This is my 2nd week of working evenings, which has allowed me to only watch the weekend games live, thus I missed tonight's game, but caught it on replay...
I thought retrospectively that was quite a chess match between two veteran coaches. Hitchcock effectively switched his lines in the 2nd to get a spark. Maurice did it in the 3rd to regain some momentum.
Goaltending was a weakness tonight, but team defense was the reason Hutch was pulled. We gave up grade A scoring chances to a St. Louis team, which made plays. It should not be surprising, the Blues may have the best forward depth of any in our conference, and should be considered legitimate contenders for the #1 seed in the Western Conference. That said let's have a shot at them in the playoffs with Little, Buff, Chiarot, and Perrault, especially. for offense, and PP production, and I like our chances in any Elliott-Hutchinson matchup.
I want to go on the record as saying I really like Eric O'Dell's game. Taking Ott off the ice, who was the thorn in our side, earned his teammates respect, and I think fired us up a notch. If Little comes back to the lineup against the more talented, less physical, Florida teams, I hope Maurice would be confident enough in O'Dell to keep him in the lineup over Peluso, who again looked defensively lost on the 3rd, and more so on the 4-1 goal, creating a huge hole to climb out of.
This would be my lineup:
Ladd-Little-Stafford
Frolik-Scheif-Wheeler
Thorburn-Lowry-Stempniak
Tlusty-Slater-O'Dell
That's 4 lines I may have confidence in.
Hope Hutch and the team bounces back in Miami.