Kreider was a beast tonight. He was all over the ice. If he plays like that, he's going to be a very big piece of this team. And I must say Kreider playing engaged as he did tonight is >>> to JT Miller at this point in time. Still think Miller is very raw.
Richards and Stepan were good tonight. Stepan looked better tonight than he has in any game. Richie looked good again, especially on the PP.
You know who else was noticeably good tonight? Derek Dorsett. He was extrememly effective on the fore check and cycling the puck down low and he had a few scoring chances. That is exactly what we need from him. Boyle looked very good as well.
Pouliot looked better, good effort on the goal and a great second effort to swat that puck to Brassard for the GWG, but still he looks disinterested at times. He looked much better tonight though.
And if this is the real Talbot then he will be a solid back up to Henrik. Good for him, he had a very strong game and made a lot of key saves.
Honestly, the only player who stood out as bad was Pyatt. Those penalties were weak, possibly weak calls, but still. And I still can't figure out why he is killing penalties. He's too slow and I'm not a fan of him on PK.
Overall, this was a very solid effort. I hope the boys can play with this type of urgency in the home opener. Apparently they need to play every game with desperation and as if it is them trying to end a losing streak. Whatever they need to do to motivate themselves, if they can play with this type of effort, this can be a GOOD hockey team.
