It was really jarring to watch an AHL game where the home team actually had a defensive structure, where guys weren't running around in their own end and consistently out of position. And a team that could actually move the puck and take shots, though the finishing could use some work. One thing I constantly heard in the stands was " Is this what real hockey looks like?". For the last eight long seasons we haven't seen that in Cleveland. We saw glorified pond hockey. But according to at least one "expert" who has never watched an AHL game in person, only on AHL Live, what was here was good. But hey, what do I know, I've only attended only about a 1,000 or so games in person over the last 37 or so years, at the NHL, AHL, IHL, ECHL, OHL, NCAA, USHL, NAHL, and high school levels. Someone sitting on their butt watching games over the internet is much more knowledgeable. At least according to them and their cronies.
And one more observation, there were no passengers tonight, everyone hustled on every shift. I think this could really be a fun season.