Despite the lopsided final, there were plenty of mistakes that can be fixed. It's always better to try to fix them after a win than a loss, though, and Larsen saw plenty of areas the team can improve going into tonight's first-ever matchup with the Kraken.
While the scoreboard showed a dominant effort by Columbus, other numbers -- such as shots on goal and shot attempts -- showed that Arizona had a fair share of the puck against the Blue Jackets, who used opportunistic scoring, a strong power play and the standout play of Elvis Merzlikins to pull away to the win against the Coyotes.
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Now, with Seattle in the offing -- and a much more traditional game day on tap, without the pomp and circumstance of opening night -- the focus goes to playing a much more structured game.
"I think for the most part last game we weren't plugged in mentally," Larsen said Friday after reviewing the tape and putting the team through a high-energy practice. "I don't think that was on purpose. This was kind of a one-off. In the preseason we were pretty locked in a lot of the stuff we've been doing. In the game, you saw big mistakes that we were not making (in the preseason), so yeah. It's game one. There's lots to work on, and we'll show some video tomorrow and hopefully be better."
Much of Friday's practice was focused on 5-on-5 structure, though Larsen declined to go into the details of what he saw that needed to be improved upon. It does sound weird to hear after a franchise record-setting six-goal win in the opener, but the hope is to settle into a better quality of hockey all-around on Saturday night while keeping the same confidence with the puck in the attacking zone.
"I really believe from what we did in the preseason, that was a one-off," Larsen said. "I don't think we had our legs last night. That was the one thing for me, we didn't look like we were playing nearly as fast as we have been. If you are playing slower, you don't exit as clean, you don't forecheck as well.
"We did some good things. Anytime you score eight goals, it's a great thing. Scoring is good for confidence for guys. I don't expect to score that many goals most nights, but it's always good to score, and I think it's good for their mind-set, too."
And if there is a positive Larsen might like to hear, it's that the players know there is also a better style of play the team can reach. Despite the first win, there's no resting on any laurels.
"It's a huge win, like a good first one," center Alexandre Texier said. "We were happy, but at the same time, we have to give more. We know we can be better, but we got a win, so that's good. But 82 games, we have to play good as a team. We know how to play. We know how we want to play, so we just have to do it on the ice."
