Quote:
Originally Posted by Vedder
Anyway, Huberdeau has been trash in every situation, 5 on 5, powerplay etc. I don't know if he's gripping it too tight or feeling the pressure, but his problems go way beyond the coach and tactics.
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He needs to be better. I think a big part of it is just his overall confidence, and that he's feeling the pressure.
But I still see a guy way too focused on defensive responsibility at 5v5 - and I really can't help but think that he's over focused on that because it's what the coach emphasizes.
Huberdeau ranks among forwards:
HDCA/60: 9.07 (1st)
xGA/60: 2.12 (2nd)
GA/60: 2.06 (3rd)
That has never been part of Huberdeau's game in his career...if anything he's always been a high event player and a bit leaky defensively. This year he has very, very stingy defensive numbers. He's tried to adapt to what's being asked of him for sure.
And even though his lack of production has been frustrating, Huberdeau has a 54% GF% (4th), and a 55.5% xGF% on the back of his strong defensive play. He's still been a net positive which actually wasn't the case in Florida. Lots of time he was in that McDavid/Draisaitl realm where they put up a ton of points but actually ended up being negative on the ledger.
I do think his frustration is building though when it comes to how the team generates offence. There were a couple times tonight where I saw his linemates dump it in when it looked like they could carry the puck in, and then a couple times where they probably could have passed but made a low quality shot instead where he kind of looked like he looked up to the sky or was unhappy after the play.