They're committed to rebuilding, if they expected to be a PO team, Briere would have gone out and obtained a top six center and maybe a veteran D-man.
Which means Torts won't be judged by wins and losses, but how well players are developing, and a lot of that is mastering fundamentals and learning to play as a unit.
I'd rather see them lose like last night, battling and working past their funk, than winning games sloppy, being saved by a hot goalie from bad decisions.
Right now this team just needs to focus on the basics, don't get caught 3 deep, don't get caught out of position, back check consistently (TK saved a goal with a strong back check).
There's a reason most players peak from 25-29, both physical maturity but also the experience that allows them to play "without paralysis by analysis" - making plays instinctively. Drysdale is 22, 5th season but only 154 NHL and 14 AHL games. Whereas York at 24 has 62 AHL games and 176 NHL games.