I missed the battle of Alberta...which in this case wasn't a bad thing. I was fortunate enough to see the hated Ducks play in Nashville. It is good to know that the Ducks aren't just hated in Alberta. Since the Preds knocked The Ducks out of the playoffs it was billed to be a great match....and it did not disappoint.
In fact the only disappointing part of the trip was the notice I got from my Flames App that the Flames trailed the Oilers at home 6-1. It was at this point that any latitude I had given GG as a coach was gone. You see any die hard Flames fan would take a 10 game losing streak before losing in this manner to the Oilers.
Questionable player usage aside, not being able to prepare his team to play its long time heated rivals in the biggest game of the year is beyond acceptance and explanation. People have commented on the job that Travis Green has done with a average Vancouver Canucks team showing what good, smart coaching can do. We have also seen how Claude Julien has gone from a coach on the bubble to an astute coach again with the play of Price.
GG has been able to keep a talented team afloat with exceptional goaltending. They say Good goaltending makes great coaches...except when they don't. I think it is time to blow up the lines and D pairings to find some chemistry. I would like to see this experiment, trade Brodie for a Top RW, and GG replaced.
Right now my only hope of a turnaround lies in the fact that Paul Maurice, the coach of the Jets had a highly under performing team and looked like the players did not buy into his system until one day it just clicked. We could be so lucky.
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