Quote:
Originally Posted by belsarius
I honestly thought they were doing a good job of pressure in November and the goals-for were an indication of that. The turn around in my eyes is that since the Edmonton game the defense has gotten gun-shy. There were a lot of bad turnovers at the offensive blueline that led to breakaways in both the Edmonton and Toronto games, Brodie's major gaffe sticks out in my mind.
It was a bad call at the time but instead of learning from it and adjusting slightly, they have gone fully the other way and no longer pressure but back-off immediately. I don't know if that's a coaching decision or if the players are now afraid to pressure. Either way it has led to a lack of offensive zone pressure time and easy giving up the defensive zone.
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You may be right, but I have been frustrated with the way they back up too easily since last year.
When Gulutzan was hired, a video of his coaching philosophy was floating around. I remember watching it and being so excited about how he talked about owning both bluelines. And I remembered how aggressively the Canucks defensemen pinched a few years ago. I was so encouraged, and couldn't wait to finally have a team that was going to play high pressure defense.
But watching this team from day 1 under Gulutzan and they NEVER play high pressure defense. They give up both bluelines without so much as a whimper.
Last year, I figured the team was still adjusting and still learning. And I assumed that, as confidence grew, they would start to play more aggressively. But more than 100 games later, it has never happened.
When I watch them play, I see a team that has been coached to play 50/50 hockey. A team that is trying not to lose.
