It is the day after the Ottawa Senators were eliminated from the playoffs by the Maple Leafs. The team played well, but did not get the bounces that are required in playoff hockey. Such is the nature of competition.
Losing the series maybe a good thing for them for a number of reasons. Moving on would have been great for the city and seeing the the Tkachuk brothers go up against each would have been fun but realistically Florida is a big, fast, tough, and skilled hockey team with a very high hockey IQ. They probably would have gone down in four to five games.
Secondly, moving on would not have given them the necessary time to fully understand what they accomplished this season and in the playoffs. This was a pretty big stage for the young core and we got a glimpse into the future of what this team could be. The learning’s from this series are so critical to development.
Third, they built a mindset of persistence, process, and being adaptive when needed. They elevated their game after game one and forced the next three games to overtime. They lost two and won an elimination game in overtime. They experienced first hand how pressure creates abnormal behaviour. Pressure affects you physically, emotionally, our decision making and our resilience.
Finally, this was a battle between of what they believed and what they feared. Coach Green throughout the season got them to believe and trust what he was teaching. He had to clean up a five year mess that was left behind by the previous coaching staff and ownership. They finally understood that their average game has to be better than everyone else’s .
As for the Leafs they now get to play the Florida Panthers. Good luck with that and Florida get to shoot on their former back up goalie! Ironic isn’t it.
As for the Senators fans keep in mind that anything worth building is going to take time
Until next time.
Belief Fuels Trust. Trust Fuels Confidence.
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Between The Ears 