[QUOTE=Jiri Hrdina;7756591]My view is that it is the top forwards that need to be changed. One can decide how far down that group to go - but that's the part of the roster that has been relatively untouched.
And again it might simply be that talent for talent, our top line players are not as good as other top line players.
I think Gio is different. I think Bingo was right when he observed that Gio has had to, for his entire career, perform at his max to prove himself. So when he hits the playoffs, he doesn't have another gear. He operates at his highest gear always.[/QUOTE]
I am going to nitpick this part of your post because I really dislike that argument. Gio is not alone in being a high effort player during the season, many players have earned a living doing that.
Players don't magically get faster and make better decisions in the playoffs. There is more intensity for sure.
But we have seen Gio exposed a little in the playoffs. Some of that is good game planning by the opposition, and some of that is poor decision making on his part. I 100% don't think it's because the game is suddenly faster and he can't keep up because all the players had been keeping that extra gear in reserve.
Little holes in your game become big holes in the playoffs, generally because of the quality of the opposition. Unfortunately for the Flames, we're usually playing teams that are better than us in the playoffs and our guys suddenly don't look so good.
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