Let's talk about: Bob Hartley
Ok. A few things here.
Firstly, I think that after the panic of the 1-3-2 (with vigorous debate about games that could have been won and weren't) and now being at 3-3-2, there seems to be a gradual shift in mindset here.
I have noticed a few things.
Active sticks: Somebody will skate around a Flame, and they still are fighting for the puck on the back side while positionally disadvantaged.
Putting the puck in a place where there is a decent likelihood of retrieval: I see this even with little pokes of the puck into areas where the Flames are likely to retrieve it.
Neutral zone transition, puck support, and speed: I like to think I see improvements here.
Penalty kill: Ugh. Maybe need to look at some game tape. I never like to agree with Doug Maclean.
General disposition/fun/confidence/whatever: So under Keenan, a deficit was never a great concern. You always knew there was something else that would happen, good or bad. A deficit was not a disaster. Then again, the team could implode any given game as well. A losing team the past couple of years by contrast seemed demoralized with little resiliency.
It looks to me like some of the new guys have good habits and some of the old guys have bad habits, and the current zeitgeist is directionally in favour of good habits.
I'd be interested in general takes on what people see differently under Hartley, comparing and contrasting, for better or for worse, based on the limited sample of activity so far.
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