Diamond Penalty Kill

OVERVIEW

The diamond penalty kill is essentially the box but rotated. This is one of the more effective PKs against the umbrella because it puts players in a much more direct man to man situation up high.

HOW TO

Imagine drawing two diagonal lines from each blue to their opposite corner. Each of these is a defensive zone for a PK player and should match up (if the team is using an umbrella) with a player up top and one on each wing. In this coverage, the weak side winger is responsible for covering both their board side player and helping in the slot since we are out manned down low/inside.

If understood and played correctly, players should be able to fluidly rotate between a box and diamond as it is the same thing just rotated on a center axis. Principles of coverage are the same – don’t over commit, control and contain space, starts and stops instead of loops.

POINTS OF EMPHASIS AND CONCERN

Quick starts and stops are almost more important in the diamond than the box because of the potential for extra pressure down low. If you loop, someone will cut into the diamond and have a great scoring opportunity. Additionally, with the weak side wing helping in the slot, cross diamond passes for the one-timer in the opposite circle (Ovechkin’s sweet spot) need to be met with quickness of read and attack. If you hesitate or delay at all, we’re dead in the water.

Here’s another Jeremy Weiss video. This is focused on “defending the umbrella” but it uses a diamond-box rotation strategy.