Just bad luck, they're really just a badly structured team.
With any luck they'd only be bad.
This current streak just shows that if Kessel isn't producing they don't have anyone else who can step up.
No one.
They don't miss Phaneuf.
Either trade Kessel or trade everyone else.
If your keeping Kessel, he's one of three, Kessel, Rielly, and Bernier(get him some smelling salts) .
The rest of the players are support players and I'll cheer the day they're jettisoned.
Kessel hasn't been our best player since back in December. Losing or not, he should still be your best player.
He can't make the playoffs with Bozak/Phaneuf/Lupul etc. How is he going to make it without because there is really nothing you can trade these guys for that is going to make a difference. They will return either picks, other cap dumps or projects. We will still have the same problems moving the other guys, no no. 1 C or D, questionable compete, lack of winning battles, lack of higher end organizational depth.
If Kessel doesn't score goals, there is absolutely nothing I like about his game. At all. Like it or not he is the face of the franchise and the franchise needs to change. Badly.
Kessel (a la Rick Nash) is the only player who will get you a higher return to help put higher quality pieces in the organization.
It's time to move on from the 3 of Bozak/Kessel/Phaneuf of which are associated (right or wrong) with the annual collapses. Nashville has some nice pieces, we are poised to draft a quality center, make the moves.