Do you realize the difference of making a save that you should make late in the 3rd of a 2-1 game versus middle of the 3rd of a 5-3 game? One was a clear back breaker when the team was really coming on and looking like it was going to score and tie it up, and the other was just another goal in an all around horrid game for everyone.
I don't know. Schneider needs to find a way to get on his game. Then again, his PK SV% is at 0.873 while last year it was 0.960 which was clearly due to regress to the mean. It has, and now it looks more and more like last year was a statistical anomaly (I recall this being brought up several times). This years numbers are more realistic and what you'd expect (in terms of PK SV%), and are actually in the same ball park as Rinne and Lundqvist. The only difference between these goalies is their ES SV% where Schneider has also regressed.
The biggest concern though has to be the defense. You simply cannot pay almost $20M for a top 4 core and have them make the kinds of poor mistakes they have been making. Oh yeah, they have NTC's too. Last year these mistaks were masked by outstanding goaltending that just isn't there in some games this year and this is the result. This is definitely a troublesome area where since you can't move the players maybe you have to move the coach?
Offense looks bad too. We don't look dangerous at all. I like the Schroeder like but offensively they aren't producing consistently like a second like in the absence of a real second line. That Kesler line is a complete mess. We played better hockey without Kesler this year to be honest. The Sedin line has been the only offensive threat for us.
All in all I think this game, and this past road trip has exposed our biggest weaknesses. How we respond and how Gillis approaches addressing these weaknesses will determine the outcome of the season.
