The St. Louis Blues have been terrible on defense to start the 2018-19 season, allowing 20 goals in their first five games. The goaltending has been widely criticized, but the true issue may sit with the team’s overall defensive approach.
At least, that’s what one former NHL defenseman believes.
In a great article on The Athletic (requires a subscription), an anonymous defenseman broke down what they believe is the real issue behind the team’s struggles. Specifically, they think the team’s man-to-man approach is an extinct tactic.
Below may be the most insightful takeaway:
“What’s obvious to me now is that the Blues have gone back to a man-on-man, defensive-zone coverage, and that’s extinct. When the rules changed in 2004-05, nobody went back to man on man because you couldn’t hook and hold your guy anymore. So everything turned into what I call a ‘bump and run,’ where you can make contact, but you’ve got to stay within your zone. The Blues have defensemen now that are chasing players up to the blueline and centerman and wingers that are chasing their players back down below the goal line. This version that they’re playing right now is almost like ‘attack at all costs.’”
That’s some fascinating analysis. In the Blues’ switch to man-to-man coverage, players aren’t able to clog the shooting lanes and close down the middle of the ice. They’re scrambling, desperately trying to keep up with their marks. That’s leaving openings and high-quality scoring chances. It’s also leading to very few blocked shots through the first five games (67 blocks – 25th in the NHL).
That analysis would also suggest the Blues may run into fatigue problems as they chase players around the ice. Forwards constantly chasing below their own red line won’t leave much to carry the puck the other way.
The defenseman notes that when Mike Yeo came to St. Louis, he switched the Blues to a defensive approach focused on closing down the middle of the ice. That strategy appeared to be working. Now, it appears the Blues have switched back to an outdated strategy.
Why?
That might be the best question that no one currently has an answer for outside of Yeo. What everyone does know is that whatever the Blues are doing isn’t working.
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