Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
There's also the fact that if you start in the offensive zone, and the play goes the other way, you have to backcheck hard, and even if you do get the puck back, you're probably tired and going to dump-and-change.
If you start in the defensive zone, you're probably playing on fresh legs, and when you do make a mistake, you can probably recover on those fresh legs. And if you get a transition opportunity, you can probably afford to make a play.
It's a bit counterintuitive, but I feel people shouldn't assume defensive zone starts mean harder minutes, or that offensive zone starts mean sheltered minutes. Who you're out there against (The other team's equivalent to a 3M line might be a tougher deployment versus their equivalent to a Monahan line that prefers to score on the rush anyways) and which D pair you're out there with probably matters way more in terms of so-called sheltering.
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I agree.
What if we lose most of the offensive draws and can’t get the puck back before it is cleared and the play goes the other way?
What if we are a team that is highly efficient on the rush in transition?
How important are offensive zone starts then?
Obviously you want them but it makes one wonder.