I actually liked how Colton Wood Trenin Duhaime tried to play.
Last season Bednar got a pass from me since beyond the top 5 forwards we had marginal fourth liners at best.
This season I think he had the horses to roll four lines that can contribute. Especially physically to wear down an opponent. Instead he rose the top line into the ground and the top guys were gassed by the end of it.
Depth wasn't the reason the Avs lost to Dallas. And I'll keep saying that over and over. It was the top or the lineup that didn't deliver.
Yeah, even though the 3rd line was very inconsistent this year, you could see in their minutes all the time, they weren't being played enough.
It was absolutely the top lines that were the difference though. Specifically Nate and Mikko. Mikko wasn't focused all year, and Nate either had an adrenaline dump after his regular season he couldn't recover from, or something going on his personal life, because he looked entirely different.
If you really want to break it down further, Benn outplayed Nate, and that might have been the difference. Not just slightly in production, but just his overall impact on the series. He generated more momentum for his team with his physicality and his presence.
Especially early on, and that's when the Avs lost the series. They put themselves in too big a hole, and left no margin for error. Winning three in a row against Dallas in the playoffs is a very tall task.