Postives:
- Varly went full Varly.
- MacK and the Geriatrics did really well together
- Soderberg's line had a good game and earned us that second goal with their work in the ozone on the previous shift.
- Another positive game from Holden, his confidence with the puck is completely different from the terrified icing-machine he has been for us and that was a great play with his stick at the end there.
- Greg got some PP time!
- And we got the win! You could see how tense they got in the third so thank god Varly stepped up and carried it home. The awful early schedule at the start of the year + Barrie's suspension has them really tight and lacking in swagger. They need a few wins in games where things do bounce their way and then a big break out game to really get mentally fit, but eeking this out was crucial.
Negatives:
- PP; for some reason we still haven't seen the Barrie, MacKinnon, Iginla, Landeskog and EJ PP unit that was so deadly before Barrie's suspension. And Iggy playing on the point continues to be a disaster.
- Landeskog; I love you man but jesus christ. Skille was a great and Duchene keeps looking good without having any puck luck or offensive confidence, but holy hell was Landy not himself today. What I wouldn't give for that line to have a big game.
- EJ's still not himself and doesn't look like he's healthy enough for the kind of minutes we all want him to play.
- The team playing scared-to-lose in the third. I get why they're doubting themselves, but playing like that will cost us when Varly isn't on form. Hopefully Varly can steal us another win or two if this game doesn't give them some confidence to build on the next time they step on the ice.
