After the panthers won it last year it felt like cup or bust. This year it feels like there’s no pressure and we’re just having fun. I agree with Jesse.
To add onto what happened with Ullmark, it's not that he was great and then was simply bad in the playoffs. He was great, and got injured pretty severely but the Bruins coaching staff kept playing him instead going to Swayman like they had all year for reasons unknown. This Bruins era going back to 2010 has been a series of pretty horrendous chokes except in 2011 and when against the Leafs for some reason. Getting to three cup finals is pretty amazing, losing 2 of 3 not so much. Nor getting reverse swept by the Flyers nor losing to the Panthers after the best regular season ever. Although in the Panthers defense, they're a lot better than their regular season record showed. Pretty much the same team that won the President's Trophy the season before, and it was a collective sense of dread that was the round 1 matchup. Most Bruins fans were hoping for the Islanders or Penguins if they snuck in, Panthers were like getting the Hurricanes again. A bad match up that played the bruins close all season.
@@Oujump he has less than 10 playoff games of experience.....even Kuemper won a cup with a stacked Avs roster in front. If he was injured Bruins made bad choice not playing Swayman until the final game, worst game to change goalies. Bruins had their chance after historic season up 3-1. They are DONE! Bruins Pens Caps Bolts; powerful 20yrs push now they're done
The biggest choke job I've ever seen in hockey was team Sweden losing to Belarus in the Olympics. Boston doesn't even come close to that. A team stacked with nhl players lost to a team with none.
People forget that Florida is actually good, they just had a rough season. I think they are better than last year. They just got their mojo in time. Also, Tampa's historic season just to be swept by columbus I think is worst than Boston losing in 7.
No way is Tampa's worse. Boston broke all the season records by a lot. They then took a 3-1 lead in the series. Then in game 7 they had the lead with a minute to go.
@@TheFerg Boston's record is only 3 more wins than Tampa. They had chances the entire time. They were always in it. Maybe the bigger choke but I think Tampa's is more embarassing. Tampa never stood a chance. They just got smoked and swept the entire time not even competing ... and had to listen to that cannon fire off non stop. At that time, Tampa also broke the all time regular season record...
@@consistxncy Those "three" extra wins is what made them the most winningest team by games and by points in the regular season in the history of the NHL. Tampa only tied the record for wins at the time. Tampa got lulled into a false sense of security but no one had ever lost like that before. Boston saw it happen just a few years ago and knew they had to be careful. Boston went on to a 3-1 lead in the series and a series winning lead with one minute to go. Boston's choke is by far the worst.
@@TheFerg You write sensibly and make great points. I think at this point it's just my personal view of it. Both chokes are extraordinary and I hope we see more of it, love this sport.
@@consistxncy You are the second guy in a week to actually make a nice civil response on the internet and restore my faiith in humanity. You rock. In the end it's just a ridiculous judgement call but we can both agree it sucked for both teams equally. Ouch.
I belive that the presidents trophy has some meaning. Its an accomplishment to be the best regular season team. I think it has the same kind of value that individual trophies.
Presidents trophy kind of prevents that “chip on the shoulder” “F you” kind of hockey attitude that is by nature bestowed upon any team that faces a Presidents trophy winning team in the playoffs, no matter the round Winning it absolutely gives fuel to your opponents
"why are we limiting it to the last 20 years?" Cause there was a completely new era of hockey being played from 04-05 and on. One win came from a lockout shortended season, and the other I don't have any excuse for. After that you had 2 cups wins, 1 cup loss, 2 conference finals, 7 second round exits, and 6 first round exits. That's not nothing. You have to at least acknowledge in the last 10 years the farthest someone made it was the conference finals in 14-15.
The Rangers were good because they were thriving on revenge, but they were missing a center, consistent scorer, and then injuries did them in They even had to overcome a 3-1 lead, with two of the elimination games going to overtime, and game 5 was nearly lost in regulation, and the first round was a fairly close series The Bruins looked exactly like the 2015 Rangers, until they lost game 5 in overtime, then they reverted to last year's Penguins but without the injuries I miss that Rangers team, would have been great if they had like Buchnevich, Kucherov, and Mcdavid/Point, unlike Drury's stupid team, but that's besides the point, the 2015 Rangers, the Capitals, and the Lightning proved to me that overachieving in the regular season is going to hurt the team in the long run, but it is a good stepping stone to actually winning it all when they conserve themselves in the following seasons (Boston hasn't changed anything but coaching, which probably boosted them in the regular season in an unprecedented way, but their roster would be the same as always in the playoffs, plus regular season overtime success was not going to translate to playoff overtime success, especially for an older team)
As a fan of Boston/Massachusetts sports teams, I have to agree with Luca that the near perfect season the Pats had before losing the Super Bowl was the biggest choke. Though, in terms of the last 20-30 years, I’d actually have to say the lost to the Oilers in 1990 was big. They didn’t have Gretzky that year - they had a genuine shot to win the Cup, and STILL LOST to a team that had traded their best player.
