I'm not even a Leafs fan, but that hasn't stopped people from dumping all over them even before this most recent playoff exit. Only this year, I would have said the Leafs were definitive favourites and you can point to similar issues they've had the past few years as to why they couldn't get it done. I could say "Oh, this year, they lost because Tavares and Muzzin weren't available in Game 7" or "They had to play Boston two years in a row because of playoff format". At the end of the day, no one cares about the excuses, it just matters they didn't get it done.
I'd argue the Avs are even worse than the Leafs because the Avs are way more talented. The Avs potentially have:
- 3 defenseman who might finish in the top 10 in Norris Voting
- 2 guys who might finish in the top 10 in Hart Voting
- Two guys in the top 10 in NHL Scoring
- A goalie who is a Vezina finalist
If they lose to Vegas, how can I not say that is a choke when they started with a 2-0 lead and are way more talented than any team in the playoffs, barring maybe a healthy Tampa team?
RE the previous series, I would have been pissed off if I was an Avs fan about those too. I am a Stars fan, the Avs should have smoked us that series on paper. We looked awful in the round robin games, we were Jekyll and Hyde in the Calgary series and we were playing the entire playoffs without our Vezina calibre goalie and our best forward basically playing with one working leg. Forget how they lost in the end, the Avs shouldn't have even let the Stars jump out to a 3-1 lead in the first place.
If the Avs lose this series, this is two years running where they are the most talented team in the NHL and can't get out of the 2nd round and three years overall...