This loss tonight is on Ward. Not the players, not Talbot, not Rittich but Geoff freaking Ward.
The team came out flying, got a 3-0 lead, and responded well in the first after the 3-1 goal.
Then the 3-2 goal wasn’t great but there was traffic, and the 3-3 goal was unlucky, but you could see the panic in his face when he pulled Talbot. That wasn’t a smart rationale decision but a emotional panicked decision that just deflated the team when they needed calm.
I guarantee that Talbot doesn’t let in any of the last three goals if Ward just calls a timeout at 3-3 to calm the team down. Once Ward pulled Talbot though he lost this team, you cant embarrass the guy that had carried the team up to that point.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ward went full Patrick Roy and said he’d never play for Ward again.
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