Bruins & Bucks Join Biggest Playoff Busts

We all know the story. A team shatters records during the regular season and looks untouchable. Yet, somehow, their regular season prowess can’t translate to the postseason when they need it most.

Just this year, we saw this familiar phenomenon with the Boston Bruins. The Bruins broke the record for most points scored during the regular season (135). Boston also broke the record for regular season wins with 65, surpassing the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (62-13-7) and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning (62-16-4). Neither the Red Wings nor the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in their respective record-setting seasons. In fact, neither team even made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. This season, the Bruins had a chance to change that narrative by finishing the job — but they fell short. Like the Lightning, the Bruins lost in the first round.

The Bruins lost 4-3 to the Florida Panthers after holding a 3-1 series lead. In Game 7, the Panthers were the first to strike, establishing an early 2-0 lead. Then, Boston fired back with three consecutive goals and readied themselves for the second round of the playoffs. With less than one minute left on the clock, the tide turned: Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour scored his second goal of the game to force overtime. Carter Verhaeghe finished the job for the Panthers, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime and leaving the Bruins frozen on the ice.

What the Panthers will do in the rest of the playoffs remains to be seen. However, this win may have been their way of reversing the roles from last season. In the 2021-22 season, the Panthers had an impressive record (58-18-6), the best season in club history. They also won their first President’s Trophy and scored 122 points (ranked 8^th all-time in regular season points). In the first round of the playoffs, the Panthers won the series 4-2, advancing past the Washington Capitals thanks to a clutch overtime goal by (you guessed it) Carter Verhaeghe. In the second round, however, the Lightning stunned the Panthers with a 4-0 sweep, ending their historic season.

Though we have seen several regular-season juggernauts fall in the NHL playoffs, this phenomenon extends far beyond just hockey.

The Milwaukee Bucks were another recent letdown. In a similar fashion to the Bruins, the 1-seed Bucks fell to an 8-seed in the first round: the Miami Heat. Unfortunately for the Bucks, their first round was not quite as thrilling as Boston’s. Milwaukee won only one game in the series, ultimately falling 4-1 to the Heat. Not only did the Bucks have the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference, they had the best record in the entire league.

One of the more dramatic instances of this phenomenon was found in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors were the defending champions, but they still felt they had something to prove. Many believed the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers was only due to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love’s injuries. Golden State began the next season without Steve Kerr and set out to prove their win was just as real as any. And they did. Well, almost.

The Warriors started their season with a bang, going 24-0 and shattering the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitols records for the best start to the season (15-0). Did I mention they scored over 100 points in each of these games? The Warriors entered the All-Star break at 48-4, setting the record for the best start to a season in NBA history. They also broke the record for NBA road wins with 34 by the end of the season. Then, they broke their most impressive record yet: They went 73-9, surpassing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for most wins in a season. The Bulls finished the job that season, taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Judging by their historic season, it seemed likely the Warriors would do the same. Winning the 2016 NBA Finals would have been the much-needed cherry on top of their historic season. The defining feat to establish their superiority over the Cavs. But, as the story goes, they left Oracle Arena empty-handed. While the Warriors broke several records that year, the one people will remember is being the first team to blow a 3-1 lead in the Finals.

I know what you’re thinking. This seems to be a pretty recent trend. Maybe it’s just inevitable with these NBA superteams. Maybe it’s just a new, more difficult era of sports across the board. It’s not like this has happened before, right? Well, let’s take a look.

Back in 2001, the Seattle Mariners had a hot start to the season, just like the Warriors. Their 31-9 start had all the signs of a special season. And a special regular season it was. Seattle won a record-setting 116 games, tying the 1906 Chicago Cubs for most regular-season wins in baseball history. To this day, no team has tied or broken the record. Despite their historic records, neither team won the World Series. The Cubs battled their own city but ultimately lost in seven games to the Chicago White Sox. The Mariners were a different story. Their regular season record was particularly impressive in a more difficult era of baseball with a seemingly lackluster roster. The 2001 Mariners roster was mostly made up of older players, with an average age above 30 and four players being as old as 38. Unlike most teams with historic records, the Mariners didn’t have many “superstar” players on their 2001 roster, making their run all the more special.

But as it was with the Warriors, a great regular season only makes your loss more memorable. The then Cleveland Indians gave Seattle a run for their money in the ALDS with a full 5-game series. The Mariners scraped by but were not looking as dominant as usual heading into the ALCS. The next step for Seattle was not quite as thrilling, as the New York Yankees breezed by, winning the series 4-1. Losing to the Yankees may not have seemed like the biggest shock. After all, they did win their fourth consecutive World Series that year. But after watching Seattle’s incredible run, it seemed impossible that they would lose to anyone.

It always seems impossible until it happens. There is no doubt that these teams are stars. The only unfortunate thing about stars is that they all burn out eventually.

When people think about the Patriots, they usually think about Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and six Super Bowl wins. If you ask Patriots fans about a certain season, they might tell you how they stunned the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, coming back from a 25-point deficit to take home the Lombardi Trophy. Despite all these accomplishments, Patriots fans will never forget 2007.

For football fans, there are only a few certainties in life: death, taxes, and a Super Bowl ring on Tom Brady’s finger. In 2007, that reality looked promising. The roster had three Hall of Fame players on it with Randy Moss, Richard Seymour, and Junior Seau. As if that wasn’t enough, the Patriots also had Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in their prime. By the looks of this roster, they’d have a shot at joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins in a perfect season.

The 2007 Patriots won one more game than the ’72 Dolphins. They also led the NFL with a plus-315-point differential, the largest in history. Mission accomplished, right? Well, not quite. The Patriots went 16-0 in their regular season, coasting past teams all year. They made scoring look effortless. Their chemistry was incredible heading into the playoffs. They beat the Jaguars 31-20 in the divisional round of the playoffs. Then, they beat the Chargers 21-12 in the next round. And then, of course, the New England Patriots were Super Bowl bound for the third time in the last four years.

After making two playoff wins look easy, the Patriots improved to 18-0 and were 12-point favorites over the Giants in the Super Bowl. There is no question that the Super Bowl is the biggest game of the season. No one is arguing that. But the Patriots had already won 18 games, and it didn’t look like they knew how to lose. What was one more win?

One more win proved to be too much for the Patriots to handle. Perhaps it was the pressure of completing a perfect season and joining elite company. Perhaps it was a fluke. Whatever the reasoning was, it doesn’t matter. In the end, 2007 became a bittersweet memory for Patriots fans.

Now, the spotlight is on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays went 13-0 to open the season, boasting the longest winning streak to start a season in over 30 years. They now sit at 25-6. They also hold the best record across the MLB with a win percentage of .806. If they maintain this pace, they will have a season filled with excitement, drama, and victory. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and assume the Rays will hoist their first World Series pennant this year. As we know, regular-season excellence is anything but a championship guarantee.