Poking Holes through Cherry’s Criticism

Throughout the playoffs, Don Cherry, from the CBC’s Coach’s Corner, has been harping on various teams to shut down the point shots from the opposition. We’ve seen clip after clip of teams that collapse towards their own net in defensive formation, leaving the opposing point men wide open to take shots.

During one segment a few weeks ago, the show’s host, Ron MacLean challenged Cherry, asking, “So you’d like to see them send 2 men out to the points?”

To which Cherry replied, “I’m not telling them what to do, I’m just showing you the problem.”

So what should the coaches do to fix this? The problem is that most of the shots Cherry has shown to illustrate his point have been during powerplays. When playing down one man, someone is always going to be open. Different teams have varying philosophies and formations on the penalty kill, but none can cover the points man-to-man. If they did, it would leave two defensemen to cover three forwards, all of whom are closer to the net and more dangerous based on this proximity.

So what does a special teams coach do when given four players to cover the opposition’s five? It doesn’t even take a hockey mind to realize that they need to be tighter on the players closer to the net, while giving a little more room to the two men furthest away. Hence, the points are open! It’s very nice of Cherry to point out this deficiency, but unless he can produce an extra man out of thin air, the problem cannot be solved by his constant yelling of, “Cover the points!”