Tyson Barrie loves his new challenge

“You are never too old to learn more than you already know and to become able to do more than you already can.” —Isaac Asimov

The words reflect well Tyson Barrie, who, in his 11th full season in the NHL, is more than ever used on the penalty kill.

In 32 games as a rookie in 2012/13, Barrie played 32 games and averaged 1:11/game shorthanded. Over the next nine and a half seasons, he played the most on the PK: 33/game in 2017. But Dave Manson and Jay Woodcroft changed that.

In 38 games last season they used Barrie: 45/game, and this season he played 1:14/game on the PK. He’s only been on the ice for one goal conceded so far. He’s not one of the main penalty killers – Cody Ceci (22 mins), Darnell Nurse (18) and Brett Kulak (14) are the main guys ahead of Barrie (7:22 in total PK time on the ice ) – but even being used every game on the PK is very different for Barrie. And exciting.

“It’s (the penalty) something I haven’t really done in my career, but I feel like I can do it and they’re working with me,” Barrie said.

He knows he will not be a pillar of the KP. His best attribute is producing offense. He is an elite defender who produces points.

Since entering the NHL in 2012/13, Barrie has the seventh most points among defensemen with 438 in 679 games. Over the past five seasons, he’s also produced the seventh-most points with 247 in 351 games. In the last two seasons, he was 10th. For more than a decade, he was one of the NHL’s top 10 defensemen. He’s playing to his strengths, but he’s genuinely respected and appreciates Woodcroft and Manson’s approach to training.

“It’s a new challenge, and 12 years into my career, it’s quite invigorating and refreshing. It gave me a boost,” Barrie said.

Woodcroft explained why he and Manson chose to use Barrie on the PK when he had never played there for most of his career.

“Dave and I believe that all of our D-men should be able to inflict a penalty kill – all of them,” Woodcroft said. “It’s something we started in Bakersfield. Sure, some pairs can start killing, but I think Tyson’s intelligence makes him a good penalty killer. He anticipates well and knows where the pucks are going, and that’s part of our effort to make sure we’re using all of our D-men to kill.

Barrie has been on the offensive side of the power play for years, and he feels like he knows how offensive players think they can help him on the penalty kill.

“As a power-play guy, you know where your outs are and you know what you’re trying to accomplish on the power-play,” Barrie said. “There’s not a lot of different looks on the power play, so you can kind of anticipate different things and free up points that maybe guys are looking for and you don’t really mean cheat, but you anticipate a bit and maybe put your stick in there.

Barrie has only been on the ice for one goal against KP so far. His 8.14 GA/60 is the lowest among the seven D-men. Admittedly, this is only six games and a very small sample. His PK time is inflated due to the Vancouver game where the Oilers took way too many penalties, and he spent over three minutes of PK time. He and Evan Bouchard shared the spot as the second RD pair on the PK, and with seven D-men dressed for the last four games, the PK’s total time, outside of Ceci and Nurse, was split between the five other defenders.

When the Oilers have 12 healthy forwards, Barrie will likely see a little more time on the PK like he has in the first three games of the season. It’s still a learning process for the veteran, but having played on the PK last year, in the regular season and a few in the playoffs, he feels more comfortable. He even learns the brutal side of being shorthanded – blocking shots.

“You try not to put yourself in the position where you have to soak the big clock, but if you have to do it, then you have to do it,” he smiled.

While Barrie only scored one power-play goal, the Oilers’ power play got off to a slow start. They allowed one goal in their six games. The first thing they need to improve is their discipline. The Oilers are averaging 4.5 times shorthanded per game. It is the fourth highest in the NHL. Not being on the PK as often will increase their chances of going unmarked.

But penalties are inevitable and the Oilers need to be more cohesive as a group. They’ve allowed 44 shots on goal so far, fifth-most in the NHL, and their SA/60 is also fifth-highest, so it’s not just because they’re more on the PK than they allow more shots. One of the reasons is that they get killed in faceoffs.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has won four of 16. Derek Ryan has won 1 of 5 and Ryan McLeod is 0-for-4. Those three have combined to win five of 25 faceoffs, and they’re the three of the top four PK forwards on the ice: RNH (14:37), Zach Hyman (13:31), McLeod (11 :49), Ryan (8:04). Draisaitl played 7:25 on the PK, and he’s that high because he can win draws while the other three struggled.

Draisaitl is 14-8 (63.6%) shorthanded. Very impressive considering the power-play center gets the tie on his best side. Draisaitl is 14-8, while the other three Oilers are 5-20. PK’s faceoffs aren’t just down the middle, but it’s safe to say RNH, Ryan and McLeod can improve in the point. If they can be around 45% on the PK that’s good. Among the 33 players who have made more than 15 face-offs on the PK, only nine of them have an efficiency greater than 50%. I don’t expect RNH/McLeod/Ryan to go over 50%, but sitting at 25% collectively isn’t enough.

Winning a few more ties will help, but the Oilers need to limit cross passes. They allowed too much. PK is a work in progress and taking fewer penalties, winning a few more faceoffs and limiting cross-passing are the three things I would focus on the most.