Does never controlling the puck make our defense look worse ?

[Haj]

Basically, the best way to defend is to possess the puck in the other team's zone. This team really misses Barkov, against the Bruins we could not exit our zone, or consistently possess the puck in their zone.

The question is this : Can you adequately measure how good/bad our defenders are because we never have the puck ?

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[luby3131]

It definitely is a factor. We really struggle with both puck possession and offensive zone entries, which are both traits that good teams seem to possess. Common sense dictates that the less your team has the puck, the more the other team does. Our defense defiinitely spend more time in their zone than the majority of the league.

The defenseman aren't helping their cause though. Our transition game is among the worst in the league. Campbell is the only real puck carrier we have. You could classify Gilbert and Kulikov as puck movers when they're playing well. Guys like Olsen and Gudbranson need to improve, as at this point in their careers both are more up and out off the glass or short passes in the neutral zone types. The stretch pass is something we really lack overall.

Point is, we just don't have the right mix of personell on D or up front, which is why we give up as many shots as we do. Adding two skilled puck possession types of centers in Pirri and Trocheck should help, as both players have the ability to enter the zone and sustain pressure. We need to focus on adding a couple of power forward type wingers in the summer, as well as a couple more defenseman than can either carry or move the puck (Matheson is one, but he's still a little raw, especially defensively). When this happens, our D will have less pressure on them, and as a result will give up less shots and look a lot better.

 

[Mogo]

Yes, of course it does. Still it's not the main reason for horrible horrible turnovers down low. We need better gap control too

 

[mbitonti]

It is definitely an issue that's hurt us all year. Our break out and neutral zone play have been piss poor for the past two seasons. However that doesn't change the fact that our defense is weak. We have constant turnovers that expose our goaltender to a one on one or two on one right in front of the net. I think our D needs a definite retooling this summer.

Campbell is hands down our best defenseman as far as moving the puck and getting offense going. Guds is still developing, but I think next season he can make the jump to a solid second pairing shut down d-man. Whether his offense ever comes around is a giant question mark, but at this point I'm more interested in his defense. Kulikov shows flashes of being better than Campbell at moving the puck but is very inconsistent. However, I think he still has room to grow and I look at him as being a candidate to making that next step next season as well. Jovo is what he is: an aging captain. He'd be impossible to trade and I doubt he retires with one more year left, so I'm fine with him anchoring our third pairing. I do not think he is as bad as people say this season, especially when we limit him to ~12 min per game. Again, not saying he's great, but I think he provides leadership and experience and is fairly effective with a smaller role. I haven't been too impressed with Olsen after those first 10-15 games after the trade, but I think he could end up being a great anchor for our third pairing for the future. Gilbert has been a fairly pleasant surprise, but I think its mostly due to playing with Campbell and I think we should've moved him. Either way I don't want him resigned.

I think this team needs at least one legit pairing D-man. I was hoping Girardi would go to UFA so we could overpay the **** out of him, but that's not happening. Hopefully we get lucky and can sign Ekblad, but I have a feeling Edmonton or NYI take him (looking like they'll finish below us). I would love to sign Niskanen, I think he'd be great on the top pairing with Campbell or the second pairing with Kuli or Guds. Also, although Andrew Macdonald is a little overrated, I wouldn't mind signing him for 3-4 years. He can block shots and has shown he can play that top pairing role on an arguably worse defense than ours (NYI). Aside from that I don't think UFA looks all that great for Dmen. Maybe Orpik for 2-3 yrs?

I think Petro should be left down one more season to gain experience and then come in ready to roll in '15-'16. Matheson should be moved to the AHL for a year or two, and McCoshen should probably stay at BC one more year. Robak should once again get a shot at the big club for the third pairing, but he doesn't make it I wouldn't be surprised. We've got some great young talent on D, but they're all a few years away so UFA is critical this year.

 

[Haj]

The turnovers are extremely concerning. Unforced errors that wind up in our own net. Against Boston, the defensemen made horrible pinches, caused at least 2 odd man rushes. Agree about the gap control, either defensemen are too far forward leaving us vulnerable to the stretch pass, or too far back and allow easy entry. However, good backchecking will slow up the other team, make gap control easier. Same thing with not immediately turning the puck over when we are attacking. Versteeg, Huberdeau, and Fleischmann are the kings of that move this year.

 

[PanthersHockey1]

I was over in st louis and caught the game against tampa on Tuesday. The game the panthers play compared to st louis cant be called hockey. Its all about the netural zone and puck control.

The panthers are bad at both.