[genetic_phreek]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Perimeter play. It is excruciating

Sutter’s strategy seems to be:
No turnovers in the neutral zone. Unless you see something sugar coated and handed to you, dump it in and get to work
If you have gained the zone and don’t have a 100% risk free passing option, put it in a corner (I saw Gaudreau do this when he was the only Flame in the zone, and there was nobody anywhere near to chase. Not tonight, but another game I saw Tkachuk do it on a 2 on 2 with Lindholm)

When you get position in the neutral zone, ring it around the boards to the far D, who may pinch.
Just get pucks to the net. You never know what might turn in to a goal
If you get a lead, make no mistakes for the rest of the game and lock it down

Now when they practiced, you saw them doing all of those one touch passes. So you know that Sutter knows that speed comes from crisp assertive puck movement more so than from foot speed. But that was absolutely nowhere to be seen in the game play.

More instances tonight of poorly timed dumps requiring tag ups. (I recall Crosby telling one of his wingers not to let up when entering the zone, Crosby would make sure he didn’t go offside)

Last game I saw the team making changes at 30 seconds into their shift, when they had control in the o zone, and neutering their own strategy of being in front for point shots.

This team is looking like Brent Sutter ‘paralysis by analysis’ hockey. Players look afraid to make a mistake

They also look expressionless, emotionless and utterly joyless.

The hope seems to be that they get the defensive details so perfect that they know exactly when to take a high percentage offensive chance

All of this ‘we are not a high scoring team’ is like the Brent Sutter ‘we are not the kind of team that can score off the rush’ bull ####.

I was hoping with Darryl that he saw what style the team needed to play, given their skill and size, and the verdict is unknown. There is too much of this dumping and perimeter nonsense, and I am not sure if it is his wish, or his mandated second option if that’s all they have

Thing is, you can’t neuter yourself offensively if you can’t be perfect defensively. And there is no practice time this year to make perfect D an option.

All I know for sure is that I don’t enjoy what I have been seeing lately, Darryl can’t be enjoying this, and the players sure aren’t.

Huh. Maybe everybody *is* injured

This cannot be overstated. Hartley changed it and for a few years and we had an up tempo exciting style of play. Now we're going back to grind hockey. Sutter hockey has always had high shot totals but not so sure what the quality of those were. So most games we may have more shots than the other team but low scoring. If I recall this is where dissension between Iggy and Brent started when he was tasked to "simplify" his game. Darryl Sutter is good, no doubt when the roster fits his style. Similar to Ken Hitchcock.