Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
I think this issue is being massively overplayed on these boards this summer.
The players play every game to win. Nakladal was trying to earn a job as an NHLer.
Were a few of the games at the end of the season meaningless? Definitely.
Should we throw out, or put an asterisk, beside his entire body of work? Ridiculous, IMO.
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Yes, but his team mates around him weren't all going at 100%, or playing with the intensity they would have been had the Flames been in the hunt. How would he have done when his defense partner was moving, making decisions just that fraction quicker and harder? How would he have done if the forwards were moving quicker out the zone and he needed to be just that little bit more accurate.
Not to mention, how many games did he get vs. other teams that were out of it too and they weren't playing as hard. When you are a team that's in it, even the teams that are done get up to play you and play spoiller.
Also, we can talk all we want about how much those games likely meant to Nak, and that's likely true, but it gets even harder to perform when you not only have your internal pressure, but the external pressure of not wanting to let your team mates down in a meaningful game.
It might get overstated for sure, but the meaningless games at the end of last year were simply not the same and not as good a test as a meaningful NHL game would be. Too many little factors dialed down a notch or two for it to be the same thing.