A little late responding, however I was just too bagged last night to get into things.
As for thoughts, Morrissey was playing inspired hockey - he does have great hands and is a very fluid skater. Occasionally makes a bad decision to pinch at the line and gets caught flat-footed if the puck skips on him. A proper defensive coach will instruct him to start his momentum backwards towards the line before a pinch so as to be ready to backcheck if this happens. A simple change in his game that will pay dividends.
Scheifele was looking to shoot far more tonight, and it was great to see as he has an elite release. Could have easily had another 1-2. Just wish he would be more aggressive with the puck, as I think teams would not be able to handle his skill and size. Something has been going on with Schief the past couple of years - he seems lost, and needs direction. Maurice was a great motivator, and I think Scheif responded well to that part of his coaching style, however when the results don't follow, those words start to ring hollow. I think Scheif would respond very well to a high-discipline style coach, as he is very much a by-the-book hockey player, and disciplined teams are rewarded in today's NHL, so the results would follow.
Samberg looked great as well, good on his edges, was able to make some pretty skilled passes which led to some breakaways. I remember Pionk doing this a great deal in his first year here. Small sample size however, so I need to see more before I say he is ready to take a spot on the roster. Ditto Kovacevic/Chisolm.
Which leads me to Pionk - he has had a pretty forgettable season. Not terrible, but pretty mediocre - he must have a nagging injury that is hampering his skating (groin maybe?) as he seems to be having all sorts of issues with positioning this year. This hasn't been an issue with him before, so it was odd to see. Hopefully an off-season of healing and conditioning will lead to the return of the Pionk of yesteryear.
Dillon is a pretty average defenceman - he doesn't deal with pressure particularly well, and will often send the puck into high danger areas when forechecked, making life difficult for his defensive partner. Don't know if this is correctable at this point in his career, and if not I wouldn't be averse to trading him in the off-season and filling his spot with Heinola/Stanley. The one upside is that he is physical, and we don't have a ton of that on our blue-line.
Heinola has been pretty good in the limited time we've seen him - he's good under pressure and can make some great breakout passes. The one knock on him is his physicality - he is often unable to do much net-front as he cannot handle opposing forwards with size and routinely gets burned.
Stanley is a frustrating case, as he has that fantastic size, but he rarely leverages it. I've never seen a big man knocked over as much as I have with him - it doesn't make any sense. He should easily be able to clear out the front of the net, and yet we so rarely see it. He needs to work on his balance and core. I think we have to use him sparingly, but keep him as a deterrent to other teams as they will start to tee off on our forwards otherwise.
Schmidt has been... okay. He shoots the puck and has a decent offensive upside to his game, however like Dillon he freezes under pressure and will make some terrible plays when forechecked (which is where the game is headed, so this is a pretty glaring weakness). Judging from his interviews, he seems to not deal with adversity particularly well in any facet of his life, as he routinely says he doesn't respond well to negativity and prefers to be an optimist. Nothing necessarily wrong with being an optimist, but you can't just ignore adversity... Comes across as a bit of a snowflake. Unfortunately $6m is a little too high to be spending on a marginally better Dillon. I think we move Schmidt in the off-season.
DeMelo is a good second or third pairing defenceman - nothing flashy, next to zero offensive upside, but is very good positionally and at reading the play (for the most part). Very much a blue-collar defenceman. We'd be dumb to move him on his contract.
I like Sanford's hands and positioning - he's still new to the team and is finding his place, but in the limited time he's been here he's been buzzing in the offensive zone, and also plays a good defensive game. I think with some more reps with the guys he could be a good piece. Good potential here.
Appleton has looked a little slower than I remember - hard to say. Again, limited sample size this year and with any luck he'll be flying again next year.
Wheeler has looked like a different player the past couple of weeks, which has been great to see, I just wish the effort had been there from the start. I don't know what has changed, but I can't help but think he is trying to boost his value at the end of the season to ensure his place on the roster for the next coach. Unfortunately there is the rest of the season to serve as a body of evidence, and his play has been so lacklustre for so long that I sure to hell hope our new coach isn't fooled. Again, the captain has to lead by example. Hasn't been happening.
Connor/Dubois/Ehlers/Svech/Lowry - these have been our most consistent offensive players, and have shown the most consistent effort all season. Ehlers hasn't scored as much as we have seen in the past, however he is shooting the puck and is skating - the goals will continue to come if we use him more. Connor is an elite scorer - just need him to keep backchecking to keep teams honest. Dubois doesn't score a ton yes, but that isn't his role - he's a mucking forechecker like Lowry, but with better hands. Lowry does what he does, pretty independently of who is paired with him. Svech was done dirty this season - did everything the coach could have asked of him and more, and gets moved around the lineup and his ice-time cut. My guess is he has a mouth on him and it gets him in trouble.
Ves/Toninato/Harkins/Barron - I had high hopes for Harkins when we signed him, but it looks like he's going to end up a 4th liner for his career. Just way too inconsistent. Ves/Toninato - not skilled enough for today's NHL, and I could take them or leave them.
Perfetti - liked what I've seen from him in his limited time, but he needs to put on some size or he's going to spend his career injured. Maybe we need to move him down the lineup, like a Matty P. type of player? I don't know. Hopefully he is able to bulk up somewhat and this becomes a non-issue.
Barron - has been middling, but way too early to tell what we have with him.
Hellebuyck - definitely having an off year, but again, my theory is that his newborn is messing with his energy levels and reaction time, and I predict he'll be back to his usual self next year (unless he and his wife decide to have another baby
).
Comrie - has performed his duties as a backup excellently, and has really taken that worry from the team when Broissoit left. Great job Eric! Keep it up! I don't think we should use him too much more, as again, he can be exposed when playing high-tempo, puck moving teams.
To those that are saying that Chevy has to go based on his abilities as a GM, that's ridiculous - he's been a magician for us with players during his tenure here, and I guarantee we circle the drain of the NHL if he goes. With that said, his achilles heel is coaches - he's not great at assessing coaching prowess, so I'm a little bit nervous about the next coaching team. With that said, we have to make a change, and Lowry, Kompon and Huddy we thank you for your many years of faithful service, but it is time to move on to a new voice.