News Article: How Controlled Zone Entries Will Get the Bruins Back to the Playoffs

[LSCII]

I would've left it alone had you simply said "agree to disagree". The "I'm not even going to bother responding to this" intro was a little too dismissive for my liking.

Arguing talent vs coaching is valid IMO. The Bs higher ups have made their decision 2 years in a row now in keeping Julien around.

Is it really even arguable that the B's don't have a serious lack of talent on D? Outside of Vancouver, they have the worst D on paper in the league. And goalie? Clearly Tuukka didn't have his best year, nor did our backups. If that's a coaching issue, it's not on Julien. The offense was top 5. Hard to blame Julien for anything there.

Look, I'm not holding Julien completely blameless. I just don't think he was front and center the problem here. With talent, he and his system have worked and, I believe, can continue to work. That is all.

Wasn't trying to be smug with the intro. Was trying to be brief, since you and I simply don't agree about this. Nothing more than that meant by it at all. If you took offense, I apologize because that wasn't the intention at all.

 

[LSCII]

All these fancy stats and names.. I thought it was just called being able to stick handle, skate, and pass. It's a shame half of our starting defenseman can't do all three things at once.. It sure would help with zone entry! I'll call it the SHSP% Watching McQuaid try to transition with the puck will make you want to watch basketball.

And this is why I think the coaching has a lot to do with it. Because they had better options that could move the puck and help transition from the back end, but those better options weren't dressed for most games.

 

[wintersej]

If I was going to complain about one thing in Claude's system is the defenseman not using the defensive blue line to their advantage enough, of course, the slow D means they would get burned anyway, so moot point.

 

[wintersej]

And this is why I think the coaching has a lot to do with it. Because they had better options that could move the puck and help transition from the back end, but those better options weren't dressed for most games.

Who? Morrow sucks. Colin lost confidence as he was given a bigger role and made mistakes and was sent to the A to get better. he will get his chance this season. I hope Morrow doesn't.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

is there any site that tracks zone entry stats for the whole league? I recall thinking that the Bruins actually weren't dumping the puck as much on the PP and carrying it in more, but I'd love to see where they rank in that respect among the rest of the league (and verify my memory).

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Wasn't trying to be smug with the intro. Was trying to be brief, since you and I simply don't agree about this. Nothing more than that meant by it at all. If you took offense, I apologize because that wasn't the intention at all.

somebody please check the thermostat in hell

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

See this is where you go on tilt with the coach bashing, again. Couldn't be more off-base here.

This season they instituted the drop back pass from the neutral zone specifically for the purpose of gaining easier entry into the zone, and for a while it worked great. So to argue the "system" drove them to dump and chase on the PP is flat out wrong. Stuns me you can complain and criticize even in the face of such facts all of us know.

But then two issues became apparent, one that has always been prevalent on this team. The first was that Krug, the initial puck carrier charged with backing off the D with speed to set up the drop pass, starting coasting up the middle and starting his drop pass even earlier, like the red line. This totally defeats the purpose of the back pass, even more so when the guy you are dropping it to is David Krejci. Which brings us to the second issue, and the reason this steam struggles as a whole with possession over the blue line...they are SLOW.

Three of the best, most skilled players on this team, Krejci, Bergeron and Loui, are all either average or slow. You don't back up defenders or elude them well when you can't skate fast, and they can't. The guys that can skate pretty fast, Marchand and Pasta, are turnover prone, and we see that too often.

So ultimately the reason they are forced to dump it in is because they lack the speed and skill to back off defenders, both with their forwards and their dmen. This is a personnel issue...file yet another one of your off-based complaints with the GM. Which of course you won't because your hatred blinds you, but that's a lot closer to the root of the problem than the "system".

Hey look! A great response! I won't let it go ignored.

I think that much of the problem I have with the dump and chase on the powerplay is due to the fact that it seems too often the decision to do so is made while the opposing team is backing off the blueline. It makes it a lot less useful if teams know they can cheat and retrieve the puck before any Bruins forward can catch them.

But furthermore to your point, the issue isn't just speed, but the ability for the wings to consistently win board battles. The dump and chase strategy is only useful if:

a) the opposing team is actually being aggressive on zone entry
and
b) the attacking team has players who win the one-on-one physical battle to regain possession

This why the criticism is valid. Both personnel and strategy are to blame for this failed effort.

 

[LSCII]

Who? Morrow sucks. Colin lost confidence as he was given a bigger role and made mistakes and was sent to the A to get better. he will get his chance this season. I hope Morrow doesn't.

I'm not sure Morrow sucks, and what they have (or don't) in C-Miller. I don't think we saw enough of them on a consistent basis to make any judgments, given the overall state of the defensive corps to start with. How good will any young player look when they're being partnered with guys who are really 5th and 6th d types that are being slotted up above their actual ability?

 

[bp13]

Hey look! A great response! I won't let it go ignored.

I think that much of the problem I have with the dump and chase on the powerplay is due to the fact that it seems too often the decision to do so is made while the opposing team is backing off the blueline. It makes it a lot less useful if teams know they can cheat and retrieve the puck before any Bruins forward can catch them.

But furthermore to your point, the issue isn't just speed, but the ability for the wings to consistently win board battles. The dump and chase strategy is only useful if:

a) the opposing team is actually being aggressive on zone entry
and
b) the attacking team has players who win the one-on-one physical battle to regain possession

This why the criticism is valid. Both personnel and strategy are to blame for this failed effort.

