Power Play: Umbrella

The idea

The Umbrella is a shooting formation. Three skaters form an arc — an umbrella — high in the zone, and two work low. It exists to generate volume: hard shots from the top with tips, screens, and rebounds underneath.

Reading the diagram

The net is at the top of the board, so in this view the two arc shooters sit closest to the goal line. F1 and F2 are the shooters at the top of the arc. F3 and F4 are low on either side at the bottoms of the circles, and D1 works the net front with the puck starting near him (black dot).

The dashed lines show the flow: the puck comes out of the low and net-front area up to either shooter, and each shooter can also drop it back down the wall to the low support player. Every shot from the arc is meant to be tipped or rebounded.

Why it works

Shots from the arc arrive at the net through traffic and from angles the goalie has to move for. If the killers push out to block, the low players get open under the umbrella.