Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinny01
You don’t?? They were routinely outplayed in most games but were opportunistic and would score on a rush chance after being pinned in their zone for a while.
The luckiest thing that happened to them was getting the paper tiger Canucks team in the first round. Any other team in the west would have likely smashed them like the Ducks did. All season long we heard about how their play was unsustainable and low and behold they improve their roster over the summer yet finish bottom 5 in 2016
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Yes - Hartley's system was protect the middle of the ice in the d zone with emphasis on blocking shots. Turn those blocks into quick ups. Stretch passes for quick strikes
but lot's of creativity with defense in the offensive zone.
I remember one game against SJS: Hudler, Gaudreau and Brodie making beautiful plays with their passing and weaving.
Giving the perimeter to gain possession allowed easy entries and passive play. Teams could find soft areas for point blank chances or those blocks didn't happen or you get deflected pucks into your net. Bad things happen when you just allow teams to fire shots at you.