The one mitigating factor is the increased amount of scrutiny officiating gets in the playoffs.
Am kind of glad there will be no Battle of Alberta in the first round because of the preferential treatment, at least early on, that McDavid & Co. are going to receive.
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What did people think about the knee on knee that took out Fowler? I would be pretty upset if that were the other way around and it was Gio getting helped off the ice. Good on him for taking his lumps on the next shift but that was a questionable play that looks like it will result in a huge loss for the Ducks right before playoffs.
Also wondering if Perry may have gotten injured in the 3rd. He was wincing pretty hard in the penalty box and I don't remember seeing him on the ice much in the rest of the game.
Other than Johnson's freak injury, let's hope the Flames came out of this one unscathed. Injuries in what is ultimately a meaningless game leading up to the playoffs can really hurt a teams chances.
What did people think about the knee on knee that took out Fowler? I would be pretty upset if that were the other way around and it was Gio getting helped off the ice.
Nothing to think about. It was unintentional contact on Gio's part - in no way was he targeting Fowler's knee.
I hope Elliott gets back into the zone soon. He was strong against the Ducks at home but that last goal was shaky, followed up by two bad ones tonight. It was supposed to be his night off, so let's hope he just needs a few days.
Brouwer is really staking his reputation in this city on his playoff performance. Not to be overly dramatic, but I would prefer Hathaway on that line and Brouwer in the pressbox at this point. He's played himself into a role that I'm sure he's unhappy with but they gave him more than a reasonable opportunity on the first powerplay unit almost all season and on a line with at least one of Monahan, Versteeg, Bennett or Gaudreau up until a few games ago. At this point I am hoping that he's still dealing with a nagging injury because -even with relatively low expectations after the signing- I'm pretty disappointed in what he has brought this season.
The line up against LA is going to be very interesting to see! Hopefully they can win the last two and build back up that confidence!
The Flames got outsmarted by a more experienced team. After Fowler went down they forgot that they were still in the game. Same thing with the Kings game last week.
Bring on the Hawks. The Flames can't seem to handle physical games. They have a few tough players, but team toughness ...................... not so much.
Ya it's questionable hit for sure. I'm sure it wasn't intentional but it was careless at minimum
Honestly, it's pretty much only Giordano's (well deserved) reputation as a guy who plays hard but clean over the years that makes me think it was accidental. I don't like that hit at all. Would be furious if the situation was reversed.
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The real question is will Gio see any disciplinary action, even if it was unintentional? You have to think the league is gonna take a look at it for sure. If he does end up getting suspended, hopefully it's just a game or two and he doesn't miss any playoff time. With Gio's reputation as an honorable player, I assume his punishment would be fairly light.
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