J-P

Good 1st period for the devils. Nucks need to be better and need a little momentum but wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the second...

Baertschi looking good. As do Pearson with Virtanen.

Also hoping for that. And Fantom is a cool nickname.

Demko could be the future but imo sample size is still way too small to say. If he keeps his stats at this level until the trade deadline we’re having a different discussion, but realistically he won’t. His start this year is definitely encouraging, though. Subpar goaltending can really destroy a team’s chances to develop, so I want us to hang on to both until it’s obvious Demko can be the no 1. Signing Marky for 3-5 years and losing him in the expansion draft might not be the worst idea and could be the cost for doing business and staying competitive in the cap era.

Agree and I also like that he’s learning to push back with some hits and borderline stick work just on the right side of non-calls.

Sautner looked good up until that point, and the hit was definitely on the late side, but he still got caught watching his own pass and that's something you just can't do in the NHL. Hope he's ok.

The way I saw it Clifford was running around a bit going out of his way to hit and hurt people. Although the fight looked kinda staged, that stopped after the fight (even though Ferland was out of the game) and IMO that was why the fight happened.

Mathieson injured for this game appearantly, too bad.

So Mathieson not playing or what? He's been in the lineup 9 out of 10 times according to the stats. Wouldn't mind seeing him take a hit or two. Plus he sucks so I wouldn't mind Petey deking him again either ;-)

Doesn’t successful PP:s nowadays usually rotate dynamically? Can’t understand why we can’t have BOTH the current setup and the one-timer setup with Boeser/EP available depending on how the play develops.

I think we lost the game on Horvat's weak play on the SH goal. Hopefully Bo himself recognizes that and realizes that as a leader you can't make a half-hearted effort like that on the ice no matter the situation. Not saying there weren't other factors as well - team laying off, Marky letting in a couple of questionable ones, PP not getting it done - but to me that SH goal is the definitite turning point in the game.

I can see the logic for him making it out of camp, sends a good message , raises his confidence etc. Also don't mind him hanging around for a few healthy scratches to get the big league training and paycheck. Would have preferred to send him down a week ago or so, but no biggie, will be super good for him to join a winning team as the top center and play with skilled wingers and evolve his own game. As for the future - I'm not really sure what we have in Gaudette - time will tell...

Not fair to compare Hischier to EP, Hischier’s contract is a very good one no matter what. As for QH vs Dahlin, we should be so lucky to have QH and especially at #7 and you can definitely make a case for him as #2 that draft, but Dahlin is the complete package, as good at least as QH offensively but big, physical and mean when he needs to and a definite #1D on any team in a few years. Doesn’t matter though, couldn’t be happier with QH.

I think a lot of people are missing what a solid game EP plays overall. Sure, not as flashy as last year, but I think that's by design to some degree. He's been very good defensively and does a lot of the little things along the boards etc. that you need to do to win. His shot is a bit off though, and at times he seems a little frustrated, but if this is the sophomore slump I'll take it.

Don’t think enough has been said about Edler signing a very team friendly contract. Sure he gets to choose where he play and he makes shiploads of money, but it’s still way below market value and the term is just simply him doing what’s best for the team. Good on him and good on JB. Also - if he doesn’t sign that contract and as early as he did, how many of Miller, Ferland, Myers, Boeser and Benn would be on the team now?

As long as OJ is healthy, plays most games and gets better for each game I for one am happy

Playing with Edler has a lot to do with these stats - including high d zone starts % - but he’s been good in his own right as well. Edit: Edler and Myers actually have 60% o zone starts so far, so tweet seems incorrect.

I guess it's worth noting that Boeser has been terrible the first two games, Ferland has been meh so far and while EP hasn't been great by any means he could still have had at least 1 goal and an assist in the first two games. So let's give it a few games. I really like Miller with EP, let's see how that goes.

Back to Linus, maybe?

I think the VISA break is good for Goldy. Hope he reloads and goes down and dominates. He does have issues away from the puck, but I think it’s a confidence issue as well. If he realizes he’s allowed to make the odd mistake as long as he constantly battles he’ll be a constant fixture in our top 9 for years. I’m not convinced that will happen but still hope so.

Great to see these clips of OJ. Considering he’s probably a bit rusty I think he looks fine. Crisp passing, great hockey IQ, poised. A little off in some battles but that’s expected this early. Really hope he gets at least until Christmas in the minors no matter what so he can get into gear again.

You don’t argue with a name like that.

We need Motte on the 4th line to ice a balanced roster, he’s been missed the first two games.

My takeaways: - Sutter, Boeser, Taney and Stecher all had really bad games IMO, I know it’s early but still troubling - Bottom six is nowhere near the needed level for a playoff team, I don’t understand how JB and the coaches don’t see that, we do have lots of better options than this lineup - good to see Lucic already becoming an anchor for the lames, what is it, 4 years left with a NMC? Good luck with that one.

He needs to improve his shooting %