Just got back from the game.
Probably the most fun I've had watching a Heat game to date. Every player was finishing their checks. The Armstrong-Bouma-Bancks line was extremely hard for the other team to play against. If you could see the puck possession time the Heat would have taken it by a massive margin.
Breen and Howse were out of the lineup. I wonder if maybe they were involved in a trade with all the scouts there tonight. I hope not, but food for thought
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Martin fit in and actually excelled at this level of tempo tonight. He even got into a fight. His eye was pretty messed up after, but he came back.
Sylvester started the game, but I didn't see him back out there at all. He wasn't even on the bench during the shootout, which is odd. You'd think he'd be one of the main guys called upon for the shootout.
Nemisz, Brodie, and Henry logged a TON of minutes tonight. Brodie played very well both defensively and offensively. Nemisz never ceases to amaze me. He's a magician with the puck. His shootout goal tonight is evident of that if any of you see it. Laing was definitely a leader out there tonight. He was blocking numerous shots and hit anything that moved. Irving handled the puck exceptionally well tonight. I must say, his puck handling skills are far better than Kipper's or CT's.
The down side: Wilson hasn't really impressed me at all in the couple games I've watched him. He's a bit of a wuss TBQH. He'll lay on the ice for a few seconds to see if the ref will make a call, he embellishes things a bit too much, and he's pillowy soft along the boards. I don't know, maybe he's a prototypical offensive defenceman, but I'm not impressed by him. I say trade him to the Canucks where he'll fit in perfectly
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Anyways, awesome game from everyone on the team tonight. Hopefully they can duplicate that intensity tomorrow.
My 3 stars for the Heat:
1. Brodie
2. Nemisz
3. Henry