I haven't lost hope. While I am disgusted that nobody stepped up and destroyed Pacioretty, it's still too early to label this a soft team. These guys need to watch the video. They need to be ashamed of themselves. Then they need to come out on Tuesday and start redeeming themselves. If that doesn't happen, it's squarely on two sets of shoulders--Torts and Callahan. If neither one of those guys can get a change in attitude after a game like that, then change needs to happen.
As for the injuries--they suck, but they aren't the end of the world. People like to point to Ottawa. I'd rather point to the 2011/2012 New York Rangers. When we found out that Staal would be out for a serious chunk of the year, we were pretty morose around here. That got worse when we lost Sauer. Do you remember what happened? McDonagh decided to be a hero. Girardi started playing at a level that we'd never seen before. Del Zotto (who we had penciled in on the Connecticut roster, thinking he was displaced by Erixon) went from disaster to Norris contender. We DID have injuries last year. Thing is, we also had a few heroes. We've got injuries now--time to see who wants to be a hero.