I still say I properly diagnosed the issue while the whole thing was going on... And yes, it was an issue with coaching. Either that, or it was an issue with the players not listening to the coaches, which is a different kind of issue with coaching.
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Originally Posted by Corsihockeyleague
It's not the Avs zone entries that is causing the problem. It's not even their neutral zone play. It's the ease with which they're permitted zone exits.
You leave your end with speed, you get through the neutral zone with speed, and you attack the blue line with speed, and the defenders have to back off and leave a bigger gap. The sense that there has been an unending assault against the Flames zone is the result. The Avs never have the sense that they need to struggle to move the puck out of their end - they have time and they have options.
This all starts with the forecheck. When the Flames are playing two guys up ice, aggressively taking time away from the breakout, the whole game changes for them. This happens almost never. They're using one forechecker and they're keeping him high in the zone with an active stick rather than pressuring the Avs' D. This is a coaching problem and it's not at all clear to me why it has not been addresssed.
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