*Brandishes a Nucks Blade*
Come on!
Can you disagree? Objectively, they have played terrible. And the vast majority was NOT Luongo's fault this year. Granted, no Daniel doesn't help them at all, but all the great teams adjust and still play well and even win on occassion. My theory is that they cannot take the pressure. The President's trophy comes with too many expectations and can lead to lax play because of overconfidence. Vancouver seems to epitomize this as they are perennially good, but just as routine at underachieving when it matters.
Listen, I am a Red Wings fan. We are no better off being down 3-1, and in many ways we have similar problems to Vancouver. Too much focus on intellectual and finesse plays will not get you far in the playoffs if you are not willing to adapt your game and play hard nosed; crash the net, score scrummy goals, finish your hits ... I watch Detroit play a lot, and especially in the last couple games this has been a problem. Detroit has outplayed Nashville in almost every game, but they haven't been scoring enough goals. Playing well is not enough. Victory is a product of desire and tenacity, right now Detroit and Vancouver are failing at both.
Vancouver has suddenly become the underdog, and I want to root for them now. So don't give me any bullcrap about brandishing "'Nucks Blade"...
Canadians are even more thickheaded when it comes to their hockey teams than Americans are on a daily basis.
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[Amazon]
[Amazon]
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