Hockey's top 5 crushing defeats

quoipourquoi

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Blaming Osgood, Coffey, Lilja, is just part of what hockey fans do when their team loses in the playoffs. Especially if they're favored to win.

And do you find that behavior to be particularly worthy of your sympathy? Like at the end of the second Mighty Ducks movie when Team Iceland’s coach yelled “You blew it!” at Gunnar Stahl, were you thinking this defeat is more crushing than “Rocky”.
 

FireDJ

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Jul 20, 2006
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I gotta say, I'm not an Oilers fan, but am from the area.

Game 1 of the 2006 finals was one of the most crushing losses I've ever seen.

Oilers jump out to a 4-1 lead in Carolina. Carolina comes back in the third period and ties the game. Roloson goes down for the rest of that series with the knee injury. Conklin comes in. He and Smith have a goof-up behind the net for the go ahead goal with 1 minute left. Oilers have glorious chances with under 30 seconds left to tie it and Cam ward stood tall. Even though that series went to 7 and Markkanen held his own, you just had a feeling after that game 1 it wasn't the Oilers series.
 

GMR

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And do you find that behavior to be particularly worthy of your sympathy? Like at the end of the second Mighty Ducks movie when Team Iceland’s coach yelled “You blew it!” at Gunnar Stahl, were you thinking this defeat is more crushing than “Rocky”.
Some teams have more passionate fan bases. Some fans are harder on their teams than others. This is magnified when expectations are higher. Detroit was a Cup contender for many years. They had several disappointing early playoff exits. It's natural for fans to call out certain players for tough losses. Every fan base does this.
 

buffalowing88

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I think these 4 absolutely belong. I would also indeed concur that the 1971 Finals between the Habs and Blackhawks as well. What all of these have in common were daggers twisting in the hearts of the losing team's fanbase. Not just how they lost, blowing leads while victory was seemingly at hand, but because all of these franchises had to wait decades until they got their shot again at winning again, or still are waiting.

There's less sting in the OP's post for an Oilers team losing, a Penguins, or Kings team because simply they had a few seasons around those collapses, where everything did go right.

Incidentally, the worst sting for Sabres fans was a 2001 loss in the 2nd round against the Penguins, with Darius Kasparitis's Game 7 OT winning goal.

Those era's teams, as good as they were at making the playoffs and getting deep, never, ever opened up their series at home. It always seemed to be on the road. This was a rare series in where they had home ice advantage--and it seemed nerves and all cost them both opening games--close ones, but losses. They then go to Pittsburgh and win by 3 goals each game, and come home to win Game 5.

Game 6 in Pittsburgh, they had a win looming, leading by 1 going into the final two minutes of the game, but a puck plops high up in the air, and lands right at the stick of Lemieux who ties it and they promptly lose in OT.

In Game 7, the team also had a lead in the 3rd, and give up both the tying goal and the winning one in OT (to a Kasparitis who picked up the puck during a jam in OT and threw it in front of Don Koharski (who said after the game "I'm not calling that"), minutes before).

That 2001 team was better than the 99' team that made the Finals.

Hasek left the team after that series, perhaps the team wasn't going to give him the tools he would need to succeed. The team did not sign holdout Michael Peca, who in many minds, would have been the difference for the Sabres that playoff year, over a difference of something like a million dollars (nothing to an owner who was later jailed for cooking the books). I think with him on the roster, they get past the Pens, and the Devils in the ECF (they were 4-0 vs. them in the regular season) and who knows after that.

Since that playoff loss, and Hasek leaving that season, the franchise is still trying to find its identity, having made the playoffs just 4 times in the 19 years, he has left.


Thanks for bringing this squad up!

The 2001 Sabres were oddly better against good teams than they were against the bottom-feeders that year. I think it was the veteran talent, particularly on the defense that pushed them ahead.

That and, of course, Hasek was Hasek.

I agree that Peca would have been the difference that year. The Penguins absolutely could have beaten us 5 times out of 10 if this was played in a simulation, but that one chance we had, we really missed out. The team had a blip from 05-07 after that but otherwise we've never been anything but overachieving underdogs at best.
 

danincanada

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Feb 11, 2008
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I mean...

...if that’s what Kris Draper and Mike Babcock were thinking in 2009, that’s the sort of mindset antagonists in fictional stories have when they don’t realize they’re the antagonists.

The Red Wings were second last in PIMs during the regular season and were dead last in PIMs against. Sound like a real antagonizing bunch to me.

The antagonistic player you mention from that series played in only 4 of the games at 7 minutes a game, no PIMs, and his off base comment about the handshake was obviously after the series was over. He was emotional and said something stupid and the media ran with it. That’s all, and I think trying to paint the whole organization with the same brush says a lot more about how much you detest that team than it does about the 2009 DRWs here.

Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Franzen all talked to the media and said they understood and didn’t care. Did anyone else in the entire organization say anything negative about Crosby missing some of the handshakes?

What made Babcock the antagonist? He wasn’t crying out “obstruction” every press conference like Therrien did the year before. He complained about the schedule change once, and as I’ve shown it was a legitimate gripe. The schedule the league had originally if the CFs weren’t both sweeps was 12 days in the span I used if they still went 3 in 4 to start. Typically the span is 9 days. The league changed it to 6. You’re only okay with it because they didn’t do it to your team when they were in that predicament. It was a joke to pull the rug out on a team like that so they complained before the series, then we never heard about it again because they set it aside and focused on doing the best they could under the circumstances.

Maybe I’m forgetting that everyone hated Datsyuk, Zettberberg, Lidstrom, and Rafalski at the time like the ‘75 Flyers? Nope, someone like Hossa wanted to go their for the experience to play with those guys.
 

jimmysheva

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Colorado losing to Dallas in Game 7 again in 2000. Had a goal disallowed in the last 10 seconds because of a quick whistle and Ray Bourque hit the post in the dying seconds.
 

Bluesguru

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This thread was made for the Flyers

1975-1976 Finals - Bernie Parent gets injured and they lose to the Canadiens dynasty in the Finals
1979-1980 Finals - Lose to Isles dynasty because of Leon Stickle and the missed Offsides
1984-1985 Finals - Lose to the Gretzky led Oilers dynasty
1985-1986 - Pelle Lindbergh dies in car accident, but team has great season still then loses in major upset in 1st round
1986-1987 Finals - Takes the Gretzky led Oilers dynasty to 7 Games with a rookie goalie Hextall and without their top goal scorer Tim Kerr.
1996-1997 Finals - Destroy every team in the East in 3 straight 5 game series', then get swept by Detroit.
1999-2000 - Have a 3-1 series lead over NJ in the ECF - Lindros comes back and team loses Game 6 and Game 7, punctuated by the Stevens hit.
2003-2004 - Another Game 7 ECF loss, 3-2 this time, to the eventual Cup champ Lightning. Did not have top 2 defensemen.
2009-2010 Finals - Make playoffs on last game of the season and then loses Cup on the terrible Kane OT goal in Game 6

:cry:

Probably bigger than losing Parent for the Canadien series was not having Rick MacLeish, who was an annual leading point producer in the post season for the Flyers. Not having him is like the Canadiens not having Lafleur. That series is tied at 2 a piece if Philly had Rick in their. That series would of been 6 or 7 either way IMO.
 

Rebels57

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Probably bigger than losing Parent for the Canadien series was not having Rick MacLeish, who was an annual leading point producer in the post season for the Flyers. Not having him is like the Canadiens not having Lafleur. That series is tied at 2 a piece if Philly had Rick in their. That series would of been 6 or 7 either way IMO.

Good point!
 
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The Panther

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It's before I was alive, but I assume the 1975 Penguins loss to the Islanders was pretty crushing.

The Pens had just had their first winning season in franchise history. They were the fourth highest scoring team, and had the 'century line' emerging, plus future star Pierre Larouche. They handled St. Louis easily in the preliminary round of the playoffs, and then faced the New York Islanders. Both franchises, in 1975, would have been viewed about equally, I guess, as young teams on the rise. Pittsburgh built up a 3-0 series lead and it was all over... but it wasn't, because the Isles came back to win four straight and take the series. (The Isles then met the champion Flyers and took them to seven games.)

After this season, the Islanders would leap into prominence as a perennial 100+ point team, dominating the entire NHL in 1978-79, before then reeling off 4 straight Cups. The Pens, meanwhile, went bankrupt right after blowing the 3-0 series lead in '75, and wouldn't have as strong a season again until 1992-93!
 

Oheao

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Apr 17, 2014
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It's before I was alive, but I assume the 1975 Penguins loss to the Islanders was pretty crushing.

The Pens had just had their first winning season in franchise history. They were the fourth highest scoring team, and had the 'century line' emerging, plus future star Pierre Larouche. They handled St. Louis easily in the preliminary round of the playoffs, and then faced the New York Islanders. Both franchises, in 1975, would have been viewed about equally, I guess, as young teams on the rise. Pittsburgh built up a 3-0 series lead and it was all over... but it wasn't, because the Isles came back to win four straight and take the series. (The Isles then met the champion Flyers and took them to seven games.)

