I was there. We were the better team for 2/3 of the game, then we stunk the joint out in the 3rd. We had a lot of shots and scoring chances, but didn't capitalize on most of them. Also, we kind of layed back after scoring instead of putting more pressure on them or matching their pressure. I saw quite a few dangles from a couple of guys from our team. Not sure who they were.
Bjugstad looked pretty strong in the 1st half of the game, then seemed like he lost confidence. The rumors about his physical game are true. He probably needs some time to develop in SA. Imo, it's the best option for his game / confidence.
Howden was fast as usual, but not clutch. He had a load of chances and couldn't bury it or shot it high and wide. He looked confident in his abilities.
Shaw was really good in the corners and looked pretty confident as well. He had good instincts and was tough. Stood toe to toe with anyone. He showed me a lot.
Clapperton impressed me as well. Had some nice dangles. He's small, but stays low all the time. He was in the right place at the right time for his tap in goal. Had a nice look to his overall game out there if that makes any sense.
Petrovic looked great. He looked better than Jones out there. I guess he won me over because of his overall game. He has all the tools. He pasted a lot of bodies out there and saved the play a bunch of times. Dude was all over the ice. He rushed it occasionally, but got always got back. Love the snarl in his game.
Player of the game for the Panthers, imo, was McFadden. This guy surprised the crap out me. I saw a lot of Petrovic in him, so a lot of what I wrote about Petro can be said about McFadden.
The knee on knee on Jones was that Heelis guy. Just some guy trying to make a name for himself the wrong way.
Racine is another guy who I loved out there. Nasty as anything. Tough as nails. Sound defensively. Stood up for teammates. I think Delnov or someone was getting shoved around and Racine came over and grabbed the Pred by his jersey and put his face right in the guy's grill. Love this dude.
Delnov scored pretty easily in the shootout. Waited, waited, boom, 5-hole. Trocheck was trying to deke backhand forehand, but didn't need to since the goalie had a gaping 5-hole. He pulled the deke off, but it wasn't necessary. Bjugstad tried a backhand deke in the shootout and was stopped easily. It was impossible to keep track of everyone. Sorry if I missed anyone. Like I said, McFadden was very surprising. Bjugstad needs to show more, he was kind of disappointing. Howden looked pretty good. Petrovic was absolutely great. Racine was solid as heck. Trocheck looked really determined and polished. Delnov was crafty, kind of like Dadonov, but stronger, quicker and faster. Clapperton, Shaw and Beauiliver could surprise a lot of people in the future. Shields was an epic disaster, but to his credit, we coughed it up a few times. The Preds smelled blood and capitalized. The tender who played for us in the first was the best, imo. And McFarland. He looked pretty good. He looked like the most confident guy out there at times. I think he was one of the guys dangling quite a few times. He even split the d once, went in on the goalie, but passed it off to a guy who he thought was there but wasn't. Funny, he tipped in a shot from the point right after and redeemed himself quickly.
Our guys played very physical as well. They lined up Preds who were trying to dangle, but that all went to heck in the third. Preds were doing whatever they wanted to in our zone and Shields couldn't make one save.
Bjugstad looked pretty strong in the 1st half of the game, then seemed like he lost confidence. The rumors about his physical game are true. He probably needs some time to develop in SA. Imo, it's the best option for his game / confidence.
Howden was fast as usual, but not clutch. He had a load of chances and couldn't bury it or shot it high and wide. He looked confident in his abilities.
Shaw was really good in the corners and looked pretty confident as well. He had good instincts and was tough. Stood toe to toe with anyone. He showed me a lot.
Clapperton impressed me as well. Had some nice dangles. He's small, but stays low all the time. He was in the right place at the right time for his tap in goal. Had a nice look to his overall game out there if that makes any sense.
Petrovic looked great. He looked better than Jones out there. I guess he won me over because of his overall game. He has all the tools. He pasted a lot of bodies out there and saved the play a bunch of times. Dude was all over the ice. He rushed it occasionally, but got always got back. Love the snarl in his game.
Player of the game for the Panthers, imo, was McFadden. This guy surprised the crap out me. I saw a lot of Petrovic in him, so a lot of what I wrote about Petro can be said about McFadden.
The knee on knee on Jones was that Heelis guy. Just some guy trying to make a name for himself the wrong way.
Racine is another guy who I loved out there. Nasty as anything. Tough as nails. Sound defensively. Stood up for teammates. I think Delnov or someone was getting shoved around and Racine came over and grabbed the Pred by his jersey and put his face right in the guy's grill. Love this dude.
Delnov scored pretty easily in the shootout. Waited, waited, boom, 5-hole. Trocheck was trying to deke backhand forehand, but didn't need to since the goalie had a gaping 5-hole. He pulled the deke off, but it wasn't necessary. Bjugstad tried a backhand deke in the shootout and was stopped easily. It was impossible to keep track of everyone. Sorry if I missed anyone. Like I said, McFadden was very surprising. Bjugstad needs to show more, he was kind of disappointing. Howden looked pretty good. Petrovic was absolutely great. Racine was solid as heck. Trocheck looked really determined and polished. Delnov was crafty, kind of like Dadonov, but stronger, quicker and faster. Clapperton, Shaw and Beauiliver could surprise a lot of people in the future. Shields was an epic disaster, but to his credit, we coughed it up a few times. The Preds smelled blood and capitalized. The tender who played for us in the first was the best, imo. And McFarland. He looked pretty good. He looked like the most confident guy out there at times. I think he was one of the guys dangling quite a few times. He even split the d once, went in on the goalie, but passed it off to a guy who he thought was there but wasn't. Funny, he tipped in a shot from the point right after and redeemed himself quickly.
Our guys played very physical as well. They lined up Preds who were trying to dangle, but that all went to heck in the third. Preds were doing whatever they wanted to in our zone and Shields couldn't make one save.
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