Their plan relies on getting calls going their way. When they don't they turn into sour pusses. McD was mauled but it was away from the play, so the refs let it pass. Truth be told, they let the teams play with only the most blatant ones callled for the most part. EDM did little to earn PP's.
Saw NY actually play defense against the top two players. Stripped Draisaitl instead of letting him skate around untouched like most teams do. McD checked like he had a shadow on him. When thos two things happen, it's game over. Georgie isn't even a good goalie. He did make some nice saves, but it wasn't tough on him that often.
Holland reacted to last season by expecting the NHL to be like the North division. Needed a couple of greybeards. Young D that made a mistake were the problem. Hardest hitting D-man was not a priority to re-sign. Get back the NHL leading D-man, even though he scored a ton against teams like Ottawa. They are over the cap and have to use Klefbom just to stay afloat. Nuge has a full NMC. Jessie P is worth his salary but they can't even afford to re-sign him. Might as well trade him for a goalie or real D-man. Unfortunately, this was the go-for-it year. Little on the team that any other team would want. Three players that are earning their pay are untradeable. Hyman has a full NMC. ONly way out is to trade Draisaitl, but they need him too much. Their only salvation is a couple of prospects that haven't even played pro hockey. And a 1st round pick that could turn into a lotto pick.