What is the Flyers Defensive Philosophy?
Looking at thepast several games and the disappointing results, I have asked what is the source of these problems. I believe the source is the lack of defensive philosophy. When the Flyers are in either the offensive zone for an extended period of time, they seem lost and disorganized. In most games I have seen the Flyers have a bad habit of getting into track meets even when they are leading by several goals. I do not have any insights on how to improve the Flyers forecheck, shot selection or use of set plays but I do believe I have some ideas on what the Flyers should do to improve their defensive coverage. As Frederick the Great once said to defend everything is to defend nothing. In hockey this means making priorities on how to position players defensively. For instance, if a goaltender plays percentage shots or incredibly good at protecting the flower half of the net, you want to force opponents to duke it out in the slot and force them to bad shots. On the other hand if the goaltender has good hand eye coordination , you want to keep shooters to the outside and try to keep shooting lanes clear. Some goaltenders are incredibly gifted and can play with any sort of defense, others are not so fortunate. I think both Bob and Bryz fall in the latter category; this does not mean they are no good, but that their game fits better with one defensive philosophy any other. Looking at Bob and Bryz play, I see their best saves on shots to which they are squared and there is some distance between the shooter and themselves. On the other hand I see both goalies giving rather soft goals up close. This leads me to believe the Flyers should focus on forcing shots from the outside , keeping lanes clear, making the goalies freeze the puck and winning faceoffs. At this moment, I think with Bryz the Flyers can accomplish 3/4 of these tasks, the 4th one (winning faceoffs) is more of a problem, but even at 48%, I like the odds of just freezing the puck, trying to win faceoffs and then breaking out. On the other hand, I think Bob needs some more seasoning, I think he sometimes overplays the shot and something that needs coaching. Nevertheless, I think transitioning to such a defensive philosophy would give the Flyers more control in their games and force opponents to take more drastic risks and lead to more turnovers.
Thoughts?
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