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Originally Posted by GranteedEV
I noticed this as early as last year when Smith was "carrying us". So many games I felt our D instead of playing their position that they're pretty damn good at started facing suicide passes while being pulled out of position.
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I remember that actually, back in Dec 2017 I started a thread questioning whether Smith's style was really as beneficial as purported. the majority response at the time was yes, it was a net good thing, but even back then there were some posts that look similar to today's criticisms, e.g.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
I guess what I would say is that Smith's puck handling edges towards redundant on a team with Brodie, Giordano, Kulak, Hamilton. If we had a team with worse escapability it might help, but IMO our D are so good at rolling behind the net and wheeling out of danger, that Smith giving them passes in the corners while they are stationary appears more deteimental than people are admitting.
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part of the issue is likely predictability, when Smith goes into "touch every puck" mode. it's kind of like if you only have one zone entry play, the opponent will adjust pretty quick and you're not gonna get in anymore.
maybe if they could figure out a way to mix it up so that's 65%+ conventional D-man exit, with some Smith plays sprinkled in to keep forecheckers guessing. I don't know how you would be able to decide quickly enough which one to do though while under puck pressure.