How many SHG do we have this year?
I was at the game last night and noticed that our D-men back in too far when the opponent is on the rush. They need to stand them up/initiate contact near the blue line more. Too many dangerous opponent shots from the circles in on the rush.
Another thing I notice (not last night though) is that when an opposing forward takes it to the outside, our D-men frequently make the pivot too late and get beaten wide.
Funny you say that, because Ray Ferraro was in between the benches last night and he said on TSN radio today that all he heard during the game was the coaching staff yelling at the defense to put pressure on the Kings forwards in the neutral zone, but they just kept backing in like they were scared to get beat.
If the Leafs defense are scared to get beat by the Kings forwards, I'm a bit nervous about what's going through their heads when they play teams like Pittsburgh and Chicago.
Funny you say that, because Ray Ferraro was in between the benches last night and he said on TSN radio today that all he heard during the game was the coaching staff yelling at the defense to put pressure on the Kings forwards in the neutral zone, but they just kept backing in like they were scared to get beat.
If the Leafs defense are scared to get beat by the Kings forwards, I'm a bit nervous about what's going through their heads when they play teams like Pittsburgh and Chicago.
Can we take this as some sort of proof that the Leafs defensive shell antics are NOT a product of the system? It's a product of them not listening. Best defensive teams are usually the ones that are confident and aggressive. Our D is not confident and therefore not aggressive. It never made sense to me why the coaching staff would want the team to collapse, especially since they've often said that that's exactly what they don't want the team to do. Hopefully finding a solid D piece so that every line has a reliable mainstay can provide the overall confidence of the blue line to be more aggressive. Like savaged mention, it would also help if they knew they could rely on their forwards for defensive support.
7 SHG for (ranked 9th overall), 10 SHG against (ranked 29th overall).