I think this comes down to playoff hockey vs regular season hockey. No one can argue the rules change between the two parts of the season and the Flames were not ready for playoff hockey. The Avs slowed down Johnny with countless slashes and hooks in the playoffs that would be called more often than not in the regular season. I just hope the guys are more prepared for the speed of the Avs than they were in the playoffs because that was the real killer.
If they don't get up for this game then I'm not sure what they would get excited about. That said, if we want to talk history, the Flames aren't exactly known for their strong season openers.
__________________
|