GIVE THE LEAFS FULL CREDIT FOR THEIR G1 VICTORY

You have to give the Maple Leafs full credit for their game 1 victory over the Bruins last night. Five on Five the Leafs played a solid game as a group and worked hard in all three zones supporting the puck offensively and defensively. Impressed by their work rate in all three zones.

Keys to Victory – Defence

1. Leafs took away the Bruins strength which is their down low game in the offensive zone below the hash marks. They didn’t allow the Bruins to run their Give and Go Plays by playing more man coverage and boxing out between the dots protecting middle ice. Collapsed the box down low in the house to defend against attacks on net.
2. Protected middle ice (between the dots) in in the neutral zone with forwards Angling which prevented the Bruins from entering and exiting the neutral zone with speed and puck control. This tactic limited the Attack Rush ability of the Bruins.
3.  Solid Back Pressure Support by the forwards between the dots for three periods allowed the Leaf D pairings to defend entrance into their zone and consistently get five players back into the defensive zone to defend.
4. Leaf forwards didn’t get caught below the puck in the offensive zone which supported the ability to provide quality back pressure support for their D pairings all night.
5. Leaf defenders did a decent job at not allowing the Bruins to get between them and the net in the defensive zone for most of the night.
6. DZ exit play was better with support of the puck in the defensive zone.

Keys to Victory – Offence

1. Stretched the ice on the Bruins and exploited the perimeter with the Bruins protecting middle ice all night.
2. Got the puck to their skilled forwards taking advantage of their speed and skills to score key goals.
3. Turned the puck over in the neutral zone and created attack rush opportunities by defending the zone. A good defensive play is the start of a good offensive play.

Video Link Below of the Highlights that support the keys to Victory mentioned above: