It makes far more sense to remove the first games than later ones, especially with (a) a new coach, (b) Monahan having almost no preseason, (c) Gaudreau having no preseason. Progression counts.
I look at the PK and PP improvement, the eventual buy in from more and more players and the somewhat more consistent play. The Montreal and Toronto collapses and the crappy play against the Oilers in the last game were more concerning than the start of the season, but then 3 in a row and a decent effort in the last game are positives.
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