Was at the game last night, was pretty much my first full game veiwing of the team so far but based on last night:
- I'll echo what everyone is saying about JG. Best player on the ice. That move off the boards to feed Jooris was great. Not sure his first assist was legitimate, but working his butt off to force the dman to rim it resulted in the goal. He made some noticable defensive plays as well.
- I'm pulling for Baertschi, but I hardly noticed him last night. Honestly doesn't look much bigger than JG does out there and looked like he was trying, but it's just not enough. Looked tired and weak IMO.
- Bennett also looked pretty fatigued. Similar to Baertschi in that you can tell he's trying, but ultimately ended up having little impact on the game. You can flashes of his game and intensity. Made a nice pass on Jooris' second goal (thought it was JG) and even bested Kane in a 1-on-1 along the boards, but he needs some more time.
- Jooris was a nice surprise. Just driving the net and doing the little things. You need guys like that willing to pay the price to compliment guys like JG and Sven.
Overall, the team looked decent. Gio and Brodie are noticably better than all other dmen. Russel hada good game. Smid looked good, but a little behind (conditioning I'm sure). Ramo had a nice game as well. I feel like he and Hiller will end up almost 50/50 in GP.
__________________
|