Knowing that a controlled zone entry is worth roughly double the shots of a dump-in is one thing. Actually executing one against a defense that's specifically trying to stop it is another problem entirely. Over the years, coaches have developed a handful of named, repeatable plays designed to do exactly that — patterns simple enough to drill in practice, but disruptive enough to consistently create the split-second confusion a clean entry needs.
The most common starting point is the kick-out and drive. A puck carrier along the wall passes, or "kicks," the puck out to a teammate cutting toward the middle — and then, without the puck, immediately skates hard directly at the nearest defender. That aggressive, puck-less drive isn't decorative. A defenseman who ignores an attacker skating straight at the net is asking to get scored on, so he has to respect the drive, which means he can't also step up cleanly on the new puck carrier. One player's speed opens the whole lane for someone else.
A close cousin is the cross drop, sometimes called a scissors depending on where it happens. Two attacking players cross paths near the offensive blue line, and the one carrying the puck simply leaves it behind for the other to skate onto as they pass. From the defense's side, both attackers seem to be a threat to have the puck for a moment, and that half-second of hesitation is often enough for the new carrier to already be past the defenders by the time they've sorted out who actually has it. Run it wide near the boards and it's typically called an outside scissor; run it closer to the middle of the ice and it becomes an inside scissor — same core idea, different ice.
Underneath both of those plays is a simpler, older principle: attacking the seam, the gap between two defenders, or between a defenseman and a backchecking forward. Skating straight at that gap forces both defenders to silently decide who's responsible for you, and neither answer is good for them — stepping up opens the middle, and holding back lets you walk in. Once a defender's hips turn to commit one way, a well-placed slip pass through that exact seam turns their hesitation into a real scoring chance, often before the entry has even finished.
On the power play, where teams get to walk the puck in against a defense that's already set up and waiting, the standard has become the double drop entry. Instead of one clean drop pass, the puck carrier sets up a second drop immediately after the first, handing possession off twice in quick succession as the unit crosses the blue line. Each drop resets the penalty-killers' read on who actually has the puck, and by the time they've settled on an answer, the entry is already established and the power play can move into its actual formation — commonly a 1-3-1 — with speed and possession intact rather than having to fight for it after the fact.
None of these plays are complicated to describe, which is exactly the point. A kick-out and drive, a cross drop, a seam read, a double drop — each one is simple enough to run at full speed without thinking, and that's what actually matters once a coach has the analytics telling them carrying the puck in is worth fighting for. The strategy answered the question of what to do. These plays are just the answer to how.