Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
Whenever a coach gets blames for something I always suggest asking yourself if it's likely he'd actually coach that way?
Can we think of any reason why Sutter would say "don't do any across the slot passes this year! None!" when his team scored a lot of goals doing exactly that the season before?
I can't see it.
Just like I couldn't see Bill Peters telling his team to back in on his goaltenders against the Avalanche in the playoffs.
Why?
I think to some degree the team doesn't have the mix that creates the chances that result in cross slot passing.
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It doesn't have to be that explicit. I agree that Sutter is probably not saying "no cross-ice passes". What he is probably doing is berating guys who turn the puck over trying to make creative plays. And maybe not even every time, but over time you coach that creativity right out of your players. Why take the risk of a low-percentage play if the coach might ream you out, or reduce your ice time or especially reduce your PP time?
Make the safe play. Toe the line. It's no secret Sutter is hard on players that don't play the game the "right way".
I thought Huberdeau's game last night was interesting. I saw more creativity from him last night than I've seen in a while. It seemed like he said "damn the torpedoes, I'm gonna play the way I want to play" because it was a must-win game, and who cares if Darryl doesn't like it.
Last season was a total aberration for Sutter teams. He coaches every team he's on as if it is the 03-04 Flames, has very limited offensive talent and has to increase shot volume to generate chances because it can't make high-danger plays. That could take many forms, and being 32nd in the league in cross-ice passes is in my view a prime *symptom* of what he is coaching this team to do (or, not do, to be more specific).