Quote:
Originally Posted by Toonage
I think you're just looking for an argument, and I'm not biting.
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I'm not looking for an argument. Trying to engage in a debate, very obviously, but your opinion doesn't make me mad, but I think it's wrong.
The team lost.........people love to yell about "lack of heart". Sometimes that's true, but more often than not it's a catch phrase fans throw around to allow them to be mad at the players they feel let them down. I think lack of heart is very rarely the root cause of issues, especially in the NHL, the give a #### meter for most players when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is pretty high (versus maybe what you see in the NBA playoffs).
I think the Flames played like absolute ####. But I think they played like #### for two reasons:
1. As mentioned before, they choked under the pressure and played below their ability. We saw them loose foot speed versus the regular season, we saw them refuse to close the gaps in the neutral zone and fail to manage gaps, and we saw them turn over the pucks in their own zone unforced by dumping the puck out versus try their break outs. None of these say anything about lack of heart to me, to me they are the hallmark of nervous play, or choking.
2. I think there is some truth to the fact the physical make up of this team isn't right for playoff hockey, when the "rules" change and less gets called. But again, that's not a heart issue.
You want to say it's heart, but to me that's just an easy thing for a fan to say when they are angry because it's the most hurtful thing you can say about a player or team.