We appear to have problems playing bigger teams. That makes sense when you consider we have Gaudreau, Ryan, Czarnik, and Mangiapane currently in the lineup. We are missing grit, and it is up to the more physical players to make up for it.
I remember this interchange in front of Rittich from last night. Anderson was pushing and shoving with a Star (I'm not sure who), but just lost his own ground. That is just a one-off play but just underlined the lack of grit the team has. Playoffs appear to still be gritty hockey, even though regular season is moving away from it. Players like Hathaway, Tkachuk, Neal, Bennett, Giordano, and Hamonic have shown the ability to play gritty. They just have to do it more consistently IMO.
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