Not really. He’s scapegoating Desharnais who is a rookie playing arguably the most difficult position in the game. Physical play is what kept him in the game for this long. It’s what got him called up to the NHL. And it’s what kept him in the lineup against all odds. Expecting him to back off from that now is wrong think. The coach should have had some words with him after his outburst the end in game 1. We have no evidence to say that that didn’t occur. My guess is that it did.
What would be more effective than a talking to from the coach would be if the leaders on the team led by example. But instead we get one of the undisputed leaders behaving like a spoiled little rec hockey brat. Draisaitl’s penalty in the last game (which cost the team the game tying goal and the momentum) is every bit the result of the refs knowing the kind of antics Draisaitl is prone to, and looking for him to repeat past behavior. Worse, it isn’t even in the heat of the play. Not in a scrum. Not retaliation. Not the result of a player trying to do too much (like Desharnais’ penalties have been). It’s a me first ego penalty that serves no function whatsoever taken by a veteran player who should and does know better.
Unfortunately the team needs Draisaitl on the ice so the coach can’t just ‘get this fool off the ice’, and Draisaitl knows that .. which actually makes his selfish play even worse. He’s untouchable on this roster. I guess he thinks that means he can just go out and cost the team games whenever he feels like it. Terrible example to set for the rookies, and more than likely a factor in the kind of undisciplined play we have seen from a guy like Desharnais in this series so far.
