The reason the Rangers struggle to score on offense is because their defense has struggled to clear the puck out of the zone and make good break-out passes. Our "dump and chase" doesnt work, because we dont even chase half the time. Most of the offensive lines shift is spent in our own zone, chipping the puck around trying to clear it. Once they finally manage to get it out of the zone, they are dead tired and dump it deep and go for a change. That is why our offense struggles. On nights when they other team lacks a solid forecheck, or we move the puck quickly and decisively, we win games. I have full confidence this team will bounce back. We win this game without that PP goal. Washington wont beat us many games 5 on 5, but give me them 5-6 chances on the PP and we'll be chasing.
Definitely. Amen.
And -- once in the attacking zone -- we don't end up in the corners because we can't do better. It.Is.Our.Gameplan.
Get the puck below the hashmarks. Slow the other team down (if you keep the puck in the corners and along the boards in the attacking zone, the defending team picks up their players, and aren't set to counter attack). And take it from there. Its outspokenly our strategy.
We open up our D's alot, but they gives us very little offensive punch. I've watched alot of the Sedins in Vancouver over the years, they get a ton of attention down low, but it open up their D's and -- IMHO -- half avg offensive D's can put up decent offensive numbers for them because they get so much space. Our D's are a step behind the Edlers of the league offensively.
The thinking is also more or less flawed, because while we do not make many big blunders al la Marek Malik (because we never pass the puck), we loose a ton of pucks around the offensive blueline that we have just shipped out of our end, and when we give teams chancea after chance after chance to counter attack on us from that postion, our D's are exposed sooner or later and we give up a ton of breakaways etc. You can watch 3-4 PO's games without seing one breakaway, then we play and we give up 2-3 on a nightly basis.
We also have no passing game, so when we go on the PP we have to adopt tremendously and play a completely diffrent game than we do 5 on 5. Its tough when your special teams not only never gets you on the board, but so often sucks a ton of energy out of the team instead.
Also, of the forwards not having played OT hockey yet, our forward are 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the entire PO's in ice time. When our game is -- soley -- based on hard work and forcing the other team to make misstakes, why do we play our top 6 forwards the most of all teams? They are tired on the ice late in games! When we get behind, Torts keeps sending the same players out shift after shift, and they never have anything left. You cannot play hockey 2013 with gassed players on the ice. Why does we not learn this?
Poorly coached team.
