I always thought they would be the team to blink first but I thought they would hang around a bit longer as they look totally spent. They didn't play well on the homestead and last night looked like a team that needs a week off as they no longer even have that 3rd period push back that got them out of a lot of holes earlier in the season. They have played admirable since losing their captain but it appears it's caught up to them. Hard to get angry because it feels like they have been running with house money for months now.
Even with Gio I'm not sure they would have that next gear as there is a reason the Flames were picked at the beginning of the season to be McDavid candidates and that's because overall talent is suspect. You could really see it last night that the Wild was simply the more talented team and even the Stars a few nights ago were the more talented team. Hard work can only get you so far and every season going forward there should be an infusion of more talent while the young core players continue to get better with experience. Still lots to be happy about but it appears that it's maybe a little too soon for the playoffs for this group.
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