So if Sproul goes early (before Oulette loses it), he leaves the slot completely devoid of defence which is a like a free pass to goal?
I dont know why anyone would blame Sproul for letting his other D man do the job he is supposed to do while he covers the middle of the ice appropriately.
Just watching a couple of videos of the goal now. I think XO clearly bears the weight of the goal but I get where Zetterberg Era is coming from in wishing Sproul would have identified what was going on sooner. If he did, he could get back and take out the middle of the ice and force McDavid to stay to one side and shoot, or try to sneak a pass through Sproul to the other side. It also slows McDavid down a bit and maybe allows Oulette to catch up.
There wasn't a good option there for Sproul, but his best play is getting back harder and trying to keep the ice chopped in half. Other than Dekeyser and XO, though, I'm not sure any of our D read the play well enough to make that choice, or are physically capable of getting back (Kronwall).