I haven't seen a flames team with this kind of neutral zone presence and defensive composure in ages. Their third period was a clinic in shutdown defensive hockey, which doesn't only mean off-puck play in your own zone, but also puck management, keeping the puck moving in the right direction, and pressing all over the ice to force turnovers and recovering the puck with layers of defence. The structure showed well and kept a league-leading possession team to less than 50%
The best part is that our full press and strong transition game also help our offence generate more rushes and chances, while our cycle game has also developed over the season
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