Small talented players have to have match their skill with great courage and mental toughness when it comes to the playoffs.
Kane, Marner, etc have been great examples of this.
Johnny has to learn from his experiences in the playoffs. He is a top paid player on the Flames. He has to mentally “park” all the negative and challenging things and stay focused on the big picture when it comes to competing in the playoffs. IMO, he looks for too many excuses, instead of taking on a leadership role in tough times.
He is still a relatively inexperienced playoff performer and I have great hope that he will learn and grow from this very humbling team and individual experience.
He displayed some courage and stability , as well as tenacity in the game tonight. That has to be a more consistent part of his package.
My hope is that he will learn from this experience. He’s already a regular season game breaker. His challenge is that the playoffs are a whole different level.
With what he has overcome throughout his career, from a size perspective , I suspect he is fully capable of winning this challenge.
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