@ Anaheim

Max Domi deciding to fight Radko Gudas three seconds after the puck drop is exactly how you start a game if you hate having a calm heart rate. The first period was a frenzy of fifteen hits and a laundry list of penalties that made the game feel more like a wrestling match than a hockey game. After falling behind by two goals early, including a power play tally from Cutter Gauthier, John Tavares finally used the man advantage to get the team on the board. Of course, this wouldn't be a true experience without letting John Carlson score a short-handed goal in the second period while Michael Pezzetta was busy earning a game misconduct and an early shower.

William Nylander decided to actually earn his paycheck by putting up four points, helping the team crawl back from a two-goal deficit after a messy second period where the shots were eleven to nine in favor of the opposition. Matthew Knies and Nylander scored to tie things up before Morgan Rielly gave everyone a brief moment of hope with a late goal. Naturally, the lead lasted about as long as a New Year resolution, as Leo Carlsson tied it up with less than two minutes left in regulation to force overtime. Just when the familiar, crushing feeling of a blown lead started to set in, Rielly stepped up again to bury the unassisted winner and save us from total embarrassment.

Managing to win while racking up fifty-nine penalty minutes and giving up thirteen power plays is certainly a choice that only this team would make. Anthony Stolarz survived the chaos with twenty-eight saves, but letting a team like Anaheim take you to the brink after being outshot in overtime isn't exactly a reason to start feeling confident. It is a win, but in typical fashion, it was the most stressful way possible to beat a team that should have been an easy out. We can enjoy the points for a moment, but let's not pretend this solves the underlying problem of this team nearly collapsing every time the pressure reaches a simmer.