The boys look like they're having fun out there again. That is very important for this team. Obviously they won't keep up this .750 pace, but they certainly seem to care about each other and play with pride.
I'm a huge fan of Galiardi, even after his ridiculous penalty yesterday. He lays everything out on the ice. David Jones is another solid addition. His motor never quits and he forechecks like a demon. If we had no cap space and needed him to score $4MM worth of points he may not be ideal, but his drive is exactly what this team needs. He'll probably get half the points Tanguay does, but does everything else so well.
Wideman/Russell were very steady again. Hard to believe that they are functioning as our "shutdown" pair. Gio/Brodie still need some work. Butler/O'Brien were worse than yesterday, but put out some solid minutes for a 3rd pair. The 2nd Columbus goal looked stupid when they ran into each other and got confused, but that happens.
This may be unpopular, but I think Ramo looked better than J-Mac. The shootout exposed his weakness, (dat forehand-backhand deke) but Ramo finds his net better, and is better at steering shots out of harm's way. That being said, Mac had a good game, and I'm comfortable enough with either goalie.
Overall, I'm ecstatic to watch these guys give it 110%. We'll still probably lose more than we win, but it's a nice change to watch a team that seems to realize their deficiencies and work harder to overcome them.
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