Pregame Thoughts

Tonight's game against the Sharks is very important for the Knights.  They are fourth on the ladder with two more points than us.  A regular time win could put us into fourth, depending on the result of the Predators v Flyers game (Preds are even with us on points).  A loss would leave the Sharks a game clear of us and give the Pred's some breathing space if they were to win.

Looking at the video from our last clash, several things leap to mind.  It was a rough game, with quite a bit of forward feistiness.  They have a couple of 'excitable' big guys.  They like going up the boards at speed.  Their defence maintains position quite well.  They didn't emphasise mid-ice stick handling as much as the King's centres did last week.  They are quick onto the forecheck.  They often left the point open when in our zone.  We outshot them, their close in opportunist goals were the difference.

My game against the sharks was still dominantly characterised by the state of my knee as it then was, especially after getting knocked down in the first few minutes by a monolithic forward and then again by one of our wingers.  This aside, there were several aspects of play that I can improve on (and, I believe, have done so though we shall see).  These include the way that I made my approach when chasing a loose puck near the boards (several times they brushed through as I vainly poked my stick towards the puck rather than put my body in the way, or got their second and was thus off balance if pinching).  Also, that my defensive positioning was way too deep for much of the game and the gap on their rush was thus way too large.  I failed a couple of times to get possession when pinching forward from the point (allowing them to get behind and break away).  My neutral zone play was characterised by not picking up the puck cleanly when I had the chance, and poor transitions when I did (losing my feet).  Not enough defence of the blue lines.  After successfully checking a rushing forward, I would remove the pressure on them (releasing them to rapidly get into a dangerous position).

It wasn't all bad.  My passing was pretty good, albeit perhaps not careful enough with my selection of breakout pass (often through not taking enough time to look).  Getting the puck into the danger zone led to a goal for us.  I protected our crease pretty well most of the time.

Tonight, let's try and put the following into action:

- Calibrate decisions and moves so that am playing within my physical limits and planning to do so accordingly (rather than constantly fail to meet the too high performance standard required for successful execution of an overly ambitious move).  My knee is much improved but I still don't have the strength and quickness I had leading into the season.
- Only pinch forward when I know I can get possession, or at least contain the puck.

- Play Up!
- Defend the blue lines.
- Don't play too deep.
- Close the gap against their rush.

- Get my body into position and on the boards first, and then keep it there.
- Don't puckwatch, complete the check.
- Keep my feet in the neutral zone.

- Look for the best breakout pass.

Final observation - most of the above are about my play without the puck.  What does this say about the game of hockey, and my game in particular?!