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Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
And some would say trying to build a physical team around that core is the only way we'll compete for a cup in the Pacific. I happen to think those people are right.
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Peculiar you think those "people are right" when the non-physical Chicago Blackhawks (2015 vs Ducks, 2014 vs Blues, 2013 vs Kings), San Jose Sharks (2016 vs Kings), Calgary Flames/Edmonton Oilers/Vancouver Canucks (2015 vs Kings), Nashville Predators (2016 vs Ducks), 2015 Wild (2015 vs Blues), have managed to eliminate the three true "Black and Blue" teams in the Western Conference playoffs for 3 of the last 4 seasons. And the 2014 Sharks and 2014 Blackhawks were a Vlasic injury and an overtime bounce, respectively, from knocking out the 2014 Kings.
The tunnel vision has to end. There's more than one way to compete for a cup
in the Pacific. Heck, I would take the 2011 Canucks against any team in this year's Pacific race, they came up against a ridiculously elite goalie in the Final that year, and lost a series where they were better.
Oh, and those Black and Blue Winnipeg Jets from last year? The Flames managed to win more playoff games against the Ducks (1 vs 0), and they were just as inept as the Flames this year too (24th vs 23rd).
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Originally Posted by Ryan Kesler
No human can withstand that many hits
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...Said a player on a team that lost their series.
The Flames being too small, too soft, all that is just an excuse for the Flames not being good enough, period, for a variety of reasons including skill, depth, goaltending, systems, and experience. The best puck possession team I've ever witnessed was built around Pavel Datsyuk, not Ryan Getzlaf or Dustin Brown.