Development is such an interesting thing.
IMO Samberg was good enough to play 2nd pairing last season but Dillon brought enough to the table that he wasn’t getting demoted by a veteran coach. The season ends, Brendan moves on, Samberg moves up and becomes an impact player in the top 4 and we get a material upgrade. He is good enough to play top pairing now IMO but due to handedness its spreads our best two D men out and our 2nd pairings elevates from last season which makes this team much tougher to beat (that’s my take). No knock on Pionk, he has had a really good season by his standards and brings important offense to our D core but Samberg is showing he can play with anyone and he seems to elevate their games.
Perfetti had our fan base understandably skeptical when he was slumping this season (again). However, this time the new head coach sticks with him and presto, we all get to witness change. He is starting to fill out physically but the main thing is you can see his confidence growing. The game is starting to slow down for him now and he has taken an important step that our team really needed.
Last night he was the difference and that is not the first time lately. The importance of his growth and increased impact on our 2nd line can’t be understated, especially as we head towards the playoffs.