notDatsyuk
Registered User
- Jul 20, 2018
- 11,546
- 9,576
Yes - quite noticeable that he is paying more attention to his defensive game, closer to the way a centre plays.He wasn't pushing it. He didn't play terrible or even bad but he certainly played a very conservative game. Look, Nylander is at a new level now, he legitimately upped a tier. Things have been coming easy to him and he needs to go hungry again, a little more speed or zip is the difference in catching a player or tender off guard.
Maybe he was just having an off night but it showed even if compared to most players he still looks great. I don't think I saw him accelerate or even hit top speed the way we know he can last night.
I liked how he played the two-on-one - keeping in the passing lane and leaving the shooter to Stolarz.
The good thing is that even while playing a more conservative defensive game he was still getting and setting up lots of chances.