I think we're fine, we were good in the opener. It was 6-2 until 3 minutes left in the game. In Ottawa we had a bad first period that cost us, and Ullmark was great. He's a terrific goalie when he's on. We played well for the last two periods. This game wasn't the best effort, but missing Barkov and Tkachuk is huge. Barkov, I mean everyone knows what he can do offensively and defensively, but he also just wins every battle. He's a massive part of our lineup, and just tilts the ice in our favor in most games. Injuries happen and we have to win some games without him, but nonetheless it's a factor. They have to do a better job playing without him, and Knight has to play better, although he did make some great saves in the 3rd to give us a chance.
Like Maurice said, he's also just playing his first NHL game in awhile. He might be better in a couple games. Boqvist and Giles are also not used to playing center. I expect the whole team to be sharper next game. It could be worse, we could be looking like the Oilers right now .