Thoughts on the game:
First on some obvious positives;
Hogberg- was super calm in the net and looked big at all times. You can tell everyone has a ton of confidence in him now to make all the saves. Rebound control is a little suspect with them popping out pretty far but for the most part they were always going into the corners and not back in front of him. This guy is in the freaking zone and is ready for a big playoff run.
Abramov- he's tiny but built. Was engaged all night, took lots of punishment but dished it as well. There was one play when he was in on the forecheck and boarded a guy hard and thought he'd definitely get called but they let it go. Got plenty of good chances and buried that partial break. He's not a speedster but he skates well and is great on his edges and turning on a dime. Best comparison I can give you for his overall skating is Jeff Skinner. Seemed like he got more and more ice time as the game went.
Batherson- he created tons of chances. Was stealing some pucks and anticipating plays like Mark Stone would. Probably generated the most of anybody on both sides but didn't get anything till the very end, which was just a dirty one timer from the left face off circle.
Brannstrom- delicious. He was fantastic. He was probably the smallest guy on the ice (yes, even compared to Abramov) but he can wheel. He did a lot offensively but I was honestly most impressed with his defensive game or effort at least. He broke up dangerous plays with his feet and stick. If you can think of how great Chabot was at the WJC a couple years ago, he looked just like that. He skates so well and reads the game at an elite level. Couple guys jumped him in the 2nd period and he got sent off with a co-responding roughing minor. He didn't back down and the other team obviously identified him as a big threat. He covered all 200 ft of the ice tonight and I imagine that is why he's so well regarded. Very excited about him.
the PK- so the PK had to kill a bunch of penalties in the 2nd. Mann doesn't really use any of our notable guys on the PK besides Chlapik which isn't super surprising. Balisy is a little PKing wizard (the AHL version of Pageau, I expect him to score some big playoff goals). Archibald got the shorty and was imposing himself all over the place, he went over the boards the second guys jumped Brannstrom (great vets added by Dorion I'll say). Mann went with a 2F 1D set on a 4 on 3 PK, which isn't super crazy but notable, I thought. Anyways, they killed them all off and all the units played great.
Paul- he's so confident and carrying the puck a lot (maybe too much). Created a lot and made some nice individual plays through the neural zone.
Lajoie- played with confidence we haven't seen since the first few weeks of the NHL season. Looks like Mann is on the cusp of getting that Boucher stink off him. In the later half of the game I saw him try more offensively than we've seen him try in weeks worth of games.
Some mehs;
Brown- he didn't play great but was honestly inches away from getting like 3 points in the game. He picked a shortside corner on the PP from the left circle that the goalie made a last milisecond save on and almost set up a few tap ins. Mann didn't seem to give the Paul-Brown-Bath line much in terms of defensive zone draws. Again, not a shocker. Would like to see these guys kill penalties in the future, particularly Batherson and Paul.
Goloubef and Elliott - these guys are not spectacular but solid. BIG difference over guys like Sieloff and Murray. Someone mentioned that the team had a bunch injuries earlier this year which contributed to their bad record but I suspect changing over the D has a bigger effect.
Chlapik- one of my favourite players on the squad but he was just meh. Not bad. He was very engaged to the point he looked really frustrated/agitated at times. Skated well, got chances, set up chances. Good player, underwhelming game.
Rodewald- barely noticed him even though his line played well (Abramov-Chlapik-Rod)
Beaudin- great measurables. looks big, skated fast, had a wicked wrister that looked like it was gonna burn the other goalie's shoulder pad off. But this guy has the hockey IQ of a basketball. He seemingly did not know where he was supposed to be on the ice at almost all times. Got some PK and PP time IIRC.
The Bad;
Englund- Only he gets the honour in this category on a fairly flawless night. Skated like Boro, handles the puck like Schubert, reads the ice like Ceci. He is a disaster. This guys does not have the skills of a professional hockey player. He got less ice as the game went on and yeilded it to Brannstrom and Lajoie. Thankfully for this playoff run, we have two LDs like this and can leave Englund on the bench as much as possible.
