You can't just score at will though, that's the problem with this line of thinking. Just score a goal and then all the problems go away, except that's not how things work. Just because we couldn't get a lead early doesn't mean the guys weren't playing well, we outshot them 12-3 in the first and were down 1 nothing. But sure, Brady should have just willed us to a 2 goal lead to insulate Sogaard...
You can score more than 1 goal in a five-game span during the most important road trip of the season. When you're the team captain, have been crowned a great leader, and make $8M, that should be the expectation.
This is what Tkachuk said after the Chicago game, "I guess we took them lightly. I guess we forgot that's where we were at not too long ago. Nobody was good tonight, including myself."
Would they have had a better record than 1-4 if he or the others had played better? Who knows. But they would've had a better chance.
Instead, they didn't show up, and due to that and the bad goaltending they got, they were embarrassed, and the season was over.
Did they return this year focused and ready to bank points early? Nah. Same old, same old, except they've added a cherry on top – chiding the fans.
They're mentally weak and have built up so many bad habits that it's going to be a massive project turning this ship around. There's such a victim mentality around this team. One big pity party.
