An unfortunate decision with Ottawa losing 3-2 in the shootout, but for at least the second game in a row, I thought it was a pretty game effort by Paul MacLean's team on the back-to-back.
Lot of good things to take away, even in defeat. Mike Hoffman, I thought, was one of the team's more dangerous forwards on the ice. I've said this before, but you just can't teach that sort of speed. It's otherworldly. If Ottawa does keep him around beyond this season, I really think they need to work on him adding a more thorough penalty-killing dimension to his game. If he's capable of driving ice at even-strength and has value down a man, Ottawa should be able to find room for him. Hell, without the penalty killing, they should be able to find room for him.
Robin Lehner, for the second night in a row, was very sharp. He stopped thirty-nine of forty-one shots, though he didn't have much success in the skill competition. If these games continue, the past week or two -- where he was routinely lit up -- will look more and more like a blip on the radar. Hey, bad stretches happen. If that was Lehner's, so be it. Won't be his first. Won't be his last. Regardless, he was excellent tonight.
What's amazing is that Lehner still probably wasn't the best goalie on the ice. Roberto Luongo was virtually unbeatable. His stop on Marc Methot in overtime was as good as it gets. Luongo's always struck me as one of the most likable guys in the league, so I really hope he pushes that Florida team forward. There's plenty of talent, and young talent, down there. Some goaltending will help in a big way.
Any negatives tonight? I'm not really sure there were. It was a pretty fun, entertaining game. The best two lines were Boyes-Bjugstad-Bergenheim (torching primarily the Spezza line) and MacArthur-Turris-Stone (taking a huge bite out of the Trocheck line). Erik Karlsson, I thought, was an absolute machine again.
Anyways, for a meaningless game, that was a fun one. Great goaltending, plenty of scornig chances, not the sloppiness you've seen in large spurts from both Ottawa and Florida all season long.
Thanks for reading!