General notes:
- It was hard not to be excited about the Michkov in the first period. He does some really fun stuff, and am excited to watch him for the next 10+ years.
- They need to take Tippett of the half wall on the PP, and stop using him on as entries, I still think he has a place on that PP, but he can't be responsible for being a primary puck mover. Too many times, the play died on his stick. With that being said, it's the second game in a row where he's shown some of his impressive skating. That's a good sign!
- The infusion of Michkov helps the PP, no doubt, but so does the new rotation scheme they're currently using. They are moving all over the place, and that's the key to a good PP. Both PPs look pretty darned good with puck movement....But they still used that absolutely stupid box setup on the 5v3.
- Luchanko -- It's pretty clear, at least right now, he can play in the NHL and hold his own. He made a few decent passes last night, too, and had a couple chances as well. My worry, as with much of this board, is that he needs to be sent back to work on his puck skills. It's just not a good idea to anticipate that players will develop skills in the NHL that they did not possess in lower levels. That's such a rare thing to happen.
- EJ - just not an NHL defenseman anymore. Seems like an awesome dude, but you can't convince me that Andrae can't provide the same value.
- Looking at TOI, I noticed Foerster played more than any other forward, which I found odd. I didn't notice him specifically last night too much. A few things here and there, but I wouldn't have guessed he had the most TOI.