Playoff Habit Prep: Creating Inside Ice Advantages
Using the dot lane to create, attack, and defend the most valuable ice on the rink
Through the first two weeks of Playoff Habit Prep, we’ve focused on habits that control and protect space:
Week 1: Angle Management & Route Discipline
Week 2: Wall Work & Improving Puck Conditions
This week builds directly on both.
This week’s focus is on creating inside ice advantages, and how both forwards and defensemen can do so by using the dot lane as a visual and positional guide to improve offensive and defensive outcomes through the inside ice. We’ll examine situations in all three zones, breaking them down in a practical way so you can immediately apply these habits as playoff intensity increases.
The teams that separate themselves down the stretch are the ones that consistently create and protect inside ice advantages, regardless of where the puck starts.
WHY THIS MATTERS: OFFENSE
When teams stay outside:
When teams stay outside, defensive players are able to remain compact and layered inside the dots. With the inside ice protected, they can steer the offensive team into predictable, low-threat situations. That predictability allows defenders to limit time, space, and options - often leading to stalled plays and eventual turnovers.
Defenders stay compact and comfortable
Plays become predictable
Shots lack traffic and second chances
Transitional play dies along the wall
When teams consistently threaten inside ice:
When teams threaten the inside ice, defenders are forced to react and make a decision, removing them as the player in control. That reaction pulls them out of their structure and creates separation between coverage layers. As defenders become puck focused, space opens in key areas, both through the middle and along the perimeter, allowing the offense to extend plays and create new options.
Defensive players are forced into decision making
Inside ice opens for second and third options
Space opens up along the wall for switches, cycles, and escapes
Players keep multiple decision options open
WHY THIS MATTERS: DEFENSE
When teams stay outside:
When teams defend from the outside-in instead of protecting the middle first, they become stretched and disconnected. This exposes skating and passing lanes through the middle of the ice and forces defenders to chase plays rather than influence them. Without inside positioning, defensive players struggle to control where the puck goes next, which leads to reactive shifts and poor transitions. As a result, breakouts lack options and speed because they originate from poor body position and limited support options.
Defenders are disconnected and cannot control where the puck goes next
Defending turns into reacting
Transitional play is one dimensional
When teams consistently defend inside ice:
When teams prioritize defending inside the dots, forwards and defensemen can work together to steer the puck toward one half of the rink, effectively shrinking the ice. By protecting the middle first, defenders force the offensive team to the perimeter, making their decisions more predictable. Staying connected allows players to read off one another and create turnovers through structure rather than isolated effort. Because body positioning begins inside, players can generate speed into the wide ice during transition while maintaining multiple decision options, leading to improved puck conditions and more dangerous counterattacks.
Defenders stay connected and read off of each other
Defenders control where the puck goes next
More predictable = improved anticipation
Teams become a bigger threat in transition due to speed, numbers and options
HOW TO APPLY IT
Forwards
Inside ice responsibility changes by zone, but it never disappears.
Offensive Zone
Be an inside threat at all times with your eyes, blade, and feet
As Now Support, arrive inside first before moving outward
Hold pucks inside the dots to create outside plays
Or hold pucks outside the dots to attack back into the middle
Even when positioned wide, your body language must threaten the interior.
Neutral Zone
Track back inside the dots first
Improve puck support through routes that start through the middle (inside or near the do lane).
Build speed from the middle - into the wide ice when transitioning
Middle ice control in the neutral zone can help dictate rush outcomes.
Defensive Zone
Defend inside the dots first
Improve breakout routes against pinching defensemen
Slash inside before exiting wide
If you protect the inside early, outside pressure becomes manageable.
Attacking Off the Rush
Inside ice advantages can be created from either side of the dots.
Hold pucks inside to force defenders to collapse, then move outside
Hold pucks wide to stretch defenders, then cut back inside
Use middle-lane support to layer pressure
The key is not where you start, it’s where you create the advantage.
Defense
Defensemen play a massive role in creating inside ice advantages in all three zones.
Offensive Zone
Walk the offensive blue line to the middle
Change shooting and passing angles
Scan early to identify inside support options
Prioritize passes through the middle before defaulting to rims
Lateral movement at the top shifts defensive structure.
Neutral Zone
Provide strong connectivity with your d partner when defending the rush
Work back inside the dots to provide ‘hinged’ support for your d partner
Keep both wall and middle passing options available
Clean regroups help maintain inside speed through transition.
Defensive Zone
Cut the net on retrievals when wheeling
Protect the middle before expanding to pressure wide
Join the rush as weak-side D (WSD) when inside space opens
Interior recovery leads to controlled exits and cleaner transitions.
Defensemen
Key in on weak-side defenseman Thomas Harley (Team Canada #20) activating into the rush. He enters the offensive zone through the weak-side dot lane and goes unnoticed by Switzerland’s back pressure, creating a layered offensive threat.
Key in on defensemen Devon Toews (Team Canada #7) and Cale Makar (Team Canada #8) consistently scanning before touching the puck. Their pre-touch awareness helps them identify plays inside the dot lane and leads directly to a scoring opportunity.
Forwards
Focus on Brad Marchand (Team Canada #63) showing poise through the outside ice on the breakout. By holding onto the puck, he allows Now Support player Bo Horvat (Team Canada #14) to fill the middle lane. This timing creates a multiple-coverage situation, drawing two Czechia defenders and opening space through the middle ice.
Focus on Connor McDavid (Team Canada #97) attacking inside ice the moment he collects the puck below the goal line. His immediate threat forces coverage to collapse. When Nathan MacKinnon (Team Canada #29) recovers the loose puck, he instantly draws multiple defenders, activating Macklin Celebrini (Team Canada #17) as Now Support inside the dot lane and turning the broken play into a scoring chance.