As we approach the midway point of the 2015 NLL season the Edmonton Rush are 4-4. Certainly a far cry from their 8-0 record they had at the same point in the 2014 season.
After starting with a 0-2 record many questions were being asked of the team. What wrong with the Rush defence? Why isn’t the offence firing on all cylinders? Have they lost their edge over the rest of the NLL teams? Or is this just a small setback that they will eventually overcome and once again regain top spot?
Well six games later, the same questions can be asked again. Although the Rush have improved their play from the start of the season, they have become a team that has yet to reach its potential on a consistent basis.
It seems that within a game the Rush play in streaks. They score in bunches and allow goals in the same way. A classic example is their game against the Toronto Rock. Edmonton opened the scoring with two quick goals and allowed Toronto four consecutive of their own. This pattern continued right to the end of the game when the Rush were forced to score four goals, three of which occurred within a one minute span, to tie the game and send it into overtime where the Rush would eventually lose.
Of course losing to this year’s league leader in overtime is not the end of the world, but when you have a team as talented and well coached as Edmonton, expectations are very high. These expectations come not only from the fans, but those within the organization, including the players themselves.
Captain Chris Corbeil stressed that the Rush defence, although playing much better, needs to go back to doing the things that made them successful in the past. They need “to put more ball pressure and not allow the opposition to shop around for the opportunities to find the open man” The also need to shut down the lanes more effectively to allow Aaron Bold to make easier saves.
While there may be some concern within the dressing room over this season record, we should not mistake concern for panic. This Rush team remains a very confident group and still believes that they have what it takes to bring Edmonton their first NLL championship in franchise history.
