-If Mes plays the next game then there is no doubt the whole intent of this season is dead last. The only reason he shouldn't be dropped off the team immediately is the salary floor. I don't want to see him play anymore. Ever
-I was originally going to give Benoit benefit of the doubt, but he has no business playing in this league as the third period went on to show. Terrible
We have four young defensemen who should be replacing these two immediately. The expected rookie mistakes aren't as bad as the tire fire these two displayed. I can't watch future games if they are going to get more than a few minutes per game.
-Weber was invisible tonight, in a good way. I never would've thought I'd say that.
-Risto was making some mistakes, but it's hard to blame him in many of those situations. Hopefully those jitters go as time goes on. I'm not worried about him. He still has some confidence to gain
-I don't understand the GDT hate for Myers. I had no problem with his penalty, the game called for it. Poor officiating, which the refs obviously made a few make-up calls later on for at least. He needs to step up into the play a few more times a game, carrying the puck the whole way, but he is looking better now than his slump in years prior. His pokecheck just ends so many plays, he is good to have back there, even with his pricetag
-Gorges is solid
-Girgs is our best player. Refreshing to see
-I think Gionta touched the puck four times all game. Completely invisible. Not sure what to think about 3 years of him. Hopefully he is looked up to on the bench, but if he can't justify his place in the lineup, I don't know how long that will last
-Hodgson was terrible. His defensive plays were awful and every forecheck/cycle ended on his stick. Just terrible
-Reinhart was making rookie mistakes. However, he looked like an NHLer making rookie mistakes. He was also getting a fair amount of minutes out there. He flubbed up only against some of the best players in the league I'm not too worried about those. I can see the upside
-Stewart is fun to watch. He isn't a power forward like some people say he is, just a quick forward who likes to hit. If he keeps this up then I will be very disappointed if he doesn't re-sign
-No comment on Foligno other than the puck died on his stick too much
-MES is a fast line. Not the top-tier players to go to for a last-minute clutch goal, but good enough to be a line the other team can ignore. If only they were a second line and not a first we'd be somewhere
-Deslaur gives me mixed emotions. I have to remind myself that he needs to be compared to stonehands, not a second liner. His penalty was stupid though.
-Mitchell made some hits and didn't do anything wrong out there. Rotating Flynn into the fourth line is something neither of these players showed why he shouldn't be, but they didn't show much reason to demand for it. A Kaleta return will make this story change, but for now the 4th line seems stable with this rotation
-What the hell was that powerplay. Drop pass zone entry into a collapsing box for two advantages in a row. Someone is getting paid to tell them to do that? Mes and Benoit on the top PP line is something that needs to never be tried again, then maybe they can get somewhere with a real powerplay plan. Chicago has a mean kill so it is hard to be too tough, but it was still a pitiful showing
-The penalty kill looks alright. We will probably have many more shorties this year
-I don't get why the 4th line didn't get minutes after any of those 3rd period goals. Instead of going out there to change the tempo, he puts out random lines that just let more implosion happen. Nolan, I thought you were an emotional coach. You need to play the emotional part of the game and you lost control of that third period
-I can only harp on Enroth for half of the goals, but he looked really bad on those half of goals
-We actually looked good in the second period. Too bad when the men came out to play in the third they forgot all about that