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The Calgary Flames were eliminated from the playoffs – in embarrassing fashion at that – exactly one week ago today.
A lot of players have since been criticized for their playoffs performances, with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan taking the brunt of the blame.
Matthew Tkachuk doesn’t think that’s fair. Not only did Tkachuk say they’re taking unnecessary heat, but that it should instead fall on his shoulders.
While I appreciate Tkachuk speaking out to defend his teammates – it’s the kind of leadership that will make him a great captain one day – I don’t think he is right. Gaudreau and Monahan did not play well, and they didn’t play better than Tkachuk (he finished with an even on-ice goal differential, a 53 xGF%, and produced more 5v5 points than both combined despite playing six games).
Yes, Gaudreau and Monahan put up a few points on the power play. But they were bad at 5v5. Pathetically so.
Gaudreau did not record a single point in 10 playoff games/140 minutes of action. That’s almost unbelievable considering 16 – 16! – different Flames players found the scoresheet in that gamestate. I mean, Alan Quine played 25 minutes and managed to produce a point.
Gaudreau and Monahan combining for one point (zero primary) and ~1.5 expected goals in 280 minutes of hockey is flat out unacceptable.
It would be one thing if they struggled to produce but at least helped Calgary create chances and control the run of play. They didn’t.
With that duo on the ice at 5v5, Calgary controlled just ~44.1 of the shot attempts, ~43.4% of the scoring chances and ~42.7% of the expected goals. Calgary scored just twice.
Winnipeg was a fringe playoff team missing several of their top players. Dallas, while really strong defensively, had a negative(!) goal differential at 5v5 this season. Calgary wasn’t facing a murderers row of opponents. And that’s the best two $6M+ players could muster up?
Generally speaking, I think stars take a lot of undeserved heat when their team bows out of the playoffs.
We heard how Toronto’s core four – despite ranking 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the team in playoff points – didn’t perform well enough and needs to be split up.
We heard how Connor McDavid, despite posting nine points and a ~64 xGF% in four games, didn’t show enough leadership. The list goes on.
Those takes, while par for the course, are completely off base.
The people giving Gaudreau and Monahan a hard time – such as myself – actually have real evidence to do so.
It’s not narrative to say they weren’t good enough for Calgary to have success. It’s fact.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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