After this season, the Islanders would leap into prominence as a perennial 100+ point team, dominating the entire NHL in 1978-79, before then reeling off 4 straight Cups. The Pens, meanwhile, went bankrupt right after blowing the 3-0 series lead in '75, and wouldn't have as strong a season again until 1992-93!
Not only did they take the Flyers to 7 games, they came back from 3-0 to tie the series. They won 8 games while facing elimination that season. On one hand it'd impressive they were able to do that but on the other it begs the question as to why they had to wait until their backs were against the wall before they could start winning.
 

CallArnoldSlick

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4. 1999 Sabres. Four Superbowl losses in a row in a different sport makes this even more painful. Here's a franchise and city that never won anything. I know they were underdogs, but the controversial way it ended still haunts their fanbase today.

This one was crushing at the time and is even more crushing in hindsight. The 2006-07 ECF loss to Carolina has to be up there as well. That team looked destined for the Cup and just had the worst luck. Crushing for one of the most dedicated hockey cities still looking for that first championship.
 

Albatros

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1994 World Championships, Finland losing their first ever title to Canada after a highly controversial equalizer with less than five minutes to go.

Likewise Slovakia losing the 2000 final that was theirs to win against the Czech neighbors, and Switzerland blowing the lead twice during the regulation and once in the shootout against Sweden in 2018.
 

kudla

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1994 World Championships, Finland losing their first ever title to Canada after a highly controversial equalizer with less than five minutes to go.

Likewise Slovakia losing the 2000 final that was theirs to win against the Czech neighbors, and Switzerland blowing the lead twice during the regulation and once in the shootout against Sweden in 2018.
Olympics 2010 and Slovakia blowing a 3-1 lead against Finland in the bronze medal game was our worst defeat.
 

Stephen

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I doubt neutral fans wanted to see Crosby win the Cup. The hockey media was already shoving him down everyone's throats before that. At the same time, I'm sure neutral fans didn't want Detroit to win another Cup either.

What other years are you referring to where Wings fans are blaming things besides the team for losing? Do you have any other examples? Or just 2009? Blaming Osgood, Coffey, Lilja, is just part of what hockey fans do when their team loses in the playoffs. Especially if they're favored to win. Fans blame players or coaches all the time. I'm not sure what your agenda is.

I would say neutral fans were likely more interested in seeing Pittsburgh win that 2009 cup. There was the whole Hossa defection to chase a cup a la Kevin Durant to Golden State, and people usually prefer the young superstar story line to the veteran team winning it... again.
 
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Retire91

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May 31, 2010
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I think Boston beating Kessel era Toronto in that game 7 in 2012–13 was pretty monumentally crushing. I know there have been bigger series and games but that pretty much marked the Burke era as a failure and they also really blew that game. Toronto was up 4 to 1 at the 5 minute mark of the 3rd and gave up 2 goals in the last 2 minutes to lose in overtime. Pretty heart breaking
 
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Albatros

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Olympics 2010 and Slovakia blowing a 3-1 lead against Finland in the bronze medal game was our worst defeat.

Mostly in retrospect because there's no Olympic medal still today, while World Championship title followed only two years later.
 

oilsplatzz

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Apr 14, 2018
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Eugh, you could collectively count every year's playoffs from '87 to '95 for the Flames save '89 (obviously) and '92 (when they didn't even make it)...

'87? Slayed the dragon the year before, but lost to (admittedly the slightly favoured) Jets in the first round.
'88? President's Trophy winners, swept in the Smythe finals by the Oilers.
'91? HEAVY favourites over the Oilers, Game 7 OT loss in first round.
'93? Favourites over the Kings but give up 18 goals in last two games of first-round (six-game) series.
'94? Favourites over the Canucks, lose Game 6 in OT and Game 7 in double-OT.
'95? HEAVY favourites over the Sharks, ANOTHER Game 7 double-OT choke job!
 

oilsplatzz

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Apr 14, 2018
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Well Yeah !!!
 

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GMR

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Thanks for bringing this squad up!

The 2001 Sabres were oddly better against good teams than they were against the bottom-feeders that year. I think it was the veteran talent, particularly on the defense that pushed them ahead.

That and, of course, Hasek was Hasek.

I agree that Peca would have been the difference that year. The Penguins absolutely could have beaten us 5 times out of 10 if this was played in a simulation, but that one chance we had, we really missed out. The team had a blip from 05-07 after that but otherwise we've never been anything but overachieving underdogs at best.
I'll ask you the same question I asked the other poster. Do you believe the 2001 Sabres had a chance of beating both New Jersey and Colorado? Or did the loss to Pittsburgh only prevent the inevitable loss in the next round?
 

Kyle McMahon

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May 10, 2006
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I gotta say, I'm not an Oilers fan, but am from the area.

Game 1 of the 2006 finals was one of the most crushing losses I've ever seen.

