[tkflames]

Having spent 16 hours digesting the Flames loss and post game interview and trying to reduce the emotional bias, I believe more and more that team performance under pressure is linked to coaching.

The Cameron interview after the game bothered me after the game and really bothers me now. To summarize (and he is absolutely correct) it is not the coaching but the team that needs to learn and play under pressure. I couple this with a number of interviews before talking about losing points in the playoff race. Everyone is absolutely correct in their assessment, however it is the wrong approach to growing people. In high pressure situations the most important thing that leaders can do for a young team is separate the pressure from the players heads. Get them to focus on just one game and deflect all attention on the greater goal. People don't grow by yelling at them, blaming them and telling them to grow. People grow by experiencing success and being able to draw on this experience in the future. The young Blackhawks team of a few years back didn't know any better. By the time they realized what they had done they were in the 3rd round with a diversity of experience under their belt. I thought the flames of a few years ago were on a similar track, but mentally they have regressed...substantially. You can tell Johnny (and others) are trying to do to much and the rest of the team is not executing. They are not substantially less skilled than any other team in the race, quite the opposite actually. However unless their leaders and coaches find a way to isolate the young players from the pressure, let them lean on their instincts and focus on one shift, one period or one game, or this season may be a wash (if it isn't already).