For Pickering, it’s not necessarily a game predicated on offense from the blue line, but one that kills plays in the defensive zone and transitions the puck up ice in a hurry — also allowing the defenders to join the rush.
“It’s continuing to defend really well, being a guy that we can put out in different situations — kill penalties, kill the rush, move pucks north quickly, making a really good first pass,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk MacDonald quickly listed, referring to the finer points of Pickering’s game. “The way we want to play, I think offense is going to come from our(defensemen) just because we want them active in everything that they do.”
That sentiment was evidenced on the Penguins’ game-winning goal last Saturday, with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton shutting things down defensively in the third period and a defenseman, Pickering, ending up the beneficiary of sustained offensive zone pressure and puck possession after forward Raivis Ansons won a puck battle and got the puck up to Pickering at the blue line.
Pickering’s opening-night goal came after beginning last season without goals in his first 11 games.
“Yeah, I mean, it was nice. Obviously fun to score and to get a big one like that and have it hold up as a game-winner,” Pickering said. “It’s fun. I mean, Raivis (Ansons) makes an unbelievable play to win that battle, and then boys get to the net front and it was kind of a seeing-eye shot. So it wasn’t just me, but it’s nice to put one in.”
As MacDonald puts it, playing defense well allows for more opportunities in the offensive end of the rink.
“That’s the thing. People are like, well, it’s a good defensive team. In my opinion, if you are good defensively, you end up with puck more,” MacDonald said. “So, I think the better (Pickering) defends, the more offensive chances he’s going to get.”