Thoughts:
- Top line had a good first period and then kind of tailed off a little. Koivu had a little more jump in his step but needs to step on it all the time to be effective. Parise is great but needs to chill with the "stuff the puck from the side of the net on the PP" bit. Nino looked good.
- Second line looks like Granlund plus scrubs. Not saying Granlund is great, but he's improving. Pominville goes between being effective along the boards and being invisible and tossed around. He's got a great shot but misses the net too much. To me, Pominville looks like PMB if he shot the puck more. Too much perimeter play and not aggressive and creative enough. Heatley is dreadful. Not moving his feet, trying to dangle and turning the puck over, taking dumb penalties.
- Third line was again one of the best lines. There's a reason Cooke is leading the team in scoring. This line brings it every night, plays well defensively, but also moves the puck down the ice with speed and generates chances off the rush. They are playing hockey while the other lines are grinding.
- Fourth line was fine overall. Fontaine still looks like he's adjusting. They did their job.
- Brodin had his best game of the past week and Suter looked fantastic. Real dangerous. Controlling the game.
- Dumba made some nice plays. He got caught on the hook but I liked him overall. He has to shoot the puck though on that PP when he had it in the middle of the ice and an open lane.
- Spurgeon looked fine.
- Stoner was a bit of a disaster. Running around and lost a bit and taking the dumb penalty. If we had a better defenseman on the team, he'd be sitting.
- Ballard is kind of a train wreck. He'll make some awesome plays and move the puck well, then he'll turn the puck over and take a dumb penalty. And then he'll turn the puck over a lot more. Guy needs to simplify and calm down.
- Harding looks fantastic. I often think goalies are overrated and it's more the team in front, but he's seeing the puck through traffic, steering aside rebounds, or holding on to the puck. Hope he keeps it up.
Overall, the team played very well and dominated puck possession. It was great to see them actually shine on the national stage for once. The passing is much better and you can tell the roster is much better overall than last year. Moving guys like Clutterbuck and Setoguchi for players like Nino and Cooke was huge. But they need to hit another level to be a real contender. They need some more speed and to finish the plays they are making.
