The Oilers' forecheck and defensive zone systems

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
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Credit where credit is due. The coaches said they were going to implement more aggressive puck retrieval checking systems this year, and so far, it has paid off. Took the team the first 3-4 games to really get used to it, but right now, this is the best that I remember the Oilers forecheck looking in forever. The amount of havoc they create with their sticks and positioning makes this team play a lot faster than the individual sum of its parts.

Similarly, in the defensive zone, this is as aggressive as I've seen the Oilers get after the puck carrier AND come away with the puck more often than not. It's like the Eakins' swarm, only it actually works this time. The stick work is impressive.

It'll be interesting to see what the coaches will do once other teams adapt to it, but right now it looks really good. They force a lot of turnovers so that their offense doesn't have to come off the rush all the time - which is probably a good thing because strictly in terms of skill, this roster wouldn't be able to go toe to toe in a rush game. So the coaches identified the best way to maximize the assets of the roster - and that's something that is objectively a hallmark of good coaching.

Now if they could only get the damn PP right... ;)
 
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Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
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I'm trying not to jump ahead, but it is really beginning to look a lot like Yawney is finally our replacement for Huddy. That's how long the Oilers have needed a D coach.

He's made every single defense man better this year.

That and I think GG and TM have worked to make the Oilers an extremely frustrating team to play against. Brodziak even mentioned it in his postgame interview tonight. It’s annoying to play against a team that always gets their sticks and bodies in the way the second you get the puck.
 
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thadd

Oil4Life
Jun 9, 2007
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I guess Chia was right with the "need to play faster not get faster players" speech.

Yeah the coach was saying the same thing last season. They need more speed but not with how fast they're skating but how fast they're making decisions and acting on plays.
 

thadd

Oil4Life
Jun 9, 2007
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That and I think GG and TM have worked to make the Oilers an extremely frustrating team to play against. Brodziak even mentioned it in his postgame interview tonight. It’s annoying to play against a team that always gets their sticks and bodies in the way the second you get the puck.

It's the closet thing you can do to trap without taking an interference penalty in this age of hockey, isn't it?
Only other thing I can think of is going with 1 forechecker in the offensive zone, 2 forward and a d-man in the neutral zone to clog it up good and leaving 1 d-man in the rear for emergencies in the back.

If memory serves me right Tampa was using that a few seasons ago against the Flyers. Maybe I got it mixed up and it was the other way around.
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
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It's the closet thing you can do to trap without taking an interference penalty in this age of hockey, isn't it?
Only other thing I can think of is going with 1 forechecker in the offensive zone, 2 forward and a d-man in the neutral zone to clog it up good and leaving 1 d-man in the rear for emergencies in the back.

If memory serves me right Tampa was using that a few seasons ago against the Flyers. Maybe I got it mixed up and it was the other way around.

They’re actually doing the opposite of that and sending in two forwards pretty low to apply pressure. It’s aggressive, offensive minded hockey and some of the top teams have been doing it the last few years.
 

nightfighter

Registered User
Aug 31, 2008
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They’re actually doing the opposite of that and sending in two forwards pretty low to apply pressure. It’s aggressive, offensive minded hockey and some of the top teams have been doing it the last few years.
I like it. It's proactive rather than reactive
 

McNuge

Registered User
Dec 17, 2010
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The team looks like the 16/17 team again. Hard on the puck, forechecking hard and fast. Such a great sight to see. They look wayyy more creative offensively and look like they're loving the game again. The top 4 D has be amazing to start the year. Yawney has been the best addition this past year. D are all just that much better and more relaxed, I would even go so far to say that we currently have a top 10 top 4 D in the league with the way they've been playing. Klef Lars combo has been an extremely effective top pairing again this year and Nurse Russell has been really damn good too. All of this while missing Sekera and having Benning in the line up, although Benning hasn't been absolute dogshit the past few games.
 

thadd

Oil4Life
Jun 9, 2007
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They’re actually doing the opposite of that and sending in two forwards pretty low to apply pressure. It’s aggressive, offensive minded hockey and some of the top teams have been doing it the last few years.

I know trap makes it sound defensive and void of offense at the end of the day, but it is a trap of a different nature none the less.
 

Soundwave

Registered User
Mar 1, 2007
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I don't honestly notice a big difference offensively, but defensively they seem more structured.
 

FlameChampion

Registered User
Jul 13, 2011
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The team looks like the 16/17 team again. Hard on the puck, forechecking hard and fast. Such a great sight to see. They look wayyy more creative offensively and look like they're loving the game again. The top 4 D has be amazing to start the year. Yawney has been the best addition this past year. D are all just that much better and more relaxed, I would even go so far to say that we currently have a top 10 top 4 D in the league with the way they've been playing. Klef Lars combo has been an extremely effective top pairing again this year and Nurse Russell has been really damn good too. All of this while missing Sekera and having Benning in the line up, although Benning hasn't been absolute dog**** the past few games.

The puck transition out of their defensive zone honestly looks better to me this year than 16/17. I could be wrong but I just remember the team struggling to get the puck out of their zone even in 16/17. In 16/17, they really had good success with keeping the puck to the outside and the defense bending but not breaking and obviously Talbot was all world. Early on this season I saw some of these issues, with the team having problems getting the puck out. They still have some issues but its much better imo than it was earlier in the season, and much better in previous years.

Individual defenseman look better to me too. I could be wrong but Klefbom looks better better defensively this year than he did in 16/17. The fancy stats might not agree but I am just going from memory. I dunno if his offensive game is better or not. Larsson is more or less the same offensively/defensively but I have seen better transition and passing from him. Russell is the big one where I see improvement, hes so much more aggressive, and he doesnt back in and give up the line or space like he used to. Nurse is really the only one who seems about the same, I havent seen Yawney have much of an impact on his game yet.
 
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nabob

Big Daddy Kane
Aug 3, 2005
34,312
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I know trap makes it sound defensive and void of offense at the end of the day, but it is a trap of a different nature none the less.

I think I remember hearing it called “the press” instead of the trap at times. I do notice ya creating a lot more offensive zone turnovers this year because the forwards get on their D so quickly and they come in waves it seems like.
 

Coffey

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Sep 27, 2017
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I think I remember hearing it called “the press” instead of the trap at times. I do notice ya creating a lot more offensive zone turnovers this year because the forwards get on their D so quickly and they come in waves it seems like.
Call it “THE CLAMP”
 

Chet Manley

Registered User
Apr 15, 2007
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I like it when McDavid flushes the d out from behind the net instead of letting him setup and wait for a breakout. I understand most players can't do it without being burned, but he is fast enough to never get left behind by whatever dman is back there. Would give him the green light to go it whenever possible. No idea if that fits into this conversation.
 

McFlash97

Registered User
Oct 10, 2017
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Klefbom couldn't keep a beachball in the zone even if his life depended on it.
 

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