I don't put too much stock into +/-, but Del Zotto's is no coincidence. He has been very good out there. It's impressive how far he has come defensively in such a short period of time. If the guy keeps working, he's going to be an excellent defenseman for the team for a long, long time.
He's been much better with his passing as well. He no longer attempts long, ice-length passes from his own end every shift. He still makes them, but he's doing a much better job choosing his spots. Still needs to work on hitting the net more frequently. Nothing more frustrating than when he's at the left point and fires a slapper high and wide on the glove side and the pucks wraps around the boards and back out of the zone.
I don't put too much stock into +/-, but Del Zotto's is no coincidence. He has been very good out there. It's impressive how far he has come defensively in such a short period of time. If the guy keeps working, he's going to be an excellent defenseman for the team for a long, long time.
He's been much better with his passing as well. He no longer attempts long, ice-length passes from his own end every shift. He still makes them, but he's doing a much better job choosing his spots. Still needs to work on hitting the net more frequently. Nothing more frustrating than when he's at the left point and fires a slapper high and wide on the glove side and the pucks wraps around the boards and back out of the zone.
Pretty much the only major negative you can point to in his game right now.
Still has stuff he could work on to be sure (his pivoting and keeping guys to the outside when they go wide with speed is kind of weak) but he's been good. On pace for a career total in points, doing well on the +/- and overall defensive side of things, it's really huge that he stepped up this season
Seriously. People wanted to write him off last year after having the sophomore slump. The kid is... well a kid, he is young and still learning. The tools are there, just have to learn how to organize them and place them properly in the toolbox.
it's funny cause defense has been his strong point this season. his weakness so far has been at the point on the pp, not just his wide shots that end up coming out the zone, but actually creating something from the point. he telegraphs his passes, is too predictable, is too hesitant to shoot when shooting is the right option. he needs to have more confidence in his shot, be more decisive in creating from the point.
Our team is functioning as a 5 man unit all the time. Forwards are contributing to the defensive effort big time, which is one of the reasons why our GAA is so low despite missing Staal and Sauer for many games.
Our Dmen are contributing to the offense the most they have since I can remember. Right now we're looking at 3 dmen with 35-45 points.
I remember him distinctly hitting the net twice yesterday, and everyone went crazy
And to be fair, there was one time on the powerplay last night where there was a forward directly in front of the crease and IMO he was trying to hit his stick for a tap-in.
But, yes, when he's actually shooting on net, he needs to actually hit the net.
He's reincorporating those gorgeous stretch passes into his game that we saw his rookie season, and it's working right now. What's important, though, is that he doesn't try to overdo it like he did last season.
I don't put too much stock into +/-, but Del Zotto's is no coincidence. He has been very good out there. It's impressive how far he has come defensively in such a short period of time. If the guy keeps working, he's going to be an excellent defenseman for the team for a long, long time.
Even more impressive about his +16 is that 8 or 9 of his games he played alongside Tim Erixon and he's also played a handful of games with Eminger....
He's reincorporating those gorgeous stretch passes into his game that we saw his rookie season, and it's working right now. What's important, though, is that he doesn't try to overdo it like he did last season.
Thats a good observation, and I think its a prime example of why he is getting better. When Del Zotto bursted onto the scene, he mezmorized everybody with his flashy offensive upside. It masked the fact that he was a disaster in his own zone for his first 40 games or so. In my opinion, thats not the proper way an offensive defenseman needs to develop.
They need to learn how to take care of business in their own end at the NHL level first and foremost - then the inherant offensive skill will come. I think thats what we're seeing now with MDZ. Once he lost confidence in his ability to get it done defensively in the NHL, the rest of his game took a nosedive too.
He's had an interesting career path so far, and far too many people seem to forget how young he still is because hes been around for a while
Its kind of hard to hit the net from the blueline when the opposing players have their sticks in the shooting lanes and nearly every shot is blocked or deflected into the net. The puck rarely gets to the net for defection or a rebound opportunity for a Ranger player. I have a Ranger calendar on my wall. MDZ is the player for December. He was born 6/24/90. Still just 21 years old.
In MDZ's defense, his 17 missed shots are not even in the top 50 amongst league dmen. Byfuglien, Yandle, Bogosian, and Karlsson each have more than twice as many.
The Rangers are rather good at not missing points shots.
Its kind of hard to hit the net from the blueline when the opposing players have their sticks in the shooting lanes and nearly every shot is blocked or deflected into the net. The puck rarely gets to the net for defection or a rebound opportunity for a Ranger player. I have a Ranger calendar on my wall. MDZ is the player for December. He was born 6/24/90. Still just 21 years old.
That's fine though, let the shot get blocked or deflected. When he rips those shots wide from the point, it's an automatic clear each time. And it's not even exclusive to when there's traffic in front of the net--even when he has a lane he frequently misses. IMO, he's just trying to be too fine with his shots. He's aiming rather than just shooting. He has good velocity on his slappers, he just needs to get them on the cage. Hell, try to hit the goalie in the chest even.
