A couple of heavy collisions, including one that was whistled as a check-to-the-head, have done nothing to deter him.
A puck to the face, thankfully, didn’t seem to do much damage.
And how about a Hart Trophy snub? Gaudreau certainly made a compelling case for MVP honours, putting up more even-strength points than any guy since the mid-1990s and the finest plus-minus since some dude named Gretzky was still in his heyday, but he wasn’t among the three finalists revealed Thursday.
“The season he had is incredible, obviously,” said Flames teammate Blake Coleman. “But I think Johnny would be the first to tell you he’d trade the Hart for a Cup any day.”
There have, of course, been some hard knocks for Gaudreau in playoffs past.
