Significantly Insignificant said:
Does this basically just come down to the fact that they have to cheat the defensive zone in order to win a game? Is it just that they don't have enough raw talent to win games by playing a proper possession game? I guess I just don't understand how when their possession numbers are good, they don't win, but when their possession numbers are bad, they do. I don't think I have seen a stretch over the last five years where their possession numbers were good and they were winning games.
Well, for a good chunk of the last 5 years, there weren't really stretches where their possession numbers were good, but, when they were and they received at least average level goaltending, they did win on a fairly regular basis - unfortunately, that was really only for about half a season when Reimer was first brought up.
As for this season, part of the reason things haven't played out according to the typical script is sample size. A short stretch of games can see the results not reflect the reality of the quality of play - as we've seen time and time again over the past few seasons. Part of it is also the calibre of goaltending they've faced. In their first 10 games, they faced Price twice, Fleury twice (during one of the best stretches of his career) and Lundqvist once. In the more recent stretch, they've seen some backup goalies, some struggling goalies and had 2 wins against a team that, for some reason, they've been able to beat consistently for a few seasons now (they've won 8 of their last 9 against Dallas). Also, they were somewhat fortunate that their worst possession game came against a team that struggled to get their shot attempts on net that night (Nashville).
So, no, I don't think has anything to do with cheating or not having the talent to win while playing a strong possession game (though, I'd say they probably don't - at least, not consistently). There's other factors that have brought about this outcome, a