Just got back from my first game this year. Building on Whilee's always-reliable line summaries...
Roslovic- Man, what a motor. Guy was all over in a good way.
Wheeler- I think he's getting gassed. Keeps going, almost had a nice shorthanded goal, but man, he looks like he's forcing himself out there.
Laine- Lots of whiffs. Got covered pretty well, but yeah, not overly impressive.
PLE- Has not been clicking lately. Little seemed steady, but he's never struck me as a line driver as much as he has a reliable middleman. Perreault had some moments. I honestly think Ehlers was dragging the line down. He can be electrifying, but his play was reminiscent of the do-it-all QMJHL superstar. His drives just didn't produce much and his plays didn't seem well thought out.
Copp- Steady game, not a game changer but not a liability. Glad he seems okay.
Armia- Had some moments, some good defensive plays, but lots of whiffs and failing to get the puck on net.
Connor- Frustrating game from him. He's remarkably fast and smart in the O-zone, finds the soft spots, but he could not finish for crap. He had three excellent sniping opportunities and shot them all painfully high and wide. Like, criminally so. Lots of potential though, great vision.
Lemieux- Bleh. His penalty was dumb. Struck me as having a short fuse. Good energy and forecheck, but I always wonder when he'll do something stupid.
Petan- I liked his game. Great redirect, had some great moments. His footspeed has improved, his passing is as good as ever, and he hasn't been as tentative to get in the rough areas. Couldn't see too well from my seat, but both tripping penalties seemed borderline? I dunno.
Dano- Honestly, I liked his game. He was all over the ice, in the dirty areas, and played a good defensive game. Worked hard.
Buff- Pretty decent game. His risky plays weren't that bad and Little was usually covering. Some good offensive prowess and his tip was filthy.
Enstrom- Pretty reliable
Myers- I think he played a great game. Didn't fumble as much as many other players. Did fantastic on the PK and had some good offensive awareness. He is really not bad on the powerplay.
Morrissey- It feels criminal saying this, but I wasn't all that impressed. He had some great offensive moments, but defensively he looked pretty pedestrian. Didn't do the best job clearing his man from in-close.
K+C- Nice game from Kuli. Chiarot wasn't bad. Good even.
Helle- Yeah, pretty mediocre game from him. First two goals were not good, third was a redirect, but meh. Got caught with his pads open during lateral slides.
PK- Mostly good. Some great play by Armia and Myers. I appreciated the well-timed pressure in the neutral zone. Did their stupid tight passive box near the end though.
PP- Awful. Errant passes, whiffs, fumbles. The first two PPs had decent enough structure, but the Coyotes were always (correctly) anticipating that cross-ice pass to Laine. Once that was shut down, the structure kind of fell apart. Good stickwork by the Yotes though.
I think one of my biggest gripes from the game (aside from goaltending) was letting opposing players walk deep into the sweet spots uncontested. That led to some dangerous scoring opportunities. When the game is tight, the Jets seem to instinctively fall back, but in this case to a fault. This could bite them in the derriere in future games.
Anyways, glad we one. Wish it wasn't so close. On to the next one.