Quote:
Originally Posted by HighLifeMan
I suppose we just have varying views on where we believe Sven stands at this point in time. My confusion specifically stems from the fact that Sutter did not trust Baertschi in the 2nd period (after scoring a goal) and yet had him out there in every key situation in the final period and into overtime.
Like I said, I could just be digging to far into something that really is not that big of an issue. (Which I tend to do from time to time  ) |
He was put in key offensive situations, but not in key defensive ones. Key offensive opportunities didn't exist after the Flames went up by one, but did after the game was tied. Key offensive situations are defined by me as situations where Sven has a legit change of scoring, and a much smaller chance of being scored on. The opposite is true of a key defensive situation.
Flames were playing on their toes when Sven was out there instead of being trapped in their own zone which is the big difference. That gives Sven a chance to use his best tools and get some scoring chances (he only had one shot on goal last game, but he scored on it for example). That's the biggest different between the second and third period. There were on their toes in overtime as well. When the Flames are on their toes and playing well, they are a very good team and a team that covers for each others mistakes. When they are on their heals, that doesn't happen. To me it's simply about making sure you put Baertchi in situations where he can succeed, and those situations are offensive ones, not defensive ones.
Outside of some very elite players, most 19 year old very good players take 2-3 years before they can move the puck north like a good top 6er, and it's why outside of some really smart two way young players like Horak, you rarely see players under the age of 22 get buried in terms of zone starts.