I'm Impressed

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Not the highest scoring or most dominating effort by San Jose last night, but it didn't need to be. Tonight was one of the most satisfying victories in this young season. Up and down the roster, every single player stepped up their game versus one of the top 5 teams in the league. My favorites:

• Setoguchi, Marleau, and Michalek absolutely FLYING out there. How good was Gooch on the forecheck? He busted his ass on every play. Marleau's 2 posts were absolute heartbreakers, but I'm sure he's just as happy to get the win. Michalek looked good on the forecheck as well and his forced turnover-turned-goal was a huge moment in the game.
• Joe Thornton turned in another quiet night on the score sheet but dominating performance on the ice. His puck control was superb as usual, but last night he showed a lot of his skating prowess both in moving through the neutral zone and in the Pens offensive zone.
• Marc-Edouard Vlasic who turned in the defensive performance of the night. So many times he was on an island versus either Crosby or Malkin and he managed to defuse the situation. Pickles makes so many small, easily-overlooked plays that complete dismantle an opponent's attack.
• And of course, Evgeni Nabokov. The box score shows him facing just 11 shots, but that doesn't nearly tell the story of how dangerous and how bunched-up those shots were. Nabby made at least 2 highlight-reel saves and held off the Pens during their few minutes of momentum throughout the game. Even the one goal allowed was hardly his fault considering all the calamity going on around the net.

Did I mention Grier's GWG, Shelley's beat-down on Goadard, Boyle's 22 minutes and +2, Marleau & Thornton combined faceoff dominance, etc. etc.?

(As a quick aside, I love it when Thornton gets thrown out of the faceoff circle only to see Marleau take his place and win it anyways. I love it. Never gets old)

We all know who lurks around the corner next, but for today, I couldn't be happier with a 2-1 win that our boys earned 100%.