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Breakout: Horizontal

Same setup as the Fly, but the far winger cuts horizontally across the ice behind the play to attack the weak side.

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DFFDFHORIZONTAL
Solid line = skating route / Dashed line = pass / Black dot = puck

The Horizontal is the Fly with one change: instead of stretching straight up his wall, the far winger cuts horizontally across the ice behind the puck and attacks up the far side.

Reading the diagram: the strong-side defenceman starts with the puck. The strong-side winger swings up through the hash marks and out over the blue line exactly as in the Fly. The far-side winger, low in the weak-side circle, skates flat across the ice under the play, then turns up the far boards — the long curving route on the diagram. He is the change-of-direction option: as the puck moves up one wall, he arrives on the other, giving the carrier a cross-ice release and pulling the defensive forward out of the middle.

Why it works: the horizontal route creates a moving target on the weak side while defenders are still tracking the puck up the strong wall with their eyes and feet. Against a team that pressures the strong side hard, that swing is often wide open.

When to use it: when the strong side is jammed, when you want a second wave arriving late, or as a counter after the Fly has been shut down twice.

What to look for

  • Strong-side route is identical to the Fly.
  • Far winger crosses under the play and attacks up the weak-side wall.
  • Creates a late-arriving option on the opposite side of the puck.
  • Timing matters more than speed — arrive as the puck arrives.

Coaching cues

  • Cross behind the puck, never in front of it.
  • Turn up ice before you catch it.
  • Puck carrier: eyes across before you commit to the boards.

Common mistakes

  • Crossing too early and getting stuck standing still.
  • Both wingers ending up on the same wall.
  • Skating flat all the way across and never turning north.
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