https://theathletic.com/4980491/2023...-man-coverage/
There's an Athletic article today regarding teams switching to zone defense. The Flames, Oilers and a few other teams have switched over and as you can see by the Flames and Oilers results, there's some growing pains. It's a good article though because players seem to like it better and once the Flames get fully acclimated, their play should improve. It's not a cure for the poor shooting percentage, lack of finish, or poor goaltending, but it's a start towards better team hockey.
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“Man-on-man, you’re (trying to) go attack and try to kill a play right away,” said Calgary’s Mikael Backlund. “This system (zone), you need to pick your spots. And when pucks are bobbled or pucks are on the wall, that’s when you can be more aggressive and kill plays.”
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“For us, we’ve got to be everywhere — the spider in the web,” said Backlund of his position, center. “Support every situation and be ready to kill the play when it’s the right time and be ready to transition out of the zone. We have a big role where we have to support everyone.”
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“It was a little bit of an adjustment,” Backlund said. “Felt pretty good in games, though. It’s going to become better and better as the season moves along here.”
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