Going into the season, we all knew this was going to have its ups and downs. It is a downer now because we still expect too much from a not good coach, a bottom six that is not very good, and a bottom three on defense that is also not very good.
We all know that if shutdown-ed, the little deuce coupe, Giroux [ beach boys reference], things were going to get rough. We all know if things the way Jake wants, do not go his way, he shutdowns himself. The goaltending let us down a path of unrealistic expectations again.
However, if Hextall's plan was to make it to the EC finals, I think his expectations were goals both unobtainable and over realistic. There was not a chance of that happening with the team he assembled. Remember Hextall assembled this team. As a fan of hockey, a Flyers team that on most nights is almost catatonic and/or boring as hell to watch is not the fault of the players [ no matter how awful some of them are] but the coach.
Personally, I am neither gleefully downbeat nor hopefully upbeat with this team. And neither should you. This team is what it is: nothing more, but also nothing less, from the masterminds that run this team.