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Ex-NHL player and GM offer solution to Oilers' struggles
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz - Imagn Images
In a recent article of the Edmonton Journal, ex-NHL'ers spoke about Edmonton's poor defense this season.
Both Matthew Barnaby and Brian Burke let loose on Edmonton after its 8-3 loss to the Stars, with Barnaby going so far as to describe Oilers' defense as being 'absolutely putrid'.
Analyst blames more than just bad goaltending
If we want to know why the Edmonton Oilers stink right now", Matthew Barnaby said, "yeah, goaltending, gotta get a save, but it's much more than that.
This is nothing new, of course, with the team's defensive woes being much publicized. There have been too many instances of turnovers, defensive break-downs, and soft coverage.
During an interview with Jeff Marek on The Sheet podcast, former-GM Brian Burke shared his opinion on the team's struggles:
To me, the mistakes are so badThe breakdowns are so widespread and so sequential. One turnover, then a breakdown, then a bad coverage, and it's in the net...So it starts with a patient commitment to defense that they don't have right now.
Edmonton has the lowest save percentage this year, just .873, just above Vancouver, who are last in the NHL.
When you compare this to Kris Knoblauch's first season, when the Oilers gave up just 11.6 grade-A shots per game, they're now allowing 14.3 per game.
It may not seem like much on the whole, but it points to a lack of commitment in the D-zone.
You stop the bleeding, stop giving up goals. The fact is, if you can't score," Burke continued, "the least you can do is not get scored upon. So, tighten up your back check, get pucks deep, get pucks out, play conservatively, back check, come back deeper in your own zone, cover those loose pucks, make a commitment to defense to the bottom six (forwards).
Of course, it's never as simple as just one thing; but break-downs in one area do impact other areas of the game. Of course, the opposite is also true.
Play good D, and goaltending will likely get better.
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