GDT: Sharks vs. Kings - "Nuke 'Em High Edition" - 7:00 PM - NBCSN, TSN2, KFOX

[Barrie22]

Boyle is right in front of the crease when the puck is turned over. Burns is a step or two in front of the blue line. How is that 5 ft? Go watch the video. I posted it on the last page. They might be 5 ft apart when they hit their own blue line, but by that point Kopitar was already past them both.

Boyle got caught too far up ice to recover. Burns should have recognized that.

This isn't that complicated.

They were 5 ft apart at the kings blue line, which at that point kopitar was behind burns but maybe just a little bit ahead of boyle . Biyle then starts watching the puck carry and drifting over into irwins side of the ice. Which at that point already had irwin and burns blocking off the puck carrier. Boyles job at that point is skate back as hard as possible and get back into his own position, not stop skating until the last moment after the puck was passed.

 

[Wedontneedroads]

They were 5 ft apart at the kings blue line, which at that point kopitar was behind burns but maybe just a little bit ahead of boyle . Biyle then starts watching the puck carry and drifting over into irwins side of the ice. Which at that point already had irwin and burns blocking off the puck carrier. Boyles job at that point is skate back as hard as possible and get back into his own position, not stop skating until the last moment after the puck was passed.

That's because Boyle, correctly, thinks Kopitar is Burns' man on that play.

I think we can agree both Boyle and Burns should have done much better.

 

[Barrie22]

That's because Boyle, correctly, thinks Kopitar is Burns' man on that play.

I think we can agree both Boyle and Burns should have done much better.

burns did exactly what he was supposed to do, box the puck carrier in at the boards with the defensemen (irwin) job done, boyle needed to get back into the play and not come coasting back all the while drifting into the lane behind the puck carrier.

boyle bad- pinching in, coasting back, covering a guy who already had 2 players on him, not giving a heads up he has the wrong man and someone is free on the far side.

burns bad- not being fast enough to realize that boyle wasn't covering his man, or getting back into the play fast enough.

 

[Wedontneedroads]

burns did exactly what he was supposed to do, box the puck carrier in at the boards with the defensemen (irwin) job done, boyle needed to get back into the play and not come coasting back all the while drifting into the lane behind the puck carrier.

boyle bad- pinching in, coasting back, covering a guy who already had 2 players on him, not giving a heads up he has the wrong man and someone is free on the far side.

burns bad- not being fast enough to realize that boyle wasn't covering his man, or getting back into the play fast enough.

You are ignoring the fact that Boyle had pinched in the attacking zone. The Sharks have some of the most active dmen in the league and it often results in good scoring opportunities. The trick with active dmen is you need forwards that are aware enough to know their role in that situation.

Boyle pinching means Burns is responsible for the point. Burns is the dman, Boyle is the winger back checking. That is fundamental hockey. I don't know what to tell you if you don't understand that basic concept.

Could Boyle have back checked harder? Absolutely, but Burns was responsible for Kopitar there. You don't go pressure the puck on a 2 on 2 if you don't have someone behind you telling you to. You are analyzing it like it was a 2 on 3 with Boyle in a position to handle Kopitar.

 

[Barrie22]

You are ignoring the fact that Boyle had pinched in the attacking zone. The Sharks have some of the most active dmen in the league and it often results in good scoring opportunities. The trick with active dmen is you need forwards that are aware enough to know their role in that situation.

Boyle pinching means Burns is responsible for the point. Burns is the dman, Boyle is the winger back checking. That is fundamental hockey. I don't know what to tell you if you don't understand that basic concept.

Could Boyle have back checked harder? Absolutely, but Burns was responsible for Kopitar there. You don't go pressure the puck on a 2 on 2 if you don't have someone behind you telling you to. You are analyzing it like it was a 2 on 3 with Boyle in a position to handle Kopitar.

He was in a position to handle kopitar, if he did this wonderful thing called skating. Boyle back checks like he needs to after a bad pinch (which btw didn't actually leave him out of the play, he was back in a good enough position before that transition fully got going) and then he just stopped skating and lost both the puck carrier and kopitar. And then once he seen kopitar get to the blueline and hit the gas boyle then decides it was time to actually start skating back.

 

[Blackbear]

Rewriting history are we. The Sharks needed offense way more than they needed defense at the time and Burns had played offense, well. It was worth a try and he exploded. Todd did not, or more importantly DW, did not recognize some big mistake in acquiring Burns and hope to get themselves out of it by moving him to forward. There is no evidence to support that.

Gotta come by here more often because this is deader than fish bones now. But the "mistake" wasn't acquiring Burns it was switching him from F to D, which Todd did in Houston.

 

[Blackbear]

Hindsight is 20/20, but Seto and Coyle aren't even relevant to the point that Burns misplayed the 2 on 2 that led to LA's goal, and should have done better because he was an NHL defenseman for 7/8 years.

I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that TMac moved Burns to forward because of poor defensive play or some organizational "mistake". Burns was moved to forward to help to get his legs moving after multiple injuries to start the season, and the Sharks offense, which was comparable to steaming hot garbage at the time, needed some energy.

My only point in all this is I expect Burns to do a better job reading the play while back checking. In fact, I expect EVERY sharks forward to do a better job than Burns did on that play. They can't make those types of mistakes against good teams.

His defensive play WAS poor. That speaks for itself.