I didn't find Barron to be the worst D last night. Mathesson was for me. Bad on the PP and so many bad plays in the D zone. I think that Barron tried to keep it simple and within the system, but too many time his play ended up in turn over due to the intended receiver not being where they where suppose to be or mismanaging the puck. i hated Barron last year and I want him gone (dont see how he fit in this d group), but he's far from the problem right now.
Another thing I notice, and it build on what you or WTK said earlier, our passes where off target (not clean and tape to tape), but often very slow to come, especially on zone exit. They need to play faster on breakout.
If MSL is true to his "hard coaching" mantra this year, then yes things will change. But I also keep my expectation reasonable - this team will lose games, a lot of them, this year. This is still a rebuild and improvement is to be expected. So let the players earn their "chair".
Now, what I want to know is why are Suzuki and Slaf still in pre-season mode.