[Jeff Lebowski]

What are the players saying? This was after a WPG game but CGY has played a ton of games against teams that clog the nz:

Gio

That’s where you have to get to. We have a good enough team where we can come back if we’re down one or two, and we have to stick with our game. I mean, once we start cleaning this up where we get the lead ourselves in the first period and stick to our game, that’s when we’re gonna really be at our best but I think, especially against Winnipeg… If you don’t transition quickly against them, they literally have five guys in the neutral zone. You gotta try to break that down and the only way to get through that is to put pucks behind their D and forecheck.

Ryan:

They’re pretty tight in and around the neutral zone, so I thought that in the first period we were pretty disconnected, kind of stretching out a lot, not giving our D many options. Then when we saw having success, whether it was in the second or later in the third there, I felt like we were more of a cohesive unit, coming back, supporting each other. We know their systems and their structure in the neutral zone, we know how to beat it, we just tend to get away from it at some points of the game and I think it’s pretty indicative that when we are focusing on that, doing the right things in the neutral zone, getting it behind their D, we have more success. But when we get a little stubborn, then that’s when we get into trouble.

I mean that the structure that we’re successful in through the neutral zone isn’t a pretty game. It’s usually making sure we just get pucks behind their D, and we get stubborn in that we like to try to carry pucks through their neutral zone forecheck and their forecheck, they have three guys spread across the blueline, it’s pretty hard to carry pucks in. We do it sometimes, we create offense, but we get stubborn, we want to do it more often and I think that’s when we turn pucks over. And I don’t know what the analytics are, but I think Winnipeg’s probably one of the best teams in the league at that transition game in the neutral zone, and we feed that, we fuel that with those turnovers. So that’s what I mean by that.

I'm curious if people think any different coach would game plan different against teams that clog the neutral zone? Put pucks behind them. How does TOR play against these teams? Do they carry it in more times than not? I was watching some game highlights of TOR v MTL (again another clog it up team) and it was mostly when they already have gained possession in offensive zone. I did see a few goals where TOR did gain the blue line and not put it deep. MTL by the way scores their goals off counters. Though TOR is carrying the play. How does TOR defend? I'm genuinely curious and not wanting this to come across as some critique.


CGY needs to be able to break out better. It has to be more creative and clean. There is too much getting hemmed in by giving opponents space. It leads to zone time and they are finding areas to get multiple shots before CGY gets one. CGY is on it's heels. Kill plays fast. It sounds crazy but last game there was some better play despite the end result.

Watching some highlights from 18-19 they scored a lot of goals where the goalie had to move laterally. The PP had lots of motion and created lots of momentum.