Once again I could not see the game here (the idea of paying ESPN turns my stomach after what they have done to their product over the years. It is about like paying the IRS so they can audit me and find the mistake is theirs). But, watching the highlights and considering what our game day roster looks like, getting a point against the Ducks is a plus. Sure, I would have like to have stolen the second point, but Anaheim has rather quietly done a good job of moving from a doormat to a good team.
I can't fault Perunovich in the OT. It takes an experienced and confident defenseman to know he is better off contesting the breakaway, putting a clock in the shooter's head, and cutting off part of the ice rather than make the desperate move to hook the guy. As somebody said, 3 on 3 is pretty contrived, and the lone defenseman is probably feeling pretty naked out there as it is.
I can only judge some of this by the limits of what I see. Walker has shown a lot. I don't see the "hidden" parts of his game (the basics), but what I do see makes me scratch my head at where he has been all this time (not just for us, but in the NHL). Is he a late bloomer or a flash in the pan who will cool off the longer he sticks around?
I was very concerned about our goaltending when the first puck was dropped. Not Binner, but the depth behind him. Husso has looked very much improved, and the deep depth has been good in what we have seen so far. I'm still concerned about our defense, particularly around our own net, but that is my only major question.
By the time the season ends, there is usually some balancing out of injuries and games missed among the teams. Hopefully we are getting our share (and then some) done in the first half of the season. But, to have gone through the sausage grinder of injuries/covid and find ourselves 4 points behind a team that has played out of its mind thus far is not a bad position. It looks like our division is going to be a fight and the conference may be (for WC slots) as well. We are also seeing some settling in among teams that played over their heads coming back to earth and teams that struggled (some due to injuries and the bug) now getting their legs under them.
But, to go through the roster churn and still be above the Mason-Dixon line, for whatever that is worth approaching the new year, is rather remarkable. Our situation could be a whole lot worse right now.