So Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares is on the same level as Ovi, Backstrom, Kuznetsov and Oshie? I thought they were better but I guess we were all fooled.
Matthews, Marner, Nylander are all better than Backstrom/Kuznetsov/Oshie. But I'm not really sure what your post was supposed to mean ?
The only 2 series that I could say we definitely 100000% should have won were the Columbus/Montreal series
Lost in 7 to prime Tampa
Lost to prime Florida
Lost in 7 to prime Boston twice
And then obviously the game 7 lost to Boston last year
Point is we played some really good teams and had some really competitive series. Those teams have all declined since, and we've gotten better. Tampas looking lethal again lately but overall vs a couple years ago, their team has gotten weaker.
Ovechkin and the Caps are proof, that failing or choking in the playoffs in previous years is not some guarantee that you'll lose again.
Now if you guys wanna pout, whine and complain about the team before the playoffs even start be my guest. Who am I to tell you not to ?
Personally though, I like the way this team has played this year, I like the additions to the roster and I am especially happy with our coaching staff.
It's been rough for us but ask yourselves, how many other teams beat that prime Boston team that featured Chara, Bergeron, Rask, Pastrnak, Krejci, Mcavoy ? They lost to Tampa, and the Isles who took Tampa to 7, and the Blues in 7 in the Cup final.
How many teams beat that prime Tampa Bay team ? Spoiler, it was only us and Colorado. The one time we did lose to Tampa, was a game 7 with very questionable officiating.
How many teams beat the Panthers ? Only Vegas in the cup final
I'm optimistic about our team and context absolutely matters when discussing playoffs. We're not playing dog shit teams in the 1st round every year like the Pacific division does, we get difficult match ups and actually compete.
But again, if you wanna whine and complain about the last several years of failure, go for it. I personally won't and call me an idiot IDC I am optimistic about this team this year, because of how they have played and the commitment by the entire team to a 200ft playoff type of game.