Just catching up on this playing style/systems thread and I just want to thank
@Machinehead,
@CLW,
@Crease for making strong, salient points. This is the conversation I've been wanting to have for weeks and I'm excited to see you guys having it. It's clear to me, the main issues are the system/playing style in combo with a lack of commitment from the team.
I just wanted to add that in the Ducks game I attended, the Rangers were very effective at dumping, chasing recovering. Like, elite good. It worked almost every time. And then... they just stopped doing it. The Ducks didn't force them to start dipsy-dooing. They didn't force them in any way from not dumping. They scored a cheap goal or two that shouldn't have happened and we lost our game.
I would say, since the forwards got healthy, the bottom 6 have been above average at dumping and chasing and recovering. That style has been far more effective than trying to carry the puck over the blue line. This style also allows forwards to stay on the right side of the puck more often than not. It's also allowed guys like Kakko, Laffy, Blais, Gaut and Carpenter to play faster. When we manage the puck and focus on just getting it deep, we're not a slow team at all. We're slow when we play disjointed and not commiting to a style. I think our PP, on the other hand, has been atrocious at zone entry and poor at recovery. And yes, once we set up, we get too stagnant but we're having more issues with just zone entry right now.
That said, when we lack structure and puck support, we start failing all over the ice. The middle of the ice opens up for the other team and then we expect Shesty to save us. On top of that, our D Corps in general has looked very subpar this year and I don't think it's about talent and skill. It's a bit about injuries. But in general, they're being asked to do too much because the forwards are not playing a committed brand of hockey.
While I don't love Panarin playing with Zib, Kreider because, frankly, I don't trust that unit 5v5 to play a complete game, and I also don't love "rewarding" Panarin's careless play, I think putting them together allows for 3 other lines that actually all play the same way. A bit more "north south." A bit more grind it out in the offensive zone. Having 3 lines (ideally 4!) that consistently do that becomes highly effective, esp come playoffs.
While I totally agree that the cycling in the offensive zone hasn't led to enough scoring and that our play away from the puck in the offensive zone is super stagnant and predictable, I think we have even bigger issues in our own zone. If we did a better job blocking shots at the point, clearing net front and limiting second chances, we could be limiting opponents to fewer goals. We would then have confidence and a base from which to build out our game. LIke, if you know you can shut down opponents, then the pressure to score goes down and players stop holding the sticks so tightly.
But we've been particularly poor in our own zone. Inconsistent at best. And it's really felt like a team-wide issue. To me, that's mostly effort. We don't need to be the Torts Rangers but can we actually try to block some shots?
As for the predictability of offense. I do think the Rangers need to be far better at supporting the puck and moving without it. Both at ES and on the PP.
But we need to prioritize one style just so linemates will have a sense of where each other are. For instance, we are not great at setting up screen shots. We do well to cycle and get the puck back to the point, but we do nothing to create havoc in front. Few screens, tips, deflections and rebounds. Few battles won in front. Not a lot of second chances on jam plays. We get within 5 feet of the net and we're busy looking to force a pass and make a low percentage deke. If your linemates know when you're 5ft away from the net, you're going to jam it, then he can drive to the net for a rebound. And if the guy with the puck knows you're driving to the net looking for that rebound then he can pass it off the goalies pads. But none of this is happening. I would argue that the team is not only stagnant w/o the puck but also somehow the puck carrier is often not predictable enough for their linemates either. We are neither the AV Rangers nor the Torts Rangers. And that's asking a lot of your team to sort out when trying to score. And it's also not the best way to develop young forwards.
At this point, i believe the team needs to commit to playing a certain way as an entire team -- so they can rebuild their game from the ground up. Or we need a new coach who will lay down the law. The problem is -- given the salary cap issues the team is facing, most new coaches may be just as neutered as Gallant. But I would argue that there's not a strong enough system, style of play in place and it's leading to dysfunction all over the ice. The NHL game is too fast, you have to find ways to "slow it down" mentally.
Seriously, why would anyone care about that. The level of self importance that projects is astounding, who cares.
