Bylsma's coaching has taken some heat in the game day thread, and while I'm not as hard on him as some, there is one thing that drives me insane. Rob Ray said at the start of the game that the Sabres are at their best when they control their entry at the blue line rather than trying to play the dump and chase game.
Well, the main reason why they can't control their entry into the blue line is a lack of speed caused by passes to guys who aren't moving. At the NHL level, it's almost impossible to get around a defender bearing down from a dead stop, but the Sabres get themselves into that situation far too often.
When a defenseman goes behind the net to wait out a line change, the other defenseman stands still where the goal line hits the boards and takes the pass at a dead stop instead of starting up the wall before the pass gets there.
In the 4-1 beating of the Flyers tonight, I saw this several times. The most noticeable one was at about 5 min left in the 1st. Both teams were changing and Franzen took the puck to the right point. Bogosian retreated to the left point. The Flyers were faster on the change so Franzen flipped it across to Bogo, but he was standing still and had to retreat again.
The other one was on the PP at the end of the first. Someone- Kane I think- was trying to bring the puck up but got stuck in a 1-3 trap. He ditched it to Eichel but Eichel was standing still at the red line.
These guys just aren't coached to move their feet and pass to someone in motion.
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Originally Posted by ICRockets
