There's a gap as wide as Fraser River between our forwards and dmen in the o zone.
There's no puck support as a 5-men unit, and since our d are so flatfooted they are always worried about odd men rushes going the other way. They just hover around the blueline hoping the forwards come out with the puck and get the puck to them, which rarely happens.
And when they do, the d either shoots a muffin toward the net or rim the puck around the boards, which usually ends up on the other team's stick either way.