Coming off of what was a terrible game against the Senators, one thing was readily apparent. This team needs an attitude adjustment. There are only two players on the whole team who stand in front of the net or in the slot on the power play. Those would be Vanek and Gaustad. When Nathan Gerbe lays the hardest check of the night and Chris Butler is the only player to stand up for your goalie, the team itself needs a reality check.
This team has grit and toughness but nobody wants to show it. They definitely do not want to show at home. This team believes its a finesse team and plays like such. There is no wonder this team has been fighting for a playoff spot in the last two years. None of these players that are on the roster really want to get their nose dirty and do some work. It is good to see the rookies show some toughness that the veterans are not showing. The only issue is that most of these veterans are locked up into long-term contracts.
I know that I am basing this off of one game but this team needs a shakeup of some sort to get them out of the funk that the loss of Vanek has created. Somebody needs to step up and say something and show a bit of passion that was lacking last night.