Quote:
Originally Posted by hurtin_albertan
I've seen Glencross taking heat for that play a few times today, and while I understand the sentiment that he could have done more, his responsibility as a winger and the fourth guy into the play is definitely up high as opposed to down low. The way I saw it Stajan was there to cover up down low so Glencross tapped his stick on the ice to try to fool the Stars player into making an errant drop pass, and then curls out to the boards as he's anticipating Stajan getting to the puck and needing immediate help getting rid of it. In hindsight Stajan really should have been focused on tying up the forward who recieved the pass rather than trying to intercept it, as he didn't get enough of it and poked the puck right onto the Stars player's stick.
The alternative here is that Glencross comes right in on the forward along with Stajan which probably would have prevented that scoring chance, but then his point man is WIDE open should the puck make it back there. You often hear analysts talk about teams running around in their own zone becoming "puck focused", which is exactly what ensues most of the time when a winger goes this route - you've got both defensemen, the center, and a winger down low or in front of the net, and coverages become completely lost. If the point man becomes wide open and puts a shot in through the massive screen in front we would be blasting Glencross for abandoning his assignment.
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As the first forward out of the offensive zone (aka, the first forward back pressuring defensively), his job, no matter what position he plays, is to take the opposition player occupying the centre lane. His defensemen will play a zone against each player coming down the wall.
He is ahead of Stajan as the play breaks through the neutral zone. It's Glencross slowing down and Stajan continuing to hustle that has them in the same position at the top of the faceoff circles.
Stajan also slows down at that point, but that is a miscommunication between the players. Stajan sees Glencross is ahead of him and assumes he'll take the centre position, so Stajan holds up a bit in order to not blow by the wing responsibility. It's the moment where they are both gliding where the separation takes place and where the chance becomes a quality one because it's a 3-2 down low instead of a 3-2 with significant back pressure or a 3-3.