1/. A team stacked to the gills with speed - it’s what scares the living daylights out of opposition defences.
2/. A team capable of knowing when Plan A isn’t working and to have a plan B or Plan C to switch to - Zero evidence of that last season.
3/. A team that steps up for team mates when cheap liberties are taken by opponents - we had virtually none of that last season.
4/. A team that Attacks as Five and Defends as Five - Too many highly paid players were ok going forwards, but when the puck was heading to our defensive end, they were happy to glide to the bench for a change which often meant the oncoming player was well behind the play
5/. A team that plays 4 lines. If you dress four lines, you play four lines. Last season the bench was shortened way too frequently and hence when we had a Powerplay opportunity and looked to our top lines, they were completely knackered. The last Championship side played four lines regularly and lo and behold the tactic paid dividends. We’ve not done that for the past couple of seasons and it shows.
6/. please please pretty please can we also ensure that we don’t skate to the red line and dump the puck into the opposition zone for a change. If you don’t have possession, you can’t score, if you voluntarily give up the puck you are giving your opponents the chance to score. Dumping and relinquishing possession is as sensible as tying your skates on backwards. Keep possession, change four with the puck carrier behind our net if needs be and when the four new guys take control change the fifth player. It really isn’t rocket science. It’s always easier and significantly less tiring to play with the puck than it is without the puck.