The Flames are out for redemption after a series of subpar playoff showings. (EricFrancis)
Sean Monahan didn’t care to mince words when asked about his prime motivator for these playoffs.
Against a surging Colorado club Monahan, Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau combined for two goals, three assists and a combined minus-6.It’s the latest in a series of subpar playoff showings by a team that has won one of its last nine playoff games and has everyone questioning whether the Flames are built for playoff success with those three leading the ice time.
Underdogs or not, it doesn’t reduce the pressure on a deep, talented team that very few people see as a legitimate threat to return to the form that had them dominate the west during last year’s regular season. “It was not a matter of skill last year, it was a matter of will,” said Flames interim coach Geoff Ward.
The team responded well to Ward taking over, winning seven in a row to get them back into a playoff race that saw them finish eighth, barely ahead of first round opponent Winnipeg.But none of the challenges they went through this season compared to last season’s playoff face plant. At that time Cam Talbot was busy piecing together numbers that rival Connor Hellebuyck’s and Mikael Backlund was on a month-long tear that saw him score 10 goals and add 11 assists in 15 games.Debate all you want about whether Monahan, Gaudreau, Lindholm, Backlund and Tkachuk are as potent as Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine.
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