Mack and Rantenan have been beaten almost every shift of the last two games even with “favourable matchups”
It’s not a Lowery issues; it’s a Mack and Rantenan issue
Lowry's a good defensive forward, but his impact is being exaggerated.
He only played one real shift against Nate in the first 38 minutes or so of Game 4, and I didn't see much difference in Nate's game. He played fine, but not like his normal first round self. He's looked noticeably different.
Normally he's guns blazing, bull in a China shop, 100% effort every shift, leave nothing on the table. But this usually came with an adrenaline dump, as he wasn't able to match that level of play in the following rounds.
Regardless of the results, he's looked much different vs the Jets in the first round. It's not the bull in the China shop Nate, it's a more calculated Nate. It almost looks like he's pacing himself just a tad more than usual, to maintain his energy levels for later, because he can afford to.
Losing Drouin in the final game, who he had been sharing a brain with for quite a while, probably also had a stylistic impact on him. Both have had bigger impacts on Nate than Lowry IMO.