Aside from guys doing lapse in the defensive zone following the other team around pointlessly, I really see a team that is too careless with the puck. Just before the 4th goal while Caufield has the puck in his own end, he has a few options to clear the zone… chip off the glass or a short pass to a teammate directly ahead of him or a 50 foot pass to Suzuki on the other side of the rink. He chose the 50 foot pass that’s easily broken up, then the puck comes back and it’s in the back of the net a few moments later. It’s plays like this that happen dozens of times a game. As a team they make too many low percentage passes, low percentage pinches by the D, low percentage dump ins for retrievals etc. It’s really no surprise they are bottom of the league in so many team categories at EV.
It’s not all on the coaches, but it’s also not all on the players. They currently lack enough good coaching while also lacking enough good players. It’s currently not a good combination. Losing is fine, but they make it too easy. They don’t need to be Lemaire’s Devils, but they can be less careless in their overall play. There needs to be a standard to what is acceptable and what is not and right now anything goes and that is not good for “culture”.