JackofDiamonds wrote:Oshie can't be healthy, the entire first line is anemic right now.
That being said, thought it was a pretty even game, Chicago had the best of it in OT. Toews, Hossa, and Kane were possession monsters. Extended time in the zone, strong moves to the middle of the ice, they were phenomenal.
It's easy to be a possession monster when no one is challenging them when they have the puck.
That's B.S. The Blues defensive system swarms the puck carrier, and every time those three were in the zone, they beat 2+ defenders with individual moves along the boards and in the corner while the play developed.
So you're comfortable in saying on the OT goal they challenged Kane when he skated in w/ the puck?
Edit: there was at least a half dozen times I saw them basically skate backwards away from the puck carrier giving them room to do whatever they wanted w/ the puck. The way the OT goal was scored was inexcusable IMO. Did you see Shatty's reaction after the goal was scored? He looked deflated, he knew he [expletive] that play up royally.
cardinalkarp wrote:
So you're comfortable in saying on the OT goal they challenged Kane when he skated in w/ the puck?
There was a body on him. At some point you should acknowledge that it's Patrick Kane and Patrick Kane is one of the best in the world at trailing plays, making windows of space and firing off a wrist shot. Especially in 4 on 4. When you play the Blackhawks, that's just going to happen sometimes. Great players make great plays.
What's a defender supposed to do there? In soccer, I've always played it such that the defender takes away the pass to the middle and doesn't let the guy with the puck/ball behind him. The goalie then just has to worry about the shooter beating him to the inside post. The middle/center is taken care of by the defenders. It looked like Miller was cheating middle as was Shattenkirk....
No way. Shattenkirk skated backwards away from Kane as he came in w/ the puck.
Shattenkirk has to respect three different types of play there because he's the lone man back in a 3-1 rush with two blues giving backside pressure. You want him to step up and do what exactly against possibly the greatest puck handler in the NHL at top speed, with two different passing options. Shattenkirk did exactly what he should have on that play, considering Jacknam pinched and was caught. That was not a broken play, that was Patrick Kane.
AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:What's a defender supposed to do there? In soccer, I've always played it such that the defender takes away the pass to the middle and doesn't let the guy with the puck/ball behind him. The goalie then just has to worry about the shooter beating him to the inside post. The middle/center is taken care of by the defenders. It looked like Miller was cheating middle as was Shattenkirk....
/I know nothing of hockey strategy/tactics.
It all starts with who has the puck. If the guy has a shot, you don't want to give him too much space because he'll just snipe it. If the guy is a playmaker, you don't want to give up the passing lane and overcommit to blocking the shot. Ideally, you can do both by staying in the guys hands and forcing either the shot or pass as early as possible. The problem with Patrick Kane is that if you step up early, he's also capable of just dangling through you and having a clear path to the net. Shattenkirk had to respect all three options there without help, try to force Kane to the outside, and hope Miller makes the save on whatever the outcome ends up being.
JackofDiamonds wrote:It all starts with who has the puck. If the guy has a shot, you don't want to give him too much space because he'll just snipe it. If the guy is a playmaker, you don't want to give up the passing lane and overcommit to blocking the shot.
cardinalkarp wrote:
So you're comfortable in saying on the OT goal they challenged Kane when he skated in w/ the puck?
There was a body on him. At some point you should acknowledge that it's Patrick Kane and Patrick Kane is one of the best in the world at trailing plays, making windows of space and firing off a wrist shot. Especially in 4 on 4. When you play the Blackhawks, that's just going to happen sometimes. Great players make great plays.
This is the exact thing I was talking about over in the rants & raves thread on minor league hockey. People always think someone failed to get a body on someone or whatever. Sometimes you just get beat. Sometimes you outplay another team but hit the post 4 times and still lose. Hockey has a randomness factor to it that I don't think people appreciate. In hockey more than any other sport people seem to think their team lost because they didn't buckle down and play hard enough. Do I believe players can be out of position? Absolutely. Do I believe players just decided to take it easy and lay back on a critical play? Hardly ever.
