So.... thoughts....
- Good to see Laf get two goals.
- We kept it close being down two top 4 defenseman and having only three real lines.
- I don't think Sheshterkin was bad
- I'm not worried... yet.
- Panarin and Kane need to be disbanded immediately. Get them some practice time and if it isn't fixed separate them. Panarin looks like a lost rookie playing with Kane. He is just deferring to him in the worst spots.
- We have four days off and get Miller back. Having three consistent defense pairings will be huge. Fox and Miller are two huge drivers of play from the backend.
- Mikkola and Harpur played 20+ minutes and we only lost by two. I thought Mikkola played well for what he was asked to do. Same with Harpur.
- If we look the same after the four day break, with a full defense/forward corps, then I will be concerned.
- I do blame Gallant for fubar'ing our powerplays by not giving the second PP unit more time despite the first one looking like shit. That is 100% on him.
- If we can only lose by two to the best team that that the NHL has seen in 5 years with two #6 defenseman playing 20+ minutes and a #7 playing 20 minutes, I feel confident we can hang with Boston in a 7 game series.
- Our lack of size was very noticeable against Boston. This isn't a grit issue, its a wear and tear issue. Boston wore us down. Part of that was fatigue. Part of that was Boston's game.