I get a little gnarly after a loss and this place takes a nosedive. With that, I get why people are concerned but I don't know that it's fair to put all of our wins in the easy category and our losses into a "we suck" to fit a narrative. Some people here are still very jaded....rightfully so. But you have to start to buy in (too) at some point. The team will have up's and down's....part of human nature to not be "on" all the time. They do have a tough schedule, like other teams, but the West Coast is a different beast when it comes to travel. I'd just love if we could throw our support behind them without being so harsh and critical at the first signs of "potential" trouble.
Petey was coughing a game ago...flu bug running through? It's not unreasonable to maybe consider that because there has been a drop off in energy and speed that doesn't really make sense. Unless it is exhaustion, in which case they have to adjust and work through it. It's a long season and they have to find the endurance needed to get through.
But...excuses. I look for reasons but it really doesn't matter after the fact. It is what it is. A loss. Not the loss of an entire season as some immediately default to. I, too, get nervous about patterns of losses and lacklustre play but it's also early to panic. We'll see what develops and how they respond to a few losses. People tend to make very quick assessments while ignoring the facts (speaking of them) like our record and top scorers. The fact that the team has shown us what they're capable of gets ignored and discounted. Depth is an issue, yes, but it's not a matter of sell the farm, we're done. Some react that way. A little negativity is warranted but the overblown stuff is same ol'.
Rick summed it up perfectly: "they were hungrier on pucks". I also believe teams play us harder now because we are up there in the standings so they come out prepared for that. This team has yet to find that consistency and hunger each and every game. Some players have it (JT). A bit of patchwork happening lately and it shows.