If Pierre McGuire used to coach...

[FearTheFlyers]

The how come he can lambaste Malkin of Canada's first goal when instead of pursuing behind the net he rotated in front to pick up the Canadian forward leaving the right defenseman to rotate down to cut Downie off.

Defensively sound play by Malkin, I guess McGuire was just intent on roasting him last night.

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[Jacob]

Key words being "used to."

 

[eaton28]

The how come he can lambaste Malkin of Canada's first goal when instead of pursuing behind the net he rotated in front to pick up the Canadian forward leaving the right defenseman to rotate down to cut Downie off.

Defensively sound play by Malkin, I guess McGuire was just intent on roasting him last night.

and what team did you coach that makes your opinion better then his?

 

[Metallian*]

Key words being "used to."

Same can be said of Bill Watters.


It's funny how when these ex-management types get jobs as broadcasters, we then see why it is they got fired in the first place.

 

[therealdeal]

Except that his pursuit quickly ended and he just gave up in front.

 

[cfrancis]

Problem was there was no pursuit or rotation. Hence leaving Downie alone for the goal.

 

[Artie]

Malkin was man on man at that point and should have continued pursuing Downie. This was not a case of one defenceman rotating off the puck carrier and having his partner pick him up on the other side.

Malkin not only gave up on the coverage but then skated into a crowd in front of the net and basically took himself out of the play.

Maguire's criticisms were harsh only in the sense that he lambasted Malkin for being a prima-donna on the play and saying that Malkin was not going to play defensively. Maguire inferred that Malkin did not take his defensive assignments seriously. It WAS a poor defensive decision by Malkin, but Pierre did seem to embelish with his criticism.

 

[StickShift]

I just watched that play again on TSN, and I really don't know what Malkin was doing. His two defencemen in front of the net were already covering Canadian players and neither looked prepared to abandon their man to rotate with the play. The worst part was that Malkin skated right past the front of the net away from any traffic. He completely took himself out of the defensive play and abandoned his man. There's very little chance that the scoring oppurtunity would've existed had Malkin stuck with Downie.

 

[time]

I just watched that play again on TSN, and I really don't know what Malkin was doing. His two defencemen in front of the net were already covering Canadian players and neither looked prepared to abandon their man to rotate with the play. The worst part was that Malkin skated right past the front of the net away from any traffic. He completely took himself out of the defensive play and abandoned his man. There's very little chance that the scoring oppurtunity would've existed had Malkin stuck with Downie.

Yep, Malkin was out to lunch on the play. He wasn't rotating anywhere; he was gliding towards the slot hoping for an eventual outlet pass.

Some have criticized me for isolating such plays in evaluating a player's performance. But that is when the measure of good player is made.

Running up points against Norway and Latvia means nothing if you don't deliver when everything is on the line. It is why Canada assembles teams for international play, not all-star rosters. It's why Turgeon, Tanguay, Savard and others never get the call from #99 -- they too would probably pull a Malkin in the defensive zone in the gold medal game.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

It was Malkin's man, but it wasn't the only time McGuire exagerated. Just because he made a mistake, doesn't make him a prima dona. I felt McGuire was pretty unfair most of the time when it came to Malkin (If I was a Team Russia fan, it would have driven me nuts). I realize he is a Canadian announcer, but the bias was extremely irritating, even for a Canadian.

In the end, Malkin was the most impressive player I saw in the tourney. Pittsburgh is going to love him.

 

[Chuck28]

I don't know if that would even have been classified a scoring chance if he hadn't scored though. Khudobin was pretty soft on that one.

 

[PecaFan]

I agree, totally undeserved bashing on this one.

Malkin is crusing back by his own net on defense (what? some folks say he never comes back past the blue line), the puck goes behind the net, he makes an attempt to cut it off, it hops over his stick unexpectedly (it hops goes past Downie as well).

Malkin has a choice now. He can pursue behind the net or attempt to go to the front of the net, or check a point man. Downie is already on the far side of the net. He heads to the front of the net, probably from years of coaches yelling "don't chase behind the net".

If Malkin pursues, he's behind the net when the puck goes in. His play is totally unrelated to this goal. If his goalie makes a save, he's in a position to help check, clear a rebound, or cover a point man.

Now, you want the *real* goat on this play? #14 in red. The last one into the frame, the other four Russians are attempting to defend, while he's just lollygagging into the play. Finally, he appears, gliding in the face off circle while Downie is coming out from behind the net, directly at him. #14 slows down, bends over at the waist, and limply waves his stick in Downie's direction. Downie scores.

With a little bit of skating by #14, and a little bit of hitting, Downie never gets that shot off.

 

[time]

This is a silly thread, but c'mon guys, don't you play the game? The defencemen were occupied in front of the net; it's the center's job to back up the D around the net.

 

[Steve466]

I don't know if that would even have been classified a scoring chance if he hadn't scored though. Khudobin was pretty soft on that one.

So it's not just me then. That should have been a routine save for Khudobin, and then nobody would've noticed Malkin on that play.

 

[FearTheFlyers]

This is a silly thread, but c'mon guys, don't you play the game? The defencemen were occupied in front of the net; it's the center's job to back up the D around the net.

Chasing behind your net is always a bad play.

During the first period of game 3 with the Aves in LA the 2 veteran Colorado defensemen Greg De Vries and Adam Foote were playing in their own zone against the Palffy, Deadmarsh and Allison line. Greg De Vries was checking Zigmond Palffy who had the puck deep in Colorado`s zone. Some how Palffy found some space and skated behind the net to get away from De Vries.

Greg Devries tried to catch Palffy before he got around behind the net but Devries was unable to and so he cut back in front of the net. The problem was that Adam Foote was all tied up with Adam Deadmarsh and these 2 players blocked De Vries from reaching Ziggy Palffy in front of the net. Palffy took his time brought the puck out in front of the net and scored on Patrick Roy.

In the defensive zone players need to be ready to make adjustments and they need to communicate. The defensive zone play includes a lot of movement that hockey people call “SWITCHES.†In this particular situation that we described in game 3 Greg De Vries needed to communicate, “switch,†to Adam Foote.

Foote needed to be more mobile and alert to pick up the “switch†to take Palffy and allow De Vries to pick up Adam Deadmarsh in front of the net. In simple terms they “switch†their responsibilities. This type of “switch†also often happens between the defensemen and the centers deep in their defensive zone.

 

[deandebean]

Pierre McGuire was a sorry excuse for a coach.