Quote:
Originally Posted by timbit
Talbot, Bennett, Dube Lucic, Backlund, Ryan, Andersson , Hanifin and Brodie and some others have competed hard and for the most part, played very very well.
The high end guys have to step it up and be the “drink stir” leaders.
That’s NOT on the coaches.
Also, NOT on system or tactics.
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The system, tactics, and player utilization ARE failing them though. I'm not even talking about the highly paid guys. Those guys you listed, they've been
fortunate to score as even they've been spending far more time in their zone than in the offensive zone due to a passive defensive system and a general lack of neutral zone presence. The on-ice shot attempts and expected goals bear this out in each game.
The coaching is also playing Zac Rinaldo, who is on the ice for
29% of the ES shot attempts, ahead of a capable penalty killer in Mark Jankowski, who has been on the ice for
51% of the ES shot attempts. There's no excuse for this. The Flames have won 2 out of five games with Rinaldo in the lineup during this postseason. They've won 3 out of four games with Jankowski in the lineup. There's no logic being applied.
For all the hype the Lucic - Bennett - Dube line has been getting - and I say this as one of Bennett's biggest supporters on CP - they've gotten hemmed in their own zone far too much due to the systems being utilized. Even the Backlund line has gotten hemmed in far more than they've hemmed the opponent in - and Backlund's claim to fame is his puck possession game and play driving.
No one is excusing the players for their play. You need to stop excusing the coaches for their inability to make any adjustments. And no, they don't get a free pass because they beat an AHL roster during the qualifiers. This first round is the NHL playoffs, and the coaches need to be coaching at an NHL level. It's not clear they are.
What are the things I'd like to see implemented systems-wise?
We can start with the offensive zone. Our defensemen are not cutting off the stars breakout at all. In fact it's the opposite, our defensemen are already at the red line when the stars get the puck at the hash marks. I'm not asking them to make poor pinches, but the stars should not have open ice to be skating the puck out of their defensive zone. This was an issue last year too. The common theme is Ryan Huska as the defenseman coach.
How about our neutral zone tactics? What even are they? I don't know, because our team has zero presence in the neutral zone - and hasn't during Ward's entire tenure here. As a Glen Gulutzan critic - I would tell you that this awful coach had our teams playing ideally in the neutral zone. Ward needs implement
something to clog up the neutral zone because right now, the Stars are building too much speed through the middle of the ice, and we're not talking about fast skaters here, we're talking about the Stars' aging roster, guys like Perry, Radulov, and Pavelski are entering our zone unimpeded.
And our defensive zone tactics? They've been far too passive yet again. I get it - we don't want to give up great chances in the slot. No one does. But top tiers are willing to take some risk and force the opponent to make quick decisions with the puck. We don't close gaps at all, and that seems to be coached because the coaching staff has shown contentment with these tactics, as evidenced by Ward claiming that allowing 60 shots in game 4 was acceptable because they were from the outside. Well guess what, the game winners in both games 4 and 5 were from the OUTSIDE! You give the opponent enough chances to shoot at the net, eventually they'll go in. Our strategy in the defensive zone has not worked, regardless of the game 3 shutout (when the Stars missed multiple wide open nets). And while players need to be better with managing the puck in the defensive zone, they need to be that much better at actually
acquiring it.
What about our zone entry tactics? There is a time and place for everything sure, but the team has defaulted to dump and chase with almost zero room for a controlled entry. People have been on Gaudreau and Monahan for peeling off on the forecheck, but even Bennett and Lucic have been forechecking to no avail. What's the point in getting a hit on the forecheck if all that's being accomplished is that the defenseman takes the hit, makes an outlet pass, and the other team has a 3 on 2 rush the other way? It's not that guys shouldn't finish checks, but tactically I don't believe they should be constantly putting themselves in a spot to be checking. Not every offensive zone possession needs to be a dump-in. Guys should be empowered to make a mistake, even in the playoffs, to make a play. I do not believe they are.
I'm not an X's and O's mastermind. I'm not paid millions of dollars to coach ice hockey. So maybe I'm an idiot. But what I'm watching is a team that, yes, has roster flaws, but is also severely underperforming in terms of forcing the Stars to make mistakes. Our team is not playing to its potential, and a good part of that is because the tactics being employed are not suitable for the players we employ.