After the Bruins scored their second goal in Wednesday night’s game, it was apparent that Nate Schmidt was not going to allow them to one up us. In just 27 seconds after the Bruins’ goal, with cat-like reflexes, he lit the lamp and tied up our score, 2-2. What’s impressive is that he was up against Boston’s top line, yet he skated and stick handled his way around several players with ease before lifting the puck over the goalie’s shoulder from close range! He was humble long enough to give a few high-5, then was back to game face and thwarting off biscuits.
In 42 games so far this season, Nate’s shooting percentage has been higher than any other regular season he has played in; in fact, it’s doubled. Yes, that’s even taking into consideration his late start this year. If you glance at his stats, you can see the trend in his scoring and can see where he needs to focus more effort. He knows this. He wears his thoughts and emotions on his face. Throughout the game, you could see how success and failure impacts his focus. His overall penalty per minutes (PPM) has declined, which can be indicative of a more mature player that is less of a hot head and has a newly developed sense of strategy to keep him ON the ice. That can be supported by the times the Knights score with him on the ice. It’s a sweet spot for a defenseman.
We knew in his absence, that our hearts grew fonder. He has routinely showed us why he sets himself above the rest by pushing himself and not accepting failure. Nate, you know how to light up our KNIGHT!
