To me, the single most important attribute a DMan needs to have is the ability to quickly and accurately move the puck out to a teammate while under pressure. They can have average skating, they can be not very physical, but at least a modicum of puck-moving ability is a 100% necessity. Having 1 guy who can't in your Top 6 is a serious problem. Having multiple is a disaster. We had multiple. That needs to change or we'll continue to have no shot at winning a Cup.
those kind of guys get exposed when physical games ramp up and usually commit eye popping turnovers or get dominated by a heavy fast forecheck…. If you’re small, and an average skater it’s pretty tough to keep your head above water in heavy 7 game series….
If your a small puck over, that likes to an avoid contact, you better be a really good skater or like Fox ( who is the exception not the rule) be elusive as hell. We saw him look very ordinary playing injured against a team like FLA.
Odds are he would have had a lot of trouble against EDM as well if we got past them.
Fox still had elite puck moving abilities, but just making him a step or 2 slower, and loosing that elusiveness due to freaking Jensen, made him look very ordinary. He also took a pounding from FLA down low.
If a small guy isn’t an above average skater, I see the very same thing happening over and over again. Even if they can move the puck well.
Our fwds also having a problem making and receiving passes and maintaining control. Panarin whole has Elite hands and vision, didn’t want the puck on his stick for more then a second or 2 before attempting a poor shot or passing it away.
Hes a player who avoids contact. He doesn’t like the punishment. A lot of guys small in stature don’t either. They also don’t want to be injured by a larger heavier player and you can see the effect it has on their game.
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