Bad defensive plays in big moments

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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1996 World Cup, Game 3. These goals have always bothered me. I know Don Cherry was as mad as a hatter with the tying goal, and not because of Hull's questionable high stick. He was mad at Claude Lemieux for wrapping it around the boards (when he wasn't under a whole lot of pressure I didn't think) right to the place that he should have been and Leetch grabbed it at the point and shot it with Hull getting the deflection. Start at 4:00. Then at 6:00 for the game winner, they are past the point where Linden gets totally outmuscled for the puck by a much smaller Smolinski which led to the barrage of shots. But the play that really screws them is Damphousse standing in no-man's land when Amonte is in a race with Gretzky to get a loose puck. Damphousse isn't helping to get the puck and he isn't guarding the point either. Amonte puts it to the point where Derian Hatcher lets a shot go and Amonte buries the rebound. Then at 7:20 for the empty netter Damphousse gives the puck away to none other than Hatcher again. Bad play. Too bad, because Damphousse really had a great game, that's why he was out there to tie it.
 
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Big Phil

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The downside of having a forward on the point #1-Guy Lafleur in 1981 Canada Cup Final (around 2:30)


#2 Alfredsson vs. Buffalo in 2006


My Best-Carey


Yeah, true enough. The Lafleur one, even though Canada still doesn't win either way by then, is arguably worse than Gonchar letting Moen breeze by him in 2010. Because Lafleur basically clears a path for him. I know he wanted to get out of the way of the shot so Liut could see it (I think?) but this was just too extreme. Lafleur literally opened up a lane for him to skate through.

Alfredsson's was bad too, and I remember him getting grilled at the time for it. But there was no pressure for Pominville. Alfie didn't make it hard for him at all. Anything could have done, a push, a stick check, even just skating backwards rather than standing there would have done something without taking a penalty.
 

goeb

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Definitely a fluky one here but still an atrocious way to lose


I guess Marc was trying to throw this behind the net but this was one of the many hiccups of the blues during their stunning first round loss to the Sharks in the 2000 playoffs



Sorry to add to the pain here, Oilers fans

 
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Big Phil

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Wade Redden's indecision with 2 minutes to go in a tied up game 7 ECF led to Ottawa's elimination.



Is that on Redden though? I think at worst it is a 50-50 blame with Rachunek. For starters Redden is the defenseman back while Rachunek makes a bad pinch in the first place. Rachunek is chasing Friesen while Redden is keeping an eye on Marshall. Rachunek then leaps over to get Marshall and leaves Friesen open and Redden confused. This was long enough to hit Friesen with that pass for the goal. That second delay was just enough. But who is to blame for it? Redden should have been stronger on one or the other in the first place, but Rachunek should not have changed players he was chasing.

I don't know, bad communication at the very least.
 

trentmccleary

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Is that on Redden though? I think at worst it is a 50-50 blame with Rachunek. For starters Redden is the defenseman back while Rachunek makes a bad pinch in the first place. Rachunek is chasing Friesen while Redden is keeping an eye on Marshall. Rachunek then leaps over to get Marshall and leaves Friesen open and Redden confused. This was long enough to hit Friesen with that pass for the goal. That second delay was just enough. But who is to blame for it? Redden should have been stronger on one or the other in the first place, but Rachunek should not have changed players he was chasing.

I don't know, bad communication at the very least.

Havlat is water ski-ing on Friesen, not Rachunek. Rachunek knows he screwed up and is racing to get back into the play. When Redden looked up, he would have seen Friesen with Havlat all over him and Marshall coming down the boards with the puck. The idea that Havlat would just stop skating and let Friesen go, then Rachunek would get back into the play makes everything look worse for Redden than it was.
 

Big Phil

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Havlat is water ski-ing on Friesen, not Rachunek. Rachunek knows he screwed up and is racing to get back into the play. When Redden looked up, he would have seen Friesen with Havlat all over him and Marshall coming down the boards with the puck. The idea that Havlat would just stop skating and let Friesen go, then Rachunek would get back into the play makes everything look worse for Redden than it was.

