner dump - the idea being that if our forwards know ahead of time where it will be dumped they can get a headstart on the race to the puck.
The below diagram is an example of a Neutral Zone Regroup initiated by a pass back to the D
Note how the D to D pass is used to attack the other side of the ice, away from the congestion, and also how F2 takes back ice to build speed.
Here is an example of the Bruins getting beat by this combination of passes - The only difference is that a turnover caused the "pass" back to the D instead of an intentional regroup by a forward.
Kadri Take Back Ice During D to D
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