Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Under Peters this year the Flames were 7th in SAT% @ 51.8. Since Ward took over behind the bench they have dropped to 16th @ 49.0. The difference is that the Flames spent a lot more time in the offensive zone when Peters was coaching. I think they are playing a much more conservative game under Ward, which just does not suit them—way too much time spent passively anticipating plays from the opposing team. It is more deliberative, and like Estrada said, it doesn't show the same attention to detail.
Also, for whatever reason, there seem to be an inordinately high number of shots that miss the net completely when the Flames players do actually get them off. I'm not sure what that's about but it's a huge problem.
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This definitely supports the eye test. They weren't any better defensively last year but I felt like their time in the offensive zone was a lot higher and the best defense is to keep the puck in the other teams zone so this supports that. This year they are hemmed in regularly, breakouts aren't as crisp and the cycles are getting broken up far easier. They spend far more time in their zone. They seem to get less odd man rushes as well and get behind the opposing D far less than I remember the season before as well.