Could this be the year the Bruins finally miss the playoffs?

[BigBadBruins7708]

Montgomery being a moron and putting an obviously injured Ullmark in net for game 6 and doubling down by refusing to pull him despite the atrocious goals he was letting in.

And he stupidly played Bergeron and Krejci at the end of the year with nothing to play for. Both got injured and missed basically the entire series and we're hobbled when they did get in

 

[Bard Marchand]

There are 66 million reasons in net, I guess.

 

[McGarnagle]

Florida was the worst matchup possible for them in the east. Late in the year there was a game against Pittsburgh where they came back late in the third to tie and win in OT, and if they threw that game the Penguins make the playoffs instead of Florida.

But primarily it was because Ullmark was badly injured and Monty kept him in there to get blown out. Bergeron also insisted on playing a meaningless game 82 in Montreal and ruptured a disc in his back. And the whole team came down with the flu before game 1. Just a perfect storm of everything that could go wrong going wrong.

 

[Laus723]

The Panthers came, they saw, then they beat their asses.

I don’t know, shit happens. The Panthers were fighting with playing the way Bruno/Q had them playing and the way Maurice wanted them to. It just clicked in the Boston series once they had to dig in. They learned that season and came into last season hungry and willing to do the work.

For the Bruins, people expected them to fall for years, they kept pushing back expectations and had a stellar last couple years.

Sacco could push the team forward, look at Knoblach with the Oilers. Still, so far Ekholm and Zadarov additions aren’t looking great, and Swayman needs to settle in.

 

[Terry Yake]

same thing that happened to the 2019 bolts, 2010 caps, 2009 sharks, etc

they choked

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

They ran into the panthers. President's trophy winners the year before, cup winners the year after. Not your ordinary #8 seed.

 

[McGarnagle]

Also, worth noting that Florida had a ton of puck luck. They scored at least two goals each game that series that started with Montour taking a harmless point shot that deflected off two defensemen and in.

 

[hirawl]

Also, worth noting that Florida had a ton of puck luck. They scored at least two goals each game that series that started with Montour taking a harmless point shot that deflected off two defensemen and in.

No such thing as a harmless point shot in hockey. One of the most important plays to create goals.

 

[JianYang]

The wrong is assuming the regular season success means a whole lot in the playoffs.

You want to have your best form in the playoffs, and from what I recall, the bruins had a couple aging peices in their core at the end of their career, and Bergeron got hurt at the wrong time of the year.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

The goalies played nowhere near what they did in the regular season

Basketball has a lot less luck involved than hockey.

In a 7 game basketball series there are approximately what, 500+ made shots.

Vs a 7 game NHL series will have, what 50 goals?

1 single bad bounce can lose you a hockey game. 1 single mistake.

Not the case with basketball. You can make the absolute worst play possible in basketball and at most it's a what, 5-6 point swing?

That wasn't the issue, they just got slightly outplayed by Florida. Which doesn't seem too bad until you realize Florida was badly outplayed by their other 3 playoff opponents that year.

same thing that happened to the 2019 bolts, 2010 caps, 2009 sharks, etc

they choked

More of the 2019 Lightning. The other two teams heavily outplayed their opponent but got unlucky.

 

[dgibb10]

That wasn't the issue, they just got slightly outplayed by Florida. Which doesn't seem too bad until you realize Florida was badly outplayed by their other 3 playoff opponents that year.

I'd say they slightly outplayed florida.

Especially considering boston wasn't a team that thoroughly dominated teams in the regular season.

When you go from the best goaltending in hockey by far, to 0.890 sv% and negative gsax in the playoffs, that's what happens.

 

[Pierre Larouche]

They blew a 3-1 lead to a hungry Panthers team. That’s where they went wrong.

... and a goalie getting super hot at the right time.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

They shit the bed in Game 5 OT, left Ullmark in Game 6 when he was hurt, and couldn’t finish us off in Game 7.

I’m so happy that my team won that series and never gave up, but make no mistake, the Bruins got in their own way and got the result they deserved.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

The goalies played nowhere near what they did in the regular season

Basketball has a lot less luck involved than hockey.

In a 7 game basketball series there are approximately what, 500+ made shots.

Vs a 7 game NHL series will have, what 50 goals?

1 single bad bounce can lose you a hockey game. 1 single mistake.

Not the case with basketball. You can make the absolute worst play possible in basketball and at most it's a what, 5-6 point swing?

There's also inherently a lot less things that neither team can control in ice hockey. That's why it's not rare to see the team that played worse and had worse goaltending to still win a close game due to a favorable bounce.

 

[Klargplutte]

Cruising into they playoffs with a Presidents Trophy is usually poor preparation for a deep run for the cup

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Fair or not, I remember Boston's 2022-2023 season not as a great achievement but a colossal failure. Granted the Panthers weren't the typical #8 seed considering their postseason success that year and the next. But still they didn't win a SINGLE round. In comparison, the '16 Warriors at least went to the Finals.

The punched above their weight in the regular season and below it in the postseason. A tale as old as time. It's unbelievable how much of this sport is luck-based. We all try and out-think each other, but really for all we know they were a shot away from the Cup and that shot belonged to Carter Verhaeghe on that day.

That's the cruelty of sport. You can lose in round 1 and could have been so much as a shot away from a Stanley Cup and you'd never know.

 

[Ned Bouhalassa]

Fair or not, I remember Boston's 2022-2023 season not as a great achievement but a colossal failure. Granted the Panthers weren't the typical #8 seed considering their postseason success that year and the next. But still they didn't win a SINGLE round. In comparison, the '16 Warriors at least went to the Finals.

Ego. Too many who should have sat due to injury forced the coach’s hand and played anyways.

 

[Patrik26]

Ask Marchand why he didn't convert the breakaway in Game 5 vs Florida. So sad.

 

[Machinehead]

Ullmark put up a season that wouldn't have looked out of place on Prime Hasek's resume.

They were never that much better than the Panthers.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Also, worth noting that Florida had a ton of puck luck. They scored at least two goals each game that series that started with Montour taking a harmless point shot that deflected off two defensemen and in.

The Panthers' whole strategy in every playoff game is shoot from every angle and shoot a lot and hope there's a bounce or the goalie gets tired and let's in a soft one. They're a better goalie version of the Carolina Hurricanes and have a bit of a better defense as well. So puck luck is their whole strategy.

 

[thefutures]

Overrated based on reg season

 

[CDJ]

I am convinced that every time Montour shot it ended up in the back of the net

 

[McGarnagle]

I am convinced that every time Montour shot it ended up in the back of the net

Yep. Meanwhile the Bruins did not get a single goal from a defenseman the entire series*

*Carlo did score what was a big time goal that would've extended their lead in game 6 and probably win them the series but they reviewed it and found that the puck barely grazed Jake Debrusk's glove 15 seconds earlier in the possession so they overturned it for a "hand pass."

 

[Suntouchable13]

What happened was they had them at 3-1 the panthers were, as a legendary man once said, who we all thought they were, and they let them off the hook!

 

[dgibb10]

There's also inherently a lot less things that neither team can control in ice hockey. That's why it's not rare to see the team that played worse and had worse goaltending to still win a close game due to a favorable bounce.

A lot of fans don't want to admit that luck plays a massive role in who wins the cup unfortunately