It's about the core of this team not showing up, again. So much for Ovie "saving it" for the playoffs. So much for Carlson always stepping up his game in the post-season. So much for Alzner being an elite shutdown defenseman. So much for Kuznetsov evolving into a player that can dominate match-ups against McDavid and Matthews. So much for Oshie being a quality playoff performer instead of the ghost he was in St. Louis.
So far it's been the same-old Capitals with the same-old Trotz at the helm. This is a series that they should be able to exploit their advantages in puck possession, size, experience, defense, and goaltending to win. Instead they're allowing it to become a track meet, and playing right into Toronto's strengths. And, hell, their best track meet players (Ovechkin, Kuznetsov) aren't even showing up at even strength. They were sleep walking into the first game of the playoffs, and they let Toronto get the jump on them. They let Toronto dictate how that game (and the series so far) would be played, and gave both team the mental impression that the Leafs would be able to hang with the Caps.
Trotz has not been able to exploit his team's strengths or Toronto's weaknesses. Trotz has not been able to get his stars to play anywhere near the level they need to be playing. He has, once again, not been able to find a neutral zone scheme that works at containing the opponent's speed. Something's got to significantly change for me to believe Trotz is going to be able to lead this team further than he's ever led a team in the playoffs before. So far all the red flags that people were worried about are not only there, but waving furiously. And that includes Trotz's ability to outcoach his opponent in a playoff series.
