This current D-corp will guarantee one thing, whoever they face over the course of a 7 game series will have that much of a lower chance to be healthy with each game they grind you down with. When you knock, say, Draisaitl to 75% effectiveness in game 1, by the end of the run he scored only twice? in 16 games, and the other team cannot afford to sit that broken player, it makes a huge difference in who comes out of the series.
Last year was their first crack at playoff hockey, this year they have better suited personnel to play to their identity, big guys that hits, blocks and is mobile. It's a strategy that is proven to work for Tocchet, for Foote when they were players.