Here’s Robyn Regehr explaining to CBC’s Eliotte Friedman the difference between playing defense for the Flames and the Sabres.
One: “Here, they want the defence to go much further up ice. That doesn’t affect me as much … but I know I’ll have to cover for [partner Tyler Myers].” Two: “[Lindy Ruff] plays some different systems here, including a 1-3-1. I’ve never played that before. In Calgary, we always played a 1-2-2 … As the left defenceman, I’ll be the one [farthest back], but it will still be new for me.” Three: “They play an attacking collapse in the defensive zone … Everywhere I’ve been, there is always supposed to be one defenceman in the front of the net. Here, when the puck goes below the line, both defencemen and a forward pursue, with another forward going to the front.”
Based on what Regehr told Friedman, defensemen on the Flames were instructed to play a safe, traditional, style. » Read the rest of this entry «