First things first - boys better get themselves ready, because the coach sounded after the game like he was ready to give a bag skate at practice a la Herb Brooks in "Miracle". DJ was unhappy with the compete level tonight, and he's right. As a group they were just way too passive and soft. What happened to the whole, " We're going to be a hard team to play against" stuff? We sure weren't in this game.
The young guys were actually the ones that came to play tonight. The guys who stunk it up were all veterans - Anisimov, Ryan, Boedker up front, DeMelo and Boro on D. (Ennis played well, to be fair.) Chlapik should be playing every night right now. They should really just waive Boedker, send him to Belleville or loan him to a team in Europe and write him off - guy is awful.
Chabot was a stud, as always, but man that third pairing stinks. We should have traded DeMelo at the deadline last year when he had more value. I know this organization will have a hard time parting with Boro for sentimental reasons, but it's time to face the facts - increasingly he is simply blocking playing time for guys like Jaros or Lajoie.
I thought Batherson was better - he created some really nice chances. He just needs a break and the goals will start coming.
Finally, time to play Anders Nilsson on Thursday. In now way was that game Craig Anderson's fault, but in two games he has yet to make the kind of save that bails out his team and pumps up the bench. Needless to say, we need some of that if we are going to find some wins, any wins, this year.
