Maple Leafs with Rim Releases to Evade Pressure

By: Ice Hockey Systems

Rim releases can be an effective tool in the offensive zone to evade pressure and spread out the defense.  Toronto does a great job in this clip of executing rim releases.

What to Watch

• Matthews is angled towards the boards and realizes he can't make a play so he rims the puck to the other side of the ice where he knows there will be support
• Marner reads it well and is first to the puck
• He scans, reads the pressure, and rims it back behind the net where there is support
• Notice how it spreads out the defense and they are never able to get set