i will say this. Yes, we didn't have the puck much that period. And so we had a lot of hits. But it seemed like the hits were taking a toll on the Bruins by end of the period. That's a huge difference fro the last few years when if we didn't have the puck we just chased and the other team didn't really get challenged.
AND, it seemed like all the hits finally started to turn the game a bit by end of period. Should open up space for some of our more skilled guys.
That said, team has a lot to work on structurally. I'm a little disappointed with Blais in regards to his effort in the D zone and the occasional lack of intelligence out there. There was a whole run of minutes there in the 2nd where the Rangers kept shooting themselves in the foot with poor D coverage, poor puck support and poor decision making that kept them in their own zone unnecessarily. And Blais and Laf were two of the biggest culprits.
In any case, I'm choosing to be encouraged by the purposeful physicality which is something that team hasn't done well with in recent years. Thats a real game changer as it wears down opponents and creates space.
Rangers need one of the coaches to teach them the proper way to cycle. They developed this horrible horrible habit of forcing passes almost immediately instead of working along the boards. Everyone from vets to kids. It's a real issue for this team. If you have a heavier team, you gotta use the cycle as a weapon.