Oilers jump out to a 4-1 lead in Carolina. Carolina comes back in the third period and ties the game. Roloson goes down for the rest of that series with the knee injury. Conklin comes in. He and Smith have a goof-up behind the net for the go ahead goal with 1 minute left. Oilers have glorious chances with under 30 seconds left to tie it and Cam ward stood tall. Even though that series went to 7 and Markkanen held his own, you just had a feeling after that game 1 it wasn't the Oilers series.

I can confirm, this was absolutely brutal. Even if the Roloson injury still happens but they manage to win the game, I suspect the result of the series ends up different.

They were always chasing from that point on, and in retrospect that almost made it even more crushing after the fact. If they ended up getting swept or losing meekly in five, you probably just curse your bad luck and wonder what might have been. But they ended up winning three of the next five, which would have been enough if only Game 1 hadn't been squandered.

For a franchise that's had their share of playoff glory, the Oilers have had some awful playoff losses too. The Miracle on Manchester, Game 1 against Carolina, Game 5 against Anaheim in 2017 were all historic collapses that likely made the difference between winning and losing the series.
 
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Trap Jesus

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Trying to look at it objectively and assuming you'd been a fan of the organization as long as possible, there are two that stand out way ahead of the pack IMO.

1. Canucks losing Game 7 SCF to the Bruins in 2011 - No Cups in the history of the franchise in their 40th year. Had experienced 2 Cup Finals losses already (including a Game 7), but with teams that weren't nearly as good. Canucks were dominant that year and were expected to win.

2. Sabres losing Game 6 SCF to the Stars in 1999 - Same thing applies with the Canucks above, except a bit lower as it was a shorter drought, their team wasn't as good as the Canucks, and it wasn't a Game 7. That being said, the way they lost makes it so, so close.

I think after that you can look at:

3. Capitals losing Game 7 2nd Round to the Penguins in 2017 - 43 years as a franchise without the Cup, back to back 2nd round exits to the Pens despite winning the Presidents trophy back-to-back. That core being together for a decade with nothing but second round exits to show for it. Has all the makings of the above two except for it not being in the Cup Final.

4. Sharks losing Game 7 1st round to the Kings in 2014 - I think it's tough to pinpoint a single loss for the Sharks as they had a ton of great runs but really kind of flamed out in series as a whole rather than being able to pinpoint one game, but realistically it has to be this one. There's always the 2016 SCF, but that series never really felt all that winnable to me. It was only first round, but that team was stacked and of course it was the 3-0 lead against a rival that went through them to get their 2nd Cup in 3 years. Kind of an encapsulation of their failures.

I'm not really sure what I'd have next. Flyers 2010 came to mind but that team was kind of on a miracle run anyways. Sens losing to the Leafs in 2004 after a really good run the previous year to build on comes to mind as well. I think the recipe for the most crushing defeat is:

- Team hasn't won the Cup in the longest possible time, and especially if they haven't won the Cup in their franchise's history
- Team is really good, or has a core that has been chipping away for years with no success
- The deeper in the playoffs and the deeper in the series the more crushing it is
- And then of course circumstances of the loss. I think people may attribute too much to this though. Losing a game where your team doesn't show up feels just as bad as a crazy OT goal in a lot of ways.
 
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Hobnobs

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Sabres losing on that Hull goal surely is up in the top-5. Doesnt matter if it was legal or not. No need to have that debate again. Its still a crushing defeat.

Red Wings losing to the Habs in 66 after leading the series 2-0. Poor Crozier.

Leafs loss in game 6 in 02 must have been a crushing blow to Leafs fans. They were so close to lifting the curse... Sundin tying the game then OT specialist Gelinas showed up.

Sens 3-4 loss to the pens in 2OT in 2017

Minnesota North Stars 0-8 vs the Pens... I mean... Do I need to elaborate on that?
 

buffalowing88

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I'll ask you the same question I asked the other poster. Do you believe the 2001 Sabres had a chance of beating both New Jersey and Colorado? Or did the loss to Pittsburgh only prevent the inevitable loss in the next round?

That's a fair question but with Hasek from 96-01, anything was possible. I think they could have grinded it out against NJ. Not so sure about Colorado, though. That's fair to admit.
 

GMR

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That's a fair question but with Hasek from 96-01, anything was possible. I think they could have grinded it out against NJ. Not so sure about Colorado, though. That's fair to admit.
That's the thing. Losing in the first or second round hurts, but the pain is softened by knowing the team wasn't likely going far. Whereas, losing in the 1999 Finals has to be far worse, as there would be only one game remaining, with Hasek in net. Buffalo would have a great chance to win the Cup, even in Dallas for game 7. The controversy only makes matters worse.
 

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