BlueAero
Registered User
I'm a total noob here so apologies if this has already been discussed but, while enduring an extremely sloppy and disappointing effort from the Blues tonight, it struck me that the NHL game has changed in a very fundamental way in recent times....that being a serious reduction in the impact of the shot from the point as a reliable means of scoring goals on a regular basis. Watching Shattenkirk's shot go behind Giguere in the 3rd period tonight was an anomoly considering the way the game is currently being played. We just don't see it happening a much as we used to. Defensemen at large seem to almost always be positioned so that the shooting lanes are blocked....especially during the penalty kill. Most of the goals are either being scored on some sort of slick play in transition, an odd-man rush or as the result of an ugly play in a scrum down low. Makes me wonder if today's defensemen in general are simply not as skilled at shooting the puck from the point (hard to imagine) or if guys like Al MacInnis, Bobby Orr and Al Iafrate would have a lot more issues trying to score against today's defensive schemes than they did back in the day. Thoughts?