Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
I’ll never understand why there’s so much criticism with Gaudreau’s button hook. Like, what’s the alternative? Try to take it hard to the net and get crushed into the boards or sandwiched into the net and goalie? To me, the button hook is a great tool to use if you don’t have the angle to cut past the defender as it opens up a ton of other options.
For Gaudreau, he can find the open trailer, it gives his linemates time to go hard to the net to set up a screen, it gives the defense time to jump in to the play to use those screens, he cut east to west like we saw against the Oilers. In general, it can create a little more chaos in the coverage and open up space for him to be able to survey his options.
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The move itself is fine, but he goes to it too much in the playoffs. He doesn't carry the puck as long as usual and makes what often look like panic passes or panic button hooks to avoid contact.
His game looks predictable compared to the regular season and we've seen this in every playoffs before.
I'm not crapping on Johnny here, he's our best player and one of my all time favorites.
But it's very clear that he doesn't get as much space in the playoffs (to be expected) and has to adapt his game.
I do think he'll figure it out, but there's clearly adjustments needed and I look forward to watching him make those.