Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Mmm. No. The Flames of last year—a "playoff calibre team"—managed to lose all four of their games against the Edmonton Oilers. If the Flames lose tonight, there is no good reason to believe that they will not be in the playoffs in April. Chances remain high that they will get there regardless of tonight's result.
I get it. It is emotional because of who the Oilers are and the long history between these two teams. But like it or not, most players in today's NHL are not nearly as invested in these rivalries as fans—it's not like it was in the 1980s and 'nineties, and it never will be again. That is not to say that players don't care—it is to say that they don't care a lot more about winning this game than they did about winning against the Kings last night.
In the end, if the Flames are good enough on the balance of the schedule to make the playoffs they will—regardless of how well or poorly they play in games against the Oilers. In a seven game playoff series with a team other than the Oilers—who will not be there, the Flames' performance against Edmonton will have virtually no bearing AT ALL on the outcome.
Connecting the collective fate of the team and coaches to their fortunes within this single series of games is becoming tiresome, because one really does not have anything to do with the other. This is not an acceptance of "mediocrity" as I will undoubtedly be accused of for this post. It is a sober recognition that there is a much, MUCH bigger picture here.
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The Oilers last season were not essentially an AHL squad like they are this year. However, if they had managed to win some of those games, they might not have had to face the Ducks and suffered a much different fate than a 4-0 sweep in round #1. Games like this really do matter, especially now, since the 2018 Oilers are stains in the toilet bowl.
Clinging to some flawed logic that this result tonight is meaningless is nothing more than severe hometown bias. Four consecutive ho-hum efforts, with all but one game against a team you can consider to be playing at a high level would be beyond crushing for a team coming off of what should have been a significant turning point. If the Flames can muster their best effort at this stage of the season, they quite simply do not have what it takes to be a playoff team in my eyes. It's about the character of the team at this point, much more than it will ever be about the 2 points.