Weird game. Probably should have been 3-2 but horrible goaltending both ways. Thought the team generally played well defensively but wasn't reflected at all in the score.
- like I said earlier in the thread, it's beyond annoying to see Boeser play like he gives a crap after 120 games of just floating around going through the motions. The Boeser we saw tonight was actually useful and not the total passenger he's been. Threw a hit even. Maybe his best game since fans were back in rinks.
- JT Miller looks back to the player he was last year. Very strong two-way effort tonight.
- really happy for Beauvillier. I actually hate him on the PP but he scored there so ... yay? He works hard and is more of a Jannik Hansen type being overplayed right now, but you can see where he's useful outside of the salary.
- Phil Di Giuseppe looks like an NHL player and had 7 SOG tonight. Curtis Lazar and Sheldon Dries do not look like NHL players.
- Podkolzin was excellent again tonight. Really appears to have some chemistry with Miller, same as he did at the end of last year. What happened to him earlier this season does not really reflect well on Boudreau.
- strongly disagree with the benching of Kuzmenko. I don't think he's a defensive problem, in much the same way Hughes isn't a defensive problem - he's good defensively by pushing the play into the right end of the rink and having tremendous puck management skills. He isn't going to run though guys to win board battles and sometimes you can't tell a Ferrari to play like a Jeep.
- thought the Bear-Hughes pairing was very good - gutsy performance by Hughes with a broken face.
- I was leading the Burrows>Stillman brigade in October when Burrows was feeling it and playing well but he's lost the confidence he had and Stillman has improved and looks like the better player right now.
- another .828 game for the goaltending. It's actually getting unbelievable.