Great write-up. I can't argue with any of it. Pretty much spot on.
Some observations of my own :
Palat was a beast out there. That's the old Palat that we grew to love, before he started accumulating injuries. Hopefully we get a full season of this rejuvenated Palat. He has always been one of my favorite players and it's been a bummer to watch him hobbled the last few seasons.
Cirelli was a stud, as usual.
Shattenkirk looked lost a few times, but wouldn't have looked terrible if Cooper hadn't stapled him to Hedman on the first pairing. Why Cooper insists on weighing down Hedman with unsuitable partners is beyond me. Shattenkirk is fine for limited 2nd pair usage and 3rd pair usage, along with PP time. Beyond that, he has no business being a top-pairing guy.
I like what I saw from Maroon, mostly. His lack of foot speed was evident though. He's a pylon with a big heart and good hands. I think he'll do fine as a screen on the PP, but I stand by my prediction that he ends up a healthy scratch by season's end. Of course, his size and grit will come in handy come playoff time - or so the bill sale says.
Shattenkirk did seem to be playing with some edge though, and I liked that. He F-ed up more than once, but redeemed himself on the scoresheet with that knuckleball shot.
Sergachev continues to be a heart-attack - he looks great at times, and then seems to brainfart at other times. I think this is who he is going to be in the long run. I'm not saying he won't get better defensively, but I expect him to play in the vein of a Zubov or Markov - which is fine by me, but don't expect him to be solid defensively in all situations.
Vasi won this game for us. Vasi looked dialed-in. If he plays the entire season like that, just go ahead and give him the Vezina now.
Kuch is inside Bob's head. You could see it. Bob's save percentage drops by 50 points when Kucherov is on the ice. Kuch is doing Kuch things and picked up right where he left off at the end of last season. Let's just hope he learns to dial-up his game in the postseason.
Witowski didn't look bad for a plug. His skating has improved a bit since his last stint here. But, his hands are still made of stone.
Point was noticeably missing. The Bolts' two-way game is missing a key element without him and it's noticeable.
Stamkos also looked pretty solid, but my personal jury is still out about him playing wing instead of center - especially with Point on the shelf.
Maybe Smith grows on me, but I think Paquette is better.
