Exactly Pitlick had nothing to do with the play. He was flying the zone when the puck was going to where he should have been. Maybe we would have had numbers and won the battle for the puck. He wasn't doing much good up at center ice when they scored.
What? This doesn't make sense though. You have a single man on the boards for that battle and someone waiting for pass going forward. If you watch the play, it's basically a 2 on 1 going towards Letestu on the boards for what would have been a battle there if the puck wasn't poorly placed by Larsson. What the hell would be the point of having a battle in our zone when their entire team is still set up? Why not just get it out, and exit from pressure?
There's literally no reason to put a puck in that position. It's a battle which opens up for a potential loss, which means they have possession in our zone.
You play it off the boards, get out of pressure when the defensemen is locked in. It's a simple play, exchange possession sure..but limit the chance.