Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John
They do overload one side though on the forecheck - whatever side the Dman with the puck is on.
It works great against less skilled teams who insist on trying to use the wall on every breakout. Thing is it requires fast forwards who are adept at getting initial pressure and disrupting the rhythm of the breakout. Also it relies on hoping the other team sticks to set plays instead of using the net D on breakouts and making smart outlets.
AV's style was more about owning the neutral zone and disrupting zone entries setting up massive counterattacks with a weak side D trailer coming in back door.
The 3 teams you mentioned, plus AV's canucks, were all much faster and more skilled up front to be able to pull off that system.
This year's canucks already look exactly like Tortorella's Rangers did - a grinding team that generates a lot of low-percentage shots that will win some games but never be elite.
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Agree with your analysis except that I think that's a result of lacking top 6 forward depth.
The Sedins look as good as they ever have, but unfortunately the Canucks are playing and paying David Booth in a top 6 role. If they'd been able to buy him out or trade him this summer and moved Schneider for top 6 depth, they'd be a much better club.
Kesler to me look like Jokinen, a guy who is better suited to playing the wing. Big, Fast, Skilled, but he's a shooter who creates his own offense, not a playmaker. If Vancouver got a strong second line centre to move Kesler to the wing, they'd have something similar to what San Jose has with Burns on the wing. As it stands, they have 1.5 lines of offense, with the defense making up that other .5.