I've been told that the Flyers were being taught to play the game the right way. The Avs seem to have it down-fast aggressive and confident hockey. The Flyers not so much.
The first two periods, especially the first was a horrible example of hockey. TO after TO after TO with an inability to get the puck out of their own end and create offense. Tentative hockey with no set schemes of play to rely on to move the puck out of the DZ. If that is playing hockey the right way, it's lost on me. Most of the players look afraid to use their skills lest they get benched for being creative. It comes down to the coaching and has for the last two plus seasons. Not good.
Teams are going to a narrower 1-2-2 or 2-1-2 against them up the strongside and when that happens they have basically no other exit strategy and cant create rushes. As their primary breakout strategy is basically strongside tips and passes with puck support... they sometimes use like a "slash-across" their too, but they have basically no weakside exit options with the way they play DZ... that is fine so long as execute well and quickly, but they dont this season.
That combined with they being more passive (going 1-1-3 more often, when 1-2-2 was what worked all last year, as well as getting away from man in DZ) means that the systems are aligning less and less.
If you dont play aggressive in NZ and hard man in DZ when system designed around that? Then it is harder to turn pucks over. If you dont turn pucks over. You get caught in DZ more. If you get caught in DZ more? More time chasing play. More time chasing play? More times with players spread across DZ? That, plus less legs for rushes? More time needed to set up and exit zone... Resulting in poor transition.
Why? I think not all by design. I think that injuries and line juggling mean that guys are not on same page. And team seemingly is less confident at 5v5 and sometimes just collapse early. But a lot of the time they are just not on the same page, especially in transition right now.
EDIT: Aha, you literally just replied to my other post along same lines in other thread seconds after posted this.