Haven't had a chance to post after going to the game last night. I didn't stay for the 3rd since I had some work to do, but I'll give some thoughts what I saw close to the ice.
We really didn't generate a ton this game, but I thought Bolduc was engaged and slammed a dude into the boards which surprised me because we don't necessarily think of him as that guy. PO and Suter felt like they played 40 minutes and in general, I thought they played well. Suter seemed to be a bit of a step behind some of the plays, but I didn't necessarily see PO out of position much. Pretty steady game from him which is nice. Didn't see a lot of Broberg last night, but that might be a good thing. I didn't see a glaring mistake per se, but there was a rush chance by Columbus and I can't remember who was back (Buch I think?) but all of the defenseman had pinched and the Jackets had a decent chance from what I remember.
I thought Faulk played a steady game. Thomas looked out of sorts when I saw him, but he had a nice opportunity on a break away and air mailed it. Neighbours looked overall ok, but once he got involved physically, it seemed like he started to play better. Tucker was pretty slow and got tripped up on a play, but he needs to get out of the zone quicker but I doubt he can develop anymore speed at this point. I like him as a 7th guy, but he just can't play the style of game he was playing in junior and the AHL because the NHL guys are much more skilled and faster. Thought the grinder line was very good holding the puck in, though Walker seemed a little slow in spurts. I thought they did a good job at generating SOME kind of offense though.
For someone who played 19 minutes, I really didn't feel like I saw Kyrou often in the first two periods. Dean needs some work but I see lots of promise in his game. Just needs a bit more seasoning and I think he'll be a good bottom 6 guy. Buch seemed a bit lost from my vantage point, but someone can correct me if they saw differently. He's playing center so I get it, and I don't think he played bad, but offensively he seemed limited. Honestly I was surprised by Perunovich from where I was sitting. He seemed to break up plays effectively when he had a chance, he moved the puck well on the pp, but he needs to shoot way more if he's going to be effective. I didn't see any glaring issues on defense, and he seemed to be able to break the puck out much easier than a few other guys that played. I was fully expecting him to get caved in, but the first two periods were solid I thought.
Lastly, Hofer was incredible. You forget how fast things are when you're watching from home, but Hofer was picking up everything. Glove hand was excellent all night. Rebound control looked impressive. Didn't see anything that I can fault him for during the first two periods. The first goal was beautiful and idk what other goalies are picking that up. Second one was a break down on the pk and bodies were flying. Puck looked like it barely squeaked in under the pad. Overall I thought he looked very very good.