Bieksa and Bissonnette call out Holmberg and Benoit in Leafs' loss
After the Toronto Maple Leafs lost game 1 of the series to the Bruins, there were many critiques of their play, including a call out from media members on Simon Benoit and Pontus Holmberg's play that led to a goal.
Everything is heightened in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and that means that every mistake is analyzed under a microscope. For the Leafs, this happened to be on the penalty kill in the second period, when Pontus Holmberg and Simon Benoit's mistakes compounded and led to a Bruins goal.
For Bissonnette, he called out Holmberg for not forcing the play down low, and for Benoit not taking away the far side of the net. Here is what he had to say.
"Just horrible defending here on the strong side," said Bissonnette of Holmberg. "Holmberg gives him way too much time and space, you're supposed to direct him down low."
"Don't let that shot end up going far side if you're the defender," said Bissonnette of Benoit's mistake on the play. "Block that shot from the far side perspective and give your goalie the strong side of the net. And what happens? A perfect screen by not only Benoit but by Morgan Geekie in front of the net and it's 3-0."
"Don't let that shot end up going far side if you're the defender," said Bissonnette of Benoit's mistake on the play. "Block that shot from the far side perspective and give your goalie the strong side of the net. And what happens? A perfect screen by not only Benoit but by Morgan Geekie in front of the net and it's 3-0."
Funnily enough, Kevin Bieksa shared almost the exact same thoughts on his panel, which is for an entirely different Country. Bieksa echoed Bissonnette's criticisms of both Holmberg and Benoit here, touching on how this is a bad relationship between defenseman and goaltender.
"We don't like this as a defenseman goalie relationship," began Bieksa while acknowledging NHL goalie Jake Allen in studio. "I really think when a guy walks off the half-wall the D's job is to take away the far side of the net and make him shoot short side.
"When DeBrusk lines up here for Benoit, Benoit is playing for a down low pass and there's nobody even there... Geekie is even showing his stick, everybody knows he's shooting there."
"When DeBrusk lines up here for Benoit, Benoit is playing for a down low pass and there's nobody even there... Geekie is even showing his stick, everybody knows he's shooting there."
Clearly, the Leafs will have to work on a bunch of things for game 2, and that includes the Penalty Kill, which has struggled all season. Or, they could also try staying out of the box in the first place.
https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/bieksa-bissonnette-call-out-2-maple-leafs-after-a-brutal-game-1
As seen on Bieksa, Bissonnette call out 2 Maple Leafs after a brutal Game 1.
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