Bottom Six Minutes: Sean Farrell’s performance provides a welcome silver lining

A new era at Eyes on the Prize calls for the return of what was once the greatest article series in the history of the site, and possibly the entire internet, the Bottom Six Minutes. As returns to glory go, writing about the Montreal Canadiens’ loss to the Florida Panthers isn’t ideal per se, as there wasn’t a lot to like from the Tricolore in that particular contest.

But even if you take out Sean Farrell’s first career NHL goal, his performance was a welcome silver lining to the loss.

I don’t think anyone truly believes he was trying to shoot that puck. Rather, it seemed he was trying for a much higher-percentage play, looking to feather it to the back door for a tap-in. At any rate, they don’t ask how, they ask how many, and Farrell is now on the board in only his second career game on a struggling team.

In pseudo-Mario Lemieux fashion, it was actually his first career shot on goal that went in, albeit not on his first ever shift. Chalk it up to luck if you will, it was a great moment, his linemates were amped up, and hopefully it is a sign of great things to come from the Harvard product.

But the goal was just a small part of his night. Far more impressive than his bit of puck luck was how well he played defensively. When he back checks against the rush, he’s often in the right spot, picking up the right man. To see effective back checking from him in just his second taste of NHL action is a very encouraging sign.

You won’t always get puck luck at the NHL level, as it is about as fickle as anything you’ll find in this world. But if Sean Farrell keeps playing a well-positioned and defensively sound game, he’ll likely find more of that puck luck than most.

Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back with another episode after this Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.