Thoughts on the game

I was able to pay attention to most of the game today. I got my boss's seats at center ice, but found that my kids thought it would be hilarious to try and dog pile as early and often as possible. Taking into account that my son apparently doesn't care for the crowd screaming after a goal, it was an interesting afternoon (and I haven't even discussed the game yet).

The simple breakdown? The first two periods we played OK, but not good enough to really make an impact. Grahame was a bit shaky and the guys mimicked his play with their own. Leighton, on the other hand, was solid and had some energy. Sometime in the middle of the third, the guys responded and started scoring in quick succession. A 2-0 game turned into a 3-3 game, including the late third period "back breaker" by the Caps followed by the tying goal with a minute left.

I can't say I really noticed Sutter out there. In fact, the only prospect that really stood out to me at all was Noah Babin. He pinched in naturally on the cycle and pushed the puck forward with purpose. He even scored a goal.

Considering we three of our four goals (if I recall correctly) were on the power play, I don't really think the power play units did all that well. I know it's strange to hear in that context, but it could have been a lot crisper. Our goals were primarily effort-driven (not that it's a bad thing) and that will go along way to helping the team stay in games even when they're slumping. It gives me hope.

As a side note, there was a fight - Nicholas Blanchard vs. Ben Clymer. I say "fight" because nominally that is what they were given penalties for. When my three and a half year old daughter can look at the fight then tells me "They're hugging. That's silly!", you know it's not really that much of a slugfest.

Boxscore. Funny, they list Babin's goal at even strength, but you can track the penalties and see it should have been a power play marker. Odd.