This was an incredibly enjoyable game to watch. Hard fought, back and forth, straight line hockey. Mistakes were magnified and saves were clutch for both sides. I'm glad we found a way to win. Couple more thoughts:
1. This was hands down the best game I've seen Parayko play in years. He was everywhere on the ice - stopping entries before they started, halting the cycle before it got dangerous, passing the puck up with crispness and good decision making, carrying the puck up himself, and activating/shooting in the offensive zone. This game Parayko could win a Norris if he can keep it up consistently. The guy we've been seeing for most of the year as well as most of last year and the year before.....not so much. Really hope he carries this type of effort and play forward.
1b. Mikkola has really come on these last few weeks. His passing has improved significantly and it was a treat to watch him activate in the offensive zone a lot last night. He made smart plays. I hope he keeps building on that.
2. The goaltending we've had from everyone not named Binnington has been exceptional. I mean truly exceptional. That's really not a knock on Binner, b/c I think in a lot of ways we've tightened up a lot since a bunch of our skill guys went on the shelf, but still, every team gets chances and our guys have made a lot of really clutch stops. Incredible job by everyone from our talent scouts to our development coaches to our more main/head coaches.
3. Glad to see our big guns carry the scoring load tonight. The Springfield lads can play tight D and chip in when they can, but our big guys really need to produce for us to continue to have success. That happened this game and it was good to see.
4. Armstrong and Beruebe have done a really nice job so far this year. These types of hard luck situations can spiral really quickly and they've kept their finger on the pulse and put people in a position to succeed. It's been fun to watch the team come together. The Buch trade looked pretty good at the time......now, holy crap it's robbery.