Lineup issues aside, this team plays with little or no creativity. Their power play is predictable, as one would expect from the middle of the pack. They pissed away a 5-minute PP trying to set up that one-timer from the right faceoff circle.
The defence often seems confused about what to do with the puck. The Petes clearly know what we are going to do before we do it. That whole "stand behind the net and wait for everybody to change (and re-tape their stick)" has got to go. It gives the visiting team an extra home change in the first and third. Stretch passes don't work if everyone is standing still.
I agree that they lack confidence, not effort, but confidence.