Quote:
Originally Posted by skcli
It is the system they play. D never skates the puck forward, stretch pass to the blue line, forwards for their life cannot hold the puck but tip it in. Lost the puck and Sharks will attack with all 5 players. GG system sucks!
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Nah, it's the goalie we have in net.
It has less to do with Gulutzan's system but yes, it is definitely affecting the breakouts. They have been cleaner as of late, much cleaner, but there are times when he needs to tell Smith to let the D retrieve it, or at least slide it behind his goal to let the D use his net as a shield. Love Smith and his puckhandling, but there are flaws and this is one we need to address.
Having a quick breakout is good, but when forecheckers are already coming in with speed it's completely against the point as the defence recieve the puck under heavy pressure and not likely to make the nice clean play they had in mind. And they are unable to use the net as a shield like they've been coached their entire lives to do, as they are in the corners where the boards start to curve because of the expectation of Smith's pass.
Usually you see a guy coming in, OK fine, lose him behind the net and come out the other side with speed. If you have two guys on you, just rifle it along the boards.