Yeah I get it. I'm not really surprised they can't sustain the way they played in Nashville, CGY, TOR etc. Then they come out and make a lot of mistakes.
I think them going 110% to try and out work their goal-tending/defensive issues is only resulting in wider swings between the highs and lows of their play.
I don't know what Gallant does to his players water, but not many coaches can get an NHL team to go that hard consistently. Which is why I have a problem with Bednar's continued comments about effort and 2nd, and 3rd efforts when being asked about mistakes in the game.
The problem is obviously a culmination of various things. I think a lot of people have done a fairly good job of giving that credence personally.
I've brought this up before, and it may not be part of the problem at all, but I keep wondering if there's a point of diminished returns in other areas with how hard Bednar has his players skate in games to play his system.
I'd have to sit down and watch a lot more Vegas games to see if they always play at the same pace, but I keep wondering if a lot of the problems with the Avs not scoring (lack of poise on passes and shots) and the way they'll play a near perfect 50 minutes of hockey with 5-10 minutes of maddening mistakes could be a result of that.
Not the genesis of the team's problems, but with their inability to compensate for other problems. Especially in the way they react when they give up a goal. They start gripping their sticks, missing good scoring chances, going off sides, losing their man in the D zone, turning pucks over repeatedly.
The top line are high end athletes in their prime and capable of playing at top speed all game, but I'm not sure everyone on the team can. Are the guys outside the top line just playing faster then they're capable of thinking the game? I don't know.
The goaltending is a problem for sure, but Bednar can't do much about that. He needs to find a way to eliminate these other problems plaguing the team though. Playing at a little less than 100 mph for certain shifts within games might help them regain some of that poise under pressure, but then again maybe not. It's hard to tell.