Nour’s 3 focuses

Comment 1: Sacrificing the Body
While Detroit did drop this game and have an abysmal showing on the powerplay, it wasn’t all bad thankfully! Thankfully Detroit boasts a team of very dedicated, “whatever it takes” type players, both vet and rookie alike. This was evident especially in their blocked shot numbers, with Detroit blocking 20 shots to Montreal’s 6. Its hard to even highlight since so many players came up so big in this department, but the obvious standouts are defensive centre Zvejnieks, number one defenseman Salo, as well as typically offensively players McButternutz and Bitties. Who knows how this game would have gone without the defensive help of all of these players! (108 words)

Comment 2: Powerplay Troubles
In a super tight game that was just within the Falcons grasp, its the powerplay that really buried them from putting this away. Despite playing a Montreal team brimming with young developing players, the star studded squad of Detroit vets couldn’t find a way to get anything going with the man advantage. On 4 attempts they squandered every chance, a truly disappointing showing for this group that has the fire power to do so much more. Its not unreasonable to think Detroit wins this game in regulation if they got something going here, even just a little bit. They’re going to have to see better special teams production from guys like Knutsen Jr and Salo if they want to stop dropping big games like this. (125 words)

Comment 3: Offensive Defensemen
People will argue back and forth about the evaluation of defensemen, and many purists will argue that a defenseman who can get it done offensively is not as valuable as one who can simply lighten the load on their goalie. There are many stances here and its tough to pick a side, but as they say, the best defense is a good offence, and that proved true for Montreal this game. Padraig Sarantez’ 2 goals in this game were crucial to give Montreal what they needed to pull ahead, and he was the real difference maker here. Not only did he come up big, but his stellar offensive night bailed out a Montreal team that had half of its roster finish as a minus on the score sheet. (128 Words)