cygnus47
Registered User
- Sep 14, 2013
- 7,575
- 2,668
There are a lot of different criticisms but for me the top one is the lack of detail in their game. It plagued them from game 1 this season. Sticks not in lanes, poor positioning, poor gap, half assed backchecking, a step late supporting, F3's not covering the pinch, a step late and lazy angles on the forecheck, etc.
We let the opposition break out and navigate the NZ far too easily. When we gained possession in the DZ, there were far too many turnovers and often a lack of support on chips. I think the top issue this off season is fixing transition play, both improving ours and impeding the opposition's. So, while personnel can be tweaked, focusing on regaining the detail is essential in my mind.
A lot of this is the lack of pressure at the points. We consistently let the Caps make the D to D pass or get a shot from the point with no pressure and collapsed to the net instead. It means when we get the turnovers along the boards, they always have numbers back and we don't have any speed coming out of our own zone. Also means there's almost no risk for breakaways from blocked shots. When there's more pressure at the points, they aren't sure which plays are available because there are no consistent easy outlets and they have to make the decision QUICK cause there's someone on them immediately. It leads to more rushes going the other way and then you don't have to be as concerned about the mistakes you eventually make because the other team is taking stupid risks to try and get back in the game and giving up their system to do it.