We had injuries in the beginning of other years too, and there's a big difference:
2021-2022: 55.08 xGF% (3rd)
2022-2023: 55.00 xGF% (6th)
2023-2024: 49.04 xGF% (20th)
One of these things is not like the others. In past slow starts, we were still playing well, and running into goalie injuries/struggles, conversion struggles, and some bad breaks to get to records that didn't really reflect our play. And predictably, we shot up the standings after this. This year, we've played like garbage, and have results that, if anything, flatter us because unlike the early going in those past years, our stars are producing and keeping us afloat.
Murray is irrelevant this year, and Samsonov was acquired by Dubas for last season, where he was a top goalie. Treliving decided to re-sign him and go with him and Woll.
And our worst problem is not goaltending. It hasn't helped, but we're only -0.6 GSAx on the season.
Our worst problem, for the first time in years, is defensive play, and Treliving is the one who replaced strong defensive players with some of the worst defensive players in the league this offseason, and they are the ones currently sucking.