Listen Craig, I think this team is better than that and we see it sometimes but they are tired and stressed. They will make the playoffs and that's something i'm looking forward to. The rest between us is opinion, I respect yours.
I too thought that this team was better as well when we started the season against Vancouver and everything was wonderful. I was fooled by what I saw because I forgot how this team has done similar things for years only to crash back to earth once other teams got serious about playing hockey and our flaws got exposed.
Weber looks slower and more out of place than ever in high tempo hockey, Chiarot is big and as one-dimensional as it gets. Romanov is young and will need a few years to find his game and Petry has settled back down to earth after being on fire to start the year and then there is everyone else back there, leftovers, scrap pile gems that MB has cherished over the years. There is one guy on our current D core that can be instrumental in taking over a hockey game and he has been good but is on the wrong side of thirty, still good but nowhere near enough.
Our top 3 centers have 19 goals and a combined 72 points between them and have been overmatched many times this season because of either not being ready or possibly not having the talent that we need them to have.
Our wingers are actually not that bad, Toffoli, Anderson,Gallagher and Tatar are not stars but they are solid producers at the NHL level and have been the least of our problems in my humble opinion.
Carey Price has underperformed, he is not as good as he needs to be based on his contract and status with the team. There are physical issues again and his mental focus has seemed to be lacking this season. Years of wear and tear and playing behind what has mostly been a bad defensive core has taken its toll and sadly he is signed for forever. Jake Allen has been solid in my opinion but without much run support much like Price over his healthy years here.
We fired a coach and replaced him with one of his assistants and that hasn't seemed to be a great decision based on what has been on many occasions a listless team that almost looks confused as to how to play. A revolving door of lines without much in the way of success is making it look like Claude Julien will get another head coaching job based on how bad this team has looked since he left.
I am sure I forgot some stuff and I am sure that there are many others here that can put it all together better than I can. I do not believe that fatigue is a major issue with this team, a lack of talent on the overall roster is a larger issue, especially our defense. I do not believe that this team will magically put it all together in the playoffs and needs to be scrapped and rebuilt, hopefully by someone that actually has a clue of how to do so. Good luck is all I can say to that individual.