I think that Tocchet has done a great job with this team so far this year; they didn't make many mistakes and in today's NHL if you don't turn the puck over in your own zone and you get solid goaltending, you win a lot of your games.
Regardless of the outcome (we shouldn't have won but I'm glad we did), Rittich is a bonafide #1. I still can't wrap my ahead around that as he is a guy I hardly even knew about two years ago. How long we have waited.
And on that point, we can't waste this. He's 27, relatively salary-controlled, and as good as anyone in the NHL in the crease. I understood the hesitancy to make big moves in the past as we always had inconsistent goaltending, without which you can't make a deep run. But this team has GOT to trade for forward help before the deadline. Hell, look at the rushes that Grabner was able to create just with his speed tonight. We lack playmakers that can play with Gaudreau/Monahan/Tkachuk.
Monahan looks like a second liner. I'm glad to see him produce tonight but he hasn't looked like his old self for a long time.
Jankowski is invisible out there when not killing a penalty.
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