Again, the schedule. Even if they beat Philadelphia, after the deadline over a three week period they have 12 games. In that dozen there's only one b2b but they'll play Winnipeg twice, Toronto twice, Carolina, Vancouver, Detroit again and Boston. IF they do want to let it ride then realistically they need to find a way to add without giving up much (say by utilizing cap maneuverability to take on some term). They had done well in b2bs but with this aging group you've got to wonder when it all adds up (esp. for a guy like Carlson who's been brutally/lazily overplayed all year). Jensen better be back soon.
But, yeah, MacLellan had signaled to some extent an appetite to sell and give some Hershey players a shot. Sgarbossa has shown well. Lapierre has shown well. I'm not sure I'd burn Miro's first year down the stretch but eventually Frank should get a shot. Sutter. Maybe Snively. Perhaps HHA or Iorio. Stevenson. There are only so many non-emergency recalls, though.
It's definitely true the vets aren't capable of setting a higher pace/tone so it's hard to really believe in them in full-on competitive situations. While being collectively solid can go a fair way against sloppier teams when really tested they tend to implode. Big picture: how can they meaningfully raise their ceiling outside the draft? It's not impossible but guys like Duchene, even a Marchessault only go so far if there are still going to be roster drags gumming up the works. Competitively it strikes me that up the middle there may only be room for one of Strome and McMichael given their limitations, particularly with Protas and Lapierre both showing capability. But that does require upping the standard and making some tough calls. The blueline is also limited in their athletic/sense capacity.
It's just one game but they do need to continually assess how much they have invested in this season and where they are as a group. They're maybe not far off being a wild card but that can be said of most in a given year, esp. a down year in the conference. Adding a Leonard and perhaps resolving some of their core health/fitness questions can help turn the page some but their core athleticism/sense limitations are nothing new in crunchtime situations.