I'd take Carey price at 80% healthy in the playoffs over any goalie in the league. Some goalies have the ability to steal a couple games. He has the ability to steal entire playoff rounds. Crosby and the penguins complained about having to play them the year Montréal went to the finals because they knew he was going to steal the series. It's a shame that during his entire career, only once did a player ever reach 80 points. It's a crime.
Y’all are too young to remember. The 1993-94 NY Rangers won the President’s Trophy, & the Stanley Cup BUT, they needed double OT to beat NJ Devils, twice to get to the finals & “the President’s Trophy Curse” was a VERY hot topic!!!!! Especially when Messier wouldn’t lift it or even touch it. Every sport & every team has superstitions about every sport. It’s became a topic of conversation, again when they met Vancouver & they blew a 3-1 lead in that series.
The fact that the Bruins broke the regular season win and point record and were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round is the reason why people say President's Trophy is cursed. Literally, no one would care if the President's Trophy winner goes out in the first round if it had not been such a dominant regular season.
5:03 If it’s mainly Boston teams that choke the most then the Bruins better hope they meet my Canucks in this year’s Finals because they would win for sure!
I reckon anyone saying the PT is a curse is the same kind of person that says 'high school math is useless in the real world'. Given enough data points to reduce standard deviation, of course PT usually equates to better playoff odds. That said, there is definitely an offsetting negative pressure from expectations and pressure. 100%. But its not enough to counter the fact a team has a track record of playing well.
Patriots game wasn’t a choke. It was one single game with a crazy play. Unlike all these other choke jobs who blow series How about the Yankees blowing their sweep to the Sox ?
I mean when was the last time the leafs or the jets made it to the finals and won it. Cause so far Boston has done it in the 2000s compared to the two other teams.
The reason why the President's Trophy teams fail in the playoffs is because they have everything going for them during the season. They rarely suffer major injuries, never have slumps, or losing streaks. Meaning, they have yet to face adversity. Now, come playoff time, when games don't go your way or questionable calls against you, you don't know how to respond. JMHO, I could be wrong...
As much as I go on about the president trophy curse with my boys I watch the games with. It is not real. The league is that even. If you make the playoffs your team has enough skill to win. It’s just a chess match at that point all the way down from management to individual effort from guys on the roster.
I think whoever wins the Presidents Trophy the team burns them selves out by playing so hard during the regular season and they run out of gas in the playoffs
I don’t think the Bruins were necessarily burnt out I think it was probably more down to bad timings with certain injuries and probably moreso the bad matchup they’ve had all season with Florida
You guys missed the MOST OBVIOUS explanation for President's Cup winning teams doing poorly in the first round. You see, the NHL does this incredibly stupid thing when the playoffs arrive; THEY CHANGE THE NATURE OF THE GAME. Whereas, you would get a penalty call (and power play) for an infraction against the other team, now you don't get the call and the team that is better at committing the minor fouls (like baby hooks, tugs on the jersey as examples) and not getting calls has a big advantage. It frankly surprised me that Boston still didn't win because they are the quintessential cheap and dirty team (while still be highly skilled); however, this time they met their match with Florida who are also very good at the cheap and dirty style of game. It actually surprised me more that Toronto beat Tampa Bay who are also that type of team (while still being highly skilled) and, I hear, do very well in the playoffs (LOL). Until the NHL decides to run the regular season and the playoffs under the same rules, the President's Cup Trophy will not mean a damn thing and will end up being a lead indicator for your eventual fall in the playoffs and the league will be the worse for it. I keep hearing about this nonsense about the Playoffs being a "tougher" game like that's something to be celebrated. It's rubbish!! I'll take a high skill playoff game every single day of the year. It might also make the referrees look a lot less like complete idiots who seem to have no idea what a penalty looks like. I've heard refs say they don't want to "change" the game by making a borderline call; however, they DO CHANGE THE GAME by not making the call. Bottomline: If you call the games in the playoffs the same way you call the regular season, then teams who do well in the regular season will likely do well in the playoffs too, all things being equal. Then, the wild card will be injuries, some players stepping up under pressure and some disappearing under pressure. The way the NHL is now, it is almost unwatchable in the playoffs and sometimes in the regular season as well. They should fix it once and for all.
Yess that was a perfect explanation of how it’s been the last few years. They really do need the majority of the referees to look through the playbook and know the penalties/infractions
I saw that 96 Wings team that set the wins record play the Leafs at the Gardens. They lost to the Avalanche in the conference finals. Bruins losing to the Panthers is the biggest upset in NHL history. I don't know about choking, but definitely disappointing. The Warriors had Draymond Green suspended during that finals and Cleveland had Lebron. Yes that was a choke job because of the series lead, but that was the finals. The Warriors didnt lose in the first round. Boston should be embarassed by what happened against Florida. The Bruins were historically disappointing.
The Presidents Trophy lies to fans and teams. It makes people think the team that wins it is the best all around team when in reality they were just the best vs particular teams at particular times. It is not a true representation of what a team can do in a 7 games series vs the same team night after night. The Bruins were very good vs different teams during the entire series but against one team....the Presidents trophy does not always reflect that same skill
