TheGovernment
Registered User
- Jan 13, 2012
- 852
- 590
One thing Buff does very well is keeping the puck in on the PP. I dont feel very confident if Trouba is back there but Buff and JoMo are really good keeping it in.
Ferraro talking about the jets and doing colour against Tampa. Says he enjoys doing games in Winnipeg minus the cold surprise surprise and some security guard not letting him in. That can never happen again.... show starts out on jets talk
http://pulphockey.com/shows/180131_ferraro.mp3
I actually think the slow(ish) retrieval is systematic. It draws the second forechecker to the puck because he thinks he can help. By drawing two players to him, it allows the Jet D, who still gets to the puck first, the ability to poke it behind the net, or into the opposite corner, to his partner who now has more space to deal with to advance the play as the first guy back has drawn two guys to him. Saw it a few times last night too, where Wheeler and Hendricks swept down and picked up the poked puck behind their net and were able to skate it out of trouble and dish off to the winger. That's how I see it anyway, could be wrong.
This is my conclusion as well. It used to drive me crazy at what seemed like lackadaisical puck retrieval. especially Buff! Every once in a while it backfires and we get caught. But it's obviously working for the most part.
Hmmm ... theres nothing wrong with me thinking Lowry is a smokeshow and I am a dude.Well, I am female. So I would hope so!
Except with Kulikov getting plastered by Hertl...that didn't work...but I think it's an effective strategy, if it's in fact a strategy at all.
A true 5 man unit where people have their 'fall back' positions but are truly fluid on the ice would be the best set up IF all 5 people had high hockey intelligence and read off one another and the developing play. Unfortunately there aren't enough players with those qualities.I've been thinking the NHL has been locked into 3F 2D as an optimal deployment for a long time. Considering what I value in a D-man, and the current rules, I wonder if that's the optimal usage as a roster nowadays.
Having a flex winger and a flex D-man who rotate between offense and defense would be interesting to try, at least in the offensive zone.
I'd like to see a junior team give it a shot.
I think what infuriates many fans about Buff is what appears to be a lackadaisical attitude as well as his penchant for taking risks. Many of which are ill advised. I don't believe for the most part that Buff is being lazy as many suggest. But it does bite him once in a while. And I'm not so sure that motivation is a problem. There's no one else in the league that seems to genuinely enjoy playing the game more than him. His attitude is pretty darn good and I believe it's an important aspect to our team morale.
As for his risky play, I think he's really made great strides this year to keep that down to a minimum. It comes out every once in a while, but for the most part, I think he's been pretty restrained this year.
The other thing that I believe drives people crazy is this. Here's a huge physical specimen, but he doesn't play physical often enough. It's not that doesn't, but we all love the bone crunching hits, guys flying, feet in the air, type of hits.
I must admit, I love it when Buff gets mad. But the way the game is going, and how the refs are calling the games, it's probably not wise anymore. Even when Buff lays out a clean but hard hit, the ferocity of it often draws a call. But I think Buff should lay out at least one of those each game, even if he gets called, to make a statement and keep the opponent's head up.
The last thing that drives people crazy is the "roaming" Buff. His detractors often point that out as his weakness. What they want is a stay at home defensive defenseman. In other words, they want Buff to be something he's not. I believe this style comes from his many years playing as a forward. I guess you either like this aspect or not. But it is unconventional and is glaring when he gets caught. But he's such a good skater, that he can pull this off most of the time.
Instead of vilifying him for this, we should embrace it as a team. Have set plays where he does drive to the front and someone covers for him. Design our offence to use him (and Laine) to their strengths. (I know we do this already to some extent).
What I would like to see more from Buff is for him to be driving the net, instead of going for a skate around the back of the net and out in front. The play from Buff should mostly be bullying his way to the front of the net. He has the physical strength to do it. Create havoc, rebounds. What could be more frightening than Buff barreling down on a goaltender?
A true 5 man unit where people have their 'fall back' positions but are truly fluid on the ice would be the best set up IF all 5 people had high hockey intelligence and read off one another and the developing play. Unfortunately there aren't enough players with those qualities.
Can't we just clone Tanev 4X?Perrault-Scheif-Ehlers-Jomo-Little
Maybe swap Ehlers for Lowry.