I must say I'd like to see the group with a new coach, but I know there will be massive roster changes this season. We've got to get a lot meaner with more "go to the net" guys. We've got to be almost dead last in the NHL in the following categories.
1 - rebound goals (my guess is we're literally dead last)
2 - goals scored within 5 feet of the goal (my guess is we're bottom 5)
Those 2 things will have to improve to top 15 if we're ever going to be a consistent scoring team...and the reason why is we never have anyone at the net except for Bunting. That guy gets it, if he's in the offensive zone and doesn't have the puck he's at the net. There are way too many times that we have 3 guys on the puck in the corner or half wall, and we get it, but the only option we have to to throw it around the boards to the opposite D or up the near boards to the D that's it, or try to come out of the scrum with it, which never works.
I swear every time we have a turnover along the boards on our D side, there is an opposing player right at the net waiting for a pass. We should always have a guy in the Ozone at the net. 2 on the puck 1 at the net. The cycle is no different, play a 2-man cycle sorta of a triangle with always 1 guy at the net. Then when those turnovers happen, we're automatically in position to capitalize. I can't tell you how many times I watched this year when that exact thing happened to us.
We just can't be a "rush team", that won't work, way too many shots from the outside and it's all too many times its 1 and done. I'd kill to have the team throw the puck at the net and have 3 bodies crashing the net. We maybe have 1 guy, maybe, but it's rare, there are always rebounds and no one is there as they're on the wall or behind the net. That is why Bunting was such a revelation and why he's been so successful. Want to score goals, spend time at the net. We should have more than 1 guy on the team who understands that.
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