Quote:
Originally Posted by Boreal
Exactly. Do they have the horses to play the way _____ coach wants to play? Treliving went out to get more foot soldiers like Lewis that Sutter wanted. Even those assets turned into liabilities once the team stopped consistently executing.
Woody navel gazed at Vegas’s Defense structure & tried to delusionally copy it. When they have Alex Pieterangelo on D as a starting point.
They were decent playing man on man D, & Woody should be punted exactly for delusionally changing it. Now his actions have sewered their goaltenders confidence. .
But before any of this can even happen they need buy in to playing the right way, ie. checking. Limiting opposition chances by working harder, stopping on pucks etc.
This means McDavid & DrySaddle play less, but create an identity to follow. They’ve been ridden/enabled with bad habits for too long for this to change overnight.
Additionally Conny & especially Leon’s offensive game (at least 5 on 5) is predicated on high risk/reward actions. When it works & they get the puck, look out on offence. When it doesn’t, look out on defence.
Too often any attention to good defensive habits by either is prematurely celebrated. Draisatl’s Selke votes as a great example.
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The Oilers defensive woes have nothing at all to do with zone or man to man defensive structure. Their GA are almost always missed coverage on a rush against, which is 100% paying attention and back check and effort. The "zone" coverage only matters once possession has been maintained in the defensive zone. If Bouchard or Draisaitl only want to half-ass come back on a two on one or three on two against, it'll cost you