Wow yeah, never noticed that one with Havlat. I always focused on Redden and Rachunek. Havlat just glides back, makes a half hearted attempt to hook onto Friesen, gives up pretty quickly and by that time Rachunek starts focusing on Marshall leaving Friesen open and Redden sort of there holding the bag. A little bit of backchecking by Havlat and we are probably talking about an overtime game. Granted Rachunek and Redden first and foremost need to be there on defense, but in that moment a forward should be skating hard to help his defense.

So much wrong with that play.
 

Big Phil

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I am bumping this thread up because a couple of very famous plays just dawned on me that I've seen a ton of times of course but have never really seen either as having a bad defensive play in them.

Lemieux's Canada Cup goal in 1987. I actually learned something today, because for the life of me I never knew who the heck that Soviet defender was that pinched at the wrong time against Lemieux, but it was Igor Kravchuk who we all remember from his time in the NHL afterwards. I always knew some of the other players on the ice. Kamensky is number #13 and he is the one who is chasing the play and sort of trips up Murphy (probably in frustration) at the side of the net after the goal. Igor Stelnov is the poor sap who Gretzky hypnotizes as the last defender back, but I always forgot (I guess) who that guy was that pinched. Yeah, it was Kravchuk. None of that play happens without that pinch. Because whether or not Lemieux goes on, that bad pinch still leaves Gretzky and Murphy on a two-on-one. But missing the puck and then Lemieux gives Lemieux the chance to get back into the play. We all know the video, no surprise here.

Fetisov in 1994, I've always known about this play, but sort of forgot that it was him that made that terrible cross ice pass that deflects into the corner that leads to Matteau picking the puck up in Game 7 overtime. I am not sure what Fetisov was thinking because he shoots into a couple of players when all he had to do was flip it over the blue line up the boards. He was right there and for whatever reason did the low percentage play. Then tries to defend the wraparound and might have gotten in the way of Brodeur (hard to tell). Either way, great game, so you can't fault anyone really, but definitely a bad defensive play to lead up to the goal. 2:12:30
 

gotyournose

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Yeah, true enough. The Lafleur one, even though Canada still doesn't win either way by then, is arguably worse than Gonchar letting Moen breeze by him in 2010. Because Lafleur basically clears a path for him. I know he wanted to get out of the way of the shot so Liut could see it (I think?) but this was just too extreme. Lafleur literally opened up a lane for him to skate through.

Alfredsson's was bad too, and I remember him getting grilled at the time for it. But there was no pressure for Pominville. Alfie didn't make it hard for him at all. Anything could have done, a push, a stick check, even just skating backwards rather than standing there would have done something without taking a penalty.

Guy Lafleur was many things, great defensive player he was not
 

NyQuil

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#2 Alfredsson vs. Buffalo in 2006


This goal had the additional impact of taking Alfredsson off the point in the PP which for me personally was a huge mistake.

His shot was a cannon and he was agile and nifty enough to outskate and outdeke opposing forwards and create 5 on 3 situations.

He rarely played the point on the PP after that which is funny because defensively he wasn’t all that bad. That one play was obviously huge but if you look at his entire tenure on the point he was a huge net positive. He played D growing up until he was 17 or so IIRC.
 

Retire91

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I am not an expert by any means to break down this play but does this fit the thread? I always felt if Roloson doesn't get injured that the Oilers win the cup.

Bergeron wasn't even going for the lose puck he was going for the hit and Leino only had one place to go which was to cut through the crease to avoid hitting Roloson but Bergeron plows Leino straight into Roloson. If I remember right it separated his shoulder, at any rate he was out of the cup finals.

 

Big Phil

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I am not an expert by any means to break down this play but does this fit the thread? I always felt if Roloson doesn't get injured that the Oilers win the cup.

Bergeron wasn't even going for the lose puck he was going for the hit and Leino only had one place to go which was to cut through the crease to avoid hitting Roloson but Bergeron plows Leino straight into Roloson. If I remember right it separated his shoulder, at any rate he was out of the cup finals.



Yeah, it sort of fits. More of a long term version of a bad defensive play but I get it. I think Bergeron was at least trying to push Leino away from the net though. I can understand why he makes the hit though, a natural thing to do.
 

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