The Montreal Canadiens defencemen have a tendency to leave players alone at the side of the net while defending higher up in the zone to prevent point shots. This tactic has been pointed out as one used by Karl Alzner this season, with many of the goals surrendered while he’s on the ice the direct result of the puck making it to that unmarked player.
Last night, David Schlemko was doing the same thing, while checking over his shoulder to keep track of where that open player was.
With the defencemen aware that there’s no one between one of the opponents and their goaltender, it’s clearly part of the game plan to more aggressively defend shots from the blue line than to box out players in front of the crease.