So you bring up a very valid point about board battles. Obviously having success with the dump in requires winning board battles. However, that first unit features Bergy and Loui, two of the best board men in the entire NHL. So if our perception is that the dump and chase is t working because they aren't winning battles, then I'd argue that perception is likely wrong.

As for blaming this on whomever, I come down that the power play has been generally fine for me. I have no real issue with their overall effectiveness. I just meant to note that if we want this team to posses more, then we need guys who can skate and elude, and we don't have those guys. And it's not just forwards either...if the Dmen can skate and control the play then opposing defensemen back up and forwards get more time and space too. I'd argue almost all of this "possession" talk comes back to talent. You're not going to play a possession style game, a la Detroit for example, without guys like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, etc. Let's get that kind of talent then we can talk about whether they're playing a system that suits their talent.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I'm not sure Morrow sucks, and what they have (or don't) in C-Miller. I don't think we saw enough of them on a consistent basis to make any judgments, given the overall state of the defensive corps to start with. How good will any young player look when they're being partnered with guys who are really 5th and 6th d types that are being slotted up above their actual ability?

I'm pretty sure Morrow sucks. And I hate saying that, because I hate pissing on our own guys. But I just don't see an NHLer there. The only thing I thought he did well last year was skating with the puck, and even then he only seemed to do so when he was afforded a ton of open space.

Chiller on the other hand (and I've said this many times during the course of the year) should have played nearly every single game. He has the wheels, the shot, showed real compete level in the defensive zone and attempted to push the pace of the game. I disagreed wholeheartedly with the amount of time he sat/played in the minors.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

I'm pretty sure Morrow sucks. And I hate saying that, because I hate pissing on our own guys. But I just don't see an NHLer there. The only thing I thought he did well last year was skating with the puck, and even then he only seemed to do so when he was afforded a ton of open space.

Chiller on the other hand (and I've said this many times during the course of the year) should have played nearly every single game. He has the wheels, the shot, showed real compete level in the defensive zone and attempted to push the pace of the game. I disagreed wholeheartedly with the amount of time he sat/played in the minors.

I agree pretty strongly with all of this.

 

[Pia8988]

I'm pretty sure Morrow sucks. And I hate saying that, because I hate pissing on our own guys. But I just don't see an NHLer there. The only thing I thought he did well last year was skating with the puck, and even then he only seemed to do so when he was afforded a ton of open space.

Chiller on the other hand (and I've said this many times during the course of the year) should have played nearly every single game. He has the wheels, the shot, showed real compete level in the defensive zone and attempted to push the pace of the game. I disagreed wholeheartedly with the amount of time he sat/played in the minors.

Colin has a great shot, but he needs to be much better both getting it off and getting it through, especially on the PP. He got just over 57 minutes of total PP time.

Colin:

7 SOG (28%)
12 Blocked Shots (48%)
6 Missed (24%)
25 Total Attempts

Krug:

71 SOG (44.4%)
52 Blocked Shots (32.5%)
37 Miss (23.1%)
160 Total Attempts

Chara:

36 SOG (56.3%)
15 Blocked Shots (23.4%)
13 Miss (20.3%)
64 Total Attempts

 

[wintersej]

Colin has a great shot, but he needs to be much better both getting it off and getting it through, especially on the PP. He got just over 57 minutes of total PP time.

Colin:

7 SOG (28%)
12 Blocked Shots (48%)
6 Missed (24%)
25 Total Attempts

Krug:

71 SOG (44.4%)
52 Blocked Shots (32.5%)
37 Miss (23.1%)
160 Total Attempts

Chara:

36 SOG (56.3%)
15 Blocked Shots (23.4%)
13 Miss (20.3%)
64 Total Attempts

Glad to see the stats back up my perception. Colin need to learn to use his wrister more and maybe, gasp, move laterally to get an open look. He just kinda tries to shoot it through people's shins too much. But that is fixable, just weird he hasn't figured that out yet.

 

[LSCII]

I'm pretty sure Morrow sucks. And I hate saying that, because I hate pissing on our own guys. But I just don't see an NHLer there. The only thing I thought he did well last year was skating with the puck, and even then he only seemed to do so when he was afforded a ton of open space.

Chiller on the other hand (and I've said this many times during the course of the year) should have played nearly every single game. He has the wheels, the shot, showed real compete level in the defensive zone and attempted to push the pace of the game. I disagreed wholeheartedly with the amount of time he sat/played in the minors.

See, I'm not sold on his sucking yet. I think he's a square peg being asked to squeeze into a round hole. I don't think the system in particular fits his game very well, so he probably looks worse than he really is. Plus, he's 23. I'm willing to give him more time to develop before I write him off. Especially after last year where he very rarely got a solid string of games in a row to get comfortable. His playing time was very sporadic and not conducive to developing a young player, IMO.

 

[ODAAT]

See, I'm not sold on his sucking yet. I think he's a square peg being asked to squeeze into a round hole. I don't think the system in particular fits his game very well, so he probably looks worse than he really is. Plus, he's 23. I'm willing to give him more time to develop before I write him off. Especially after last year where he very rarely got a solid string of games in a row to get comfortable. His playing time was very sporadic and not conducive to developing a young player, IMO.

actually think the system fits his game well, just think the kid is still learning the game and in order to use that great speed and mobility, he needs to read plays quicker which will lead to possession time

Both he and C Miller have almost zero bite in the physicality department

If I had to choose between he and C Miller, I go the latter as my choice to stick with the B`s and had Morrow been eligible for waivers last year, I`d suggest C Miller would have stuck with the big club