On a side note: can we talk about Mukh's play for a minute?
Smith, Celly, Eklund, all have been playing great. theres lots of talk about Ferraro's improvement raising his trade value. Lots of chatter about alot of guys, but the most exciting thing to me has been Mukh's emergence.
Our D has been the obvious problem for years. When mukh came up initially, he was shaky. His decision making was so so, his physicality was lacking, and he didnt look all that ready, kinda like Smith in the first half. However, much like Smith, Mukh seems to have found his game. He's made a ton is small, subtle, smart plays in his own zone moving plays up the wall, getting good body positions, using his length, and also helping out in the O zone too. The last four games, hes averaging over 20 mins/gm, and has 4 pts, and +4 against quality teams on the road. In fact, since the 4 nations, he hasnt had a minus game yet (5 pts, and +5 in those 6 games all at Even strength)
He is emerging as a real top 4 Dman! I wonder if we might be able to pencil him in, going forward, among the top 4 with much great confidence? If so, that's a huge evolution. I think we really ought to be talking about his emergence as much as Smith or others. He's revolutionizing the roster in real time...
