Territorially and shot wise it wasn't too good but a win is a win. Liked the jam the team played with and the way most everyone was giving up their bodies to block shots and scramble the puck out of danger. Some real nice goals and near goals. Thought it was kind of rope a dope game with some good counter punching
Good
Markstrom - just huge - how long before Vegas starts running him
Pettersson - not just offensively, where he was something special, but also great two game. Delight to watch and maybe as good playoff game as Canuck forward has played. Maybe some can remember better but right off the top I can't (maybe Kesler against Nashville?)
Edler - was a horse all game. You forget sometimes there is physical element to his game. Real heavy Swede influence in this game
Miller - going to say he did more good than harm but there are still times when his errant passes put the team in tough position. Thought he might screw up the play coming out of his end on the open net goal but was more controlled there.
Stecher - was moving the puck well all game. And that seems to be a key here. You dilly dally with the puck or start moving the puck back into your zone and the Vegas forecheck eats you up. Saw Hughes do more of this in this game as well. Carrying the puck into their forecheck is simply not going to work.
Gaudette - that to me was the best Gaudette has looked. Showed very good speed getting to loose puck and carrying the play into the Vegas end. Great energy and was producing chances. If anything gave you some hope for the future in this game, I think it was Gaudette
Motte - great on the PK and basically carried the 4th line.
Horvat - back to being a monster. Killed it on the dot and good around the net. Strong game by Horvat
Sutter - not always great and skating is beginning to look more laboured. Still he was crucial on the PK and in a defensive role 5 on 5.
Bad
Virtanen - back to being mostly brain dead. Just seems to stall out and ends up not getting pressure on the puck in any zone. By the time he sees the play its too late to be effective. In the offensive zone he wrong sides the opponent by not getting on the defensive side. Often he will stop in the middle of the play, realize an opposing player on his side is getting the puck and then take a couple of tentative towards him, have the puck passed by him and end up well behind the play. In his end, Virtanen is not able to get down low along the boards to help the defense, prevent passes out to his point man or get any pressure on the point man when he does get the puck. Offensively, it is the same old take the puck in wide arc around the net and pass it back to the point (same thing we've seen for years). Rarely takes the puck to the net. Guess this a long winded way of saying he just isn't much very good hockey player. You just wish that he could sustain some level of play that would help the team. Getting Tuck out of the game seemed the only positive to me.
Others
Fantenburg/Benn - had their issues but somehow got by. Mostly in survival mode
Tanev/Hughes - continue to get pounded. Need to use wheels to get space and move the puck quickly out of the zone. D to D and out. Spending way too much time in their zone although that is not totally their fault. Adjusted to the forecheck a little better in this game but still lot of work to be done here.
Beagle - thought he looked a little gassed - having Motte out there with him was a Godsend.
Toffoli - can see he is not up to speed yet but he was going to the right spots and was deft with the puck . Having him on the PP ahead of Boeser helped
Reffing again very iffy. Ref is looking directly at the puck Boeser bounced off the boards and seems impossible to believe he couldn't see that. If his eyesight is that poor he needs to get his butt out of the game.
