Babcock Has a Blunt Answer for the Goals Against

The question was simple enough: how much of the goals piling up against his team can be blamed on the defence, and how much falls on the goaltending?

Mike Babcock had a pretty entertaining answer.

“I think it’s coaching,” Babcock said before walking out of the scrum, drawing a chuckle from the media gathered around him.

It was a quick response, but it also said plenty about how Babcock is looking at the situation. Rather than pointing the finger at his defencemen or his goaltenders, the veteran coach put the responsibility squarely on himself and his coaching staff.

The team has given up too many goals early in the season, and figuring out why has quickly become one of the biggest storylines. There have been breakdowns in coverage, missed assignments and saves that the team would obviously like to have back.

But Babcock doesn’t appear interested in making excuses.

If the defensive structure isn’t working, it’s on the coaches to fix it. If the goaltending isn’t getting enough help, that’s also something the coaching staff has to address.

His one-line answer may have been delivered with a bit of humour, but the message was clear: Babcock isn’t looking for someone to blame. He’s looking for a way to stop the goals from going in.