Thought that this game was very sluggish throughout, for both sides.
The team did do a nice job of limiting prime scoring chances, but so did the Sharks. All of our shots were from the perimeter with very little traffic in front of the net.
Nelson Tavares Okposo - Two of the three looked much better this game offensively than they had in previous games. They still need to simplify and rely on their teammates more and stop trying to do everything individually. If Okposo or Tavares stickhandle at the blue line and turn it over one more time they really should be benched for a bit. It's absurd how much they've been doing it this season. I'm not talking about entering the zone so much as when we already have possession.
Grabovski Nielsen Kulemin - Thought this group was our best line again tonight. They are very very good defensively, and they create some offensive chances. Goals will come from this line if they stay together.
Martin Strome Lee - Honestly, I thought Strome and Lee played very well. Martin was a black hole offensively and Strome needs more than one person to pass to.
Conacher Cizikas Clutterbuck - Meh...They hit some things. They stirred the pot. Not much of anything else though. Thought Conacher was more engaged without getting top line minutes though. Still would rather have Martin and Clutterbuck swapped.
Defensively I thought Leddy looked pretty good tonight, as did Hamonic. 1 bad lapse on the PK cost us a goal, otherwise they were pretty solid all night. Pavelski might have had that one great opportunity from the high slot, but overall it was a nice job by this bunch.
Talk all you want about how many goals he gave up, but Halak played very well tonight. None of those goals are easy saves, and all would be categorized as extremely difficult saves. Hertl in tight like that is just real hard, especially when you're on the goal line (like he's supposed to be) with play behind the net. The second goal is a ridiculous deflection. The third is just a solid 3 on 2 execution and is the only one of the bunch were I thought he had a shot at possibly making the save.
Thought this was a game the team played well in, much improved over the 5-0 loss last game, but they need to do better at creating high quality offensive chances. I still like the idea of the kid line and Bailey going to the top line. That gives us the best offense, with the best defense in my eyes. The Ducks will be a challenge, but there's time to prepare, so hopefully they can fix the facking PK.
Also, when they did use the 1-2-2, I thought it was very effective.
