Quote:
Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary
easier to say than do, but I really believe they need to hit/chip mckinnon more... he's taking over games and letting him waltz around like he is
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If the McKinnon coming out party continues, this won't end well for the Flames. Despite Backlund playing a good game 1, McKinnon was still way too much of a puck possession factor through both games. This simply cannot continue. Obviously he is a terrific player, but I argue it is now time for Peters to take the old Bill Belichick 'make them beat you left-handed' approach.
I would propose a significant change to how the Flames defend McKinnon. Rather than line-match (which is hard to do on the road anyways, and no line on the Flames can/should play 24 minutes a game), I would 'shadow' him. This was a technique more employed in the 90s-early 2000s clutch and grab era (see Devils and even Red Wings), but I think it could also work well for this team and frustrate the Avs' star player. The good news for Calgary is that they have players on all their top 3 lines that could serve as good shadows (I would also argue the Janko-Neal-Frolik should be the 4th line and avoid the Avs big line wherever possible).
The basic premise for those who don't remember, one guy's job is simply to follow him around wherever he goes, particularly when the Flames are on the attack/have the puck and in the neutral zone. He's never really open in the case of turnovers or on break-outs. A stick is in his stick every time he gets near the puck. Yes, this is disruptive to your forecheck and offensive game, but I think negating McKinnon right now is more important than adhering to a strict offensive system, especially on the road. On line 1, this is Lindholm; line 2, Backlund; line 3, Ryan. It needs to be a fresh player since McKinnon's conditioning is superb. Sure, maybe he finds a way to track open now and then, but I think if the shadow did their job well, this could totally disrupt the Avs offense (not to mention get totally under his skin) and force them into significant adjustments, which I'm not sure if they are capable of.