Give the team credit for taking advantage of terrible goal-tending. It's not their fault that Murray was a complete sieve. How in the world did he back stop the Pens to Stanley Cups??? Nice that the team could get laughter and maybe this can jump start something.
Good
Sutter - even before the goals started going in, he was showing well. Crucial on the PK and in carrying his line mates. The shot on the his second goal was just outstanding. Green must keep him as the third line center and forget the Gaudette experiment. The problem, of course, is how long can Sutter remain healthy. Really that is the key point with Sutter. As long as he's not hurt Sutter is a legit NHL player but, if the past is any indication, his groin and such can't stand up to the punishment he takes.
Motte - when the game was on the line Motte was excellent. Right now is starting to build on the great play of late last season. 5 0n 5 and on the PK he was very good.
Hoglander - the more you see the more you like. One of the most surprising elements of his game is his ability to maintain possession under pressure. You want to pinch yourself but right now looks like he will be a dynamic NHL player. Totally outplayed Stutzle who was frankly awful in this game and does not appear to be at all NHL ready. Just stupid giving Joulevi the 3rd star over Hoglander
Beagle - when he is skating like he was in this game can be an effective player. Zero offense but good on forecheck and on PK
Hughes - thought it was his best game so far. Got some space to use his speed and pushed the play through the neutral zone. Not perfect in his own end but more effective than of late. Did better when he got a little less ice time. Like how he was kibitzing with Thachuk.
Demko - still not looking that comfortable and stick handling was poor at times but made some great side to side stays and prevented Ottawa from getting back in the game. Would say, in this game ,our goalie did a better job of bailing out the defense
Bad
Virtanen - contributed nothing. Again baggage.
Miller - can see he is fighting to keep in the flow. Missing time b/c of the covid situation has put him behind and playing scrambly hockey. Got by in first game but then conditioning caught up to him. Needs to get up to game speed. Taking bad penalties and puck movement is not good - one of the problems on the PP.
Pettersson - very little accomplished. Getting caught standing still too much and also starting to cheat and guess to get offensive chances (such as trying to cut behind the opponents net to pick off d to d passes and taking himself out of the play). Amazing the team could do so well with Pettersson playing like he is.
Others
Myers - mix of good and bad plays. Likely getting more responsibility than he can handle but probably an over all positive in this game
Benn - not bad. took players off the rush much better than many of our d-men have done this year. Firmly in the top 6 on this team.
Joulevi - nice that he could score but honestly the goal was a bit of a whiff by Murray. Also, he was getting a little more pressure on the puck in his end. However, he's still not giving himself space to make plays as illustrated by how he was just throwing the puck up the boards when pressured or trying to shuffle the puck around to his defensive partner.. Also still backing way too much off on rushes against. Must improve his ability to handle and break up plays at his blueline. The question will be - how much seasoning can the Canucks give him at the NHL level and still live with his faults??? He needs more time but with a need to win now you wonder how much game time they can give him. You could see how young he is after scoring his goal when he almost looked embarrassed.
Edler - got a better in the third but he was often too slow in making the plays. Can no longer effectively join the rush and often pushed into mistake in his end. At one point I think you could say Edler was upper tier NHL d-man. Now he is certainly not much more than a middling journeyman who, you hope, can be decent in his end.
Horvat - thought it was one of his weaker game. Way Hoglander was buzzing, Horvat could have done better to take advantage of openings created. One of the those games where Horvat was lugging in his skating. In the end though, Horvat is tied for the lead in League scoring so any criticism has to be very much muted..
