Malkamaniac wrote:This is why I feel it's a coaches thing ultimately as well. Bylsma's next option for line swapping appears to always be either grasping at straws, or putting Malkin/Crosby together. The fact that Iginla isn't even used correctly bothers me. It's playoff hockey time, if you're not using all the weapons you have in the right instance, you're doing it wrong.
Here's what happens:
1) The Penguins are on a rush, get a shot, the Islanders get the rebound and are in the Penguins zone faster than the Penguins get there.
2) Now the Penguins are playing catch up, scramble and are just all over the place allowing the Islanders to cycle. Once they get back into their own zone, they're so jumbled it's difficult to settle down and play solid positional defense.
Rinse. Repeat.
What needs to happen:
1) The Penguins don't rush off the transition. They clog up the ice( I guess a trap of sorts), chip their way into the Islanders zone, cycle and shoot.
2) Play safe. These errand passes by Sid, Malkin and Letang can't be attempted when you're playing a team that can grab a turnover and transition faster than you can.
3) Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Leave players near the blue line. Sometimes it's good to activate your D and sometimes it's not. Right now, it's not.
A big flaw for the Islanders is combatting the cycle. The Penguins are too skilled for them in a solid cycle and they take penalties. The Penguins need to play more on the perimeter rather than everyone surrounding the net. Those rebounds are not working out in the Penguins favor because everyone is in too deep.