herman
Well-known member
disco said:
I only caught the highlights, but this one obviously stuck out.
Here's the full sequence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbPrm6qprks
I think reports had flagged Marleau here with goat horns for that drop pass with Pastrnak right on top of him.
a) While Marleau telegraphed his pass a bit (and I would've liked to see him tuck it around to more on his right side so he could screen Marner's reception with his body), credit to Pastrnak for making the read and shifting into attack
b) I actually think Marner was more of the culprit on this misplay for that long lazy loop to wind up in support of Marleau moving up the ice. It looks like he was expecting the drop pass to come farther up ice into the NZ where he could take it with more speed.
But kudos to Marner recognizing the error and shifting into the next gear to maintain strong positioning against Pastrnak (who didn't explode onto the puck like he should have) and then taking it hard into traffic deliberately to isolate odd-man options once he realized Pastrnak was out of the play after losing his balance. Great positioning by Gardiner telegraphing shot by gliding into soft ice and allowing Marleau to stealth into even softer ice to redirect the slap pass.
