I watched most of the game so I figured I'd write down what I saw and you all can poke and prod to see if you agree:
The whole game I thought the pace was really good. I think whenever we started to get our legs, we took a penalty, so even though we heavily outshot the Rangers (I'm sorry did I read that right?), I thought the first period was slow to get going because of the penalties. In general, I thought we back-checked hard and broke up a lot of plays that could've been dangerous whenever they entered the d-zone. Stick checking was overall good, lots of physicality, but the thing that was so clearly different was how insanely hard the guys forechecked tonight. It really felt like they outplayed or outmuscled the Rangers on over 60% of loose pucks in the corner if not more. I thought the offense was lively and taking chances and making nice plays. Lots of players going to the net to cause disruption. I don't know how sustainable that type of play is, but I'm hoping the guys buy in long term because it is very effective in today's game. Goes without saying, but Bolduc and Holloway were really good tonight among the rest of the guys.
Defense, despite what they look like right now, I thought was really good. There were points where some guys looked out of position, which is to be expected with a new coach even if he is familiar, but the point is that guys were covering the position if that happened or were quick to break up a play. Really didn't feel like I saw Suter or Joseph that much, but that's probably a good thing. Parayko was actually unreal tonight. Faulk looked very active and closer to the guy we saw when he was at his best here. Kessel got outworked on that first goal, but after that it seemed like he calmed down a bit and played fine (but he only played 11:32). Say what you want about Perunovich, I have really liked his game when he's been given a bit of a leash. He's going to blow coverage, he's not even close to the strongest, and he's not even Krug-lite right now. But despite that, I've seen him more often than not make a great play along the boards, outwork a lot of guys who maybe he shouldn't even have a chance against, and his passing is just very crisp and on the tape. If he develops into a mainstay 3rd pairing offensive defenseman for 2.5-3 mil, cool I don't care that's fine. So far this year, I've enjoyed watching him more than loathed it.
Hofer I don't even know right now dude. He's clearly got the skill and he showed it last year posting really impressive numbers in not a small amount of games. When I watch him, I'm thinking holy shit that was awesome or damn that save was really nice or the pass was weirdly on the tape? But despite all of that, I can't tell if his successes this year are because of getting bailed out on the defensive side, his actual ability, or his just dumb ridiculous athleticism. He moves around WAY too much. His technique is good, there's no question. He's agile no question. His glove hand is more than adequate. THE DUDE WON'T STOP MOVING. Overcommits more than Daniel Day-Lewis, and that's really hard to do. If he would just focus on being a bit more square to the play instead of trusting your athleticism too much, then he would no doubt be a starting goalie. For now, glad he got the win.
