Inferno, replying to this again because I watched the game a second time and paid Holden more attention.
He was indeed impressive. Great board work. Calm demeanor with the puck (i.e. doesn't make rash attempted clears like Girardi). No long outlets...but makes short, high percentage passes within the D-zone...basically making sure the Rangers retain control and can prepare for a move down-ice. And I'll tell ya, the first time I replied to your post I had said he was bad on the PP.
He was not bad on the PP. Showed crisp passing and almost scored on a pinch towards the end of the 2nd period on the PP. On that entire PP at the end of the 2nd period, I thought he looked absolutely fine. I'm not saying he should play point on our PP, but he did nothing wrong.
If tonight was an indication of what we get with Holden, I'm thrilled to have him as a 3rd pairing D-man and think he would also be a serviceable #4. Not a dynamo offensively or anything, but fundamentally very sound. A pretty cool customer.
Of course, now that I've said this, he'll be garbage all year like his advanced stats suggest. His advanced stats with Colorado the last 2 years were god awful. Perhaps that was because he was playing over his head on first pairing. I dunno.