Adam Fantilli has been pretty damn good, Zach Werenski is one of the better offensive defensemen in the league, Kent Johnson is the biggest question mark, but he’s shown glimpses.
My biggest problem with how this team is playing under Pascal Vincent is too often, when his team is playing with a lead late in the game, he tries to play not to lose. Rather than sticking to their core tactics, you go into shell mode and hope you don’t lose. Different sport, but Caleb Porter is the king of doing this in the MLS. He’s won NCAA National Championships at Akron, two MLS Cups with Portland and Columbus. But when his play not to lose tactic gets figured out, teams swarm and go all out. It’s why he’s been fired from both MLS jobs despite winning Cups. It’s just not a viable strategy in professional sports. Pascal has had success in the QMJHL and the AHL where utilizing tactics like that might actually work. But he needs to realize it ain’t working at the top level, just as it doesn’t work in MLS, and won’t work in any of the other top professional leagues in NA.
