If the Lightning don't win the Stanley Cup this year, Will it be considered a choke?

[The Shovel Penguin]

The better the record, the bigger the hype, the greater the expectations that are built up about any team -- the worse the fallout if it doesn't happen. You don't get to have an outstanding regular season and then get a pass if it doesn't amount to anything. (General comment for any team, not just Tampa.)

 

[Prince Pasta]

choke to lose in the first two rounds

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Absolutely, if this roster can't win it, they never will because this is the deepest roster they will ever roster they will ever have

 

[22Brad Park]

The biggest question is can Vasi stay hot in the post season. Goals will not be a problem.

You do not know that yet .Someone belts Kucherov really hard a few times and throws him off his game goals could be hard to come by cause it all goes through him in Tampa.I have seen lots of favorites go home without a Cup over the years cause it dried up fast.

 

[CupsOverCash]

You do not know that yet .Someone belts Kucherov really hard a few times and throws him off his game goals could be hard to come by cause it all goes through him in Tampa.I have seen lots of favorites go home without a Cup over the years cause it dried up fast.

Time and space shrinks as you get further into the playoffs. We have issues with this in the past. We get too reliant on PPs and refs tend to put the whistles away at that point. It could be a challenge again for us if we get far again.

 

[Kranix]

Are they still on pace for 63 wins?

 

[BlueBaron]

Hardest championship in sports. Choke is a funny word for such a general outcome . If Kucherov or Hedman get injured is that really choking?

I guess if they are up 3 zip and go on to lose 4 in a row with their main guys healthy? That's a choke.

OP seems like it's trying for an answer that can only be emotional.

 

[Leonardo87]

Tampa to the 2nd WC, “After you lose, no one will remember you”

2nd WC to Tampa “Maybe, but if you lose no one will let you forget it. “

 

[Falco Lombardi]

If they lose in the first round, it's a choke.

After the first, they'll have to either get through a very good Maple Leafs or Bruins team. I can't call losing to either of them a choke necessarily.

So my answer is no.

 

[KnightofBoston]

I don’t think you can call chokes like that anymore

The NHL has a lot of parity, there’s a lot of talent out there and sometimes wins happen from the team most in sync that night, some fortunate bounces as well


If they lose to Toronto in a 7 game series for example, I wouldn’t call it a choke. But within each series, if one team goes up over the other and blows it I would call it a choke. Basically if tampering went up 3-1 or 3-0 over a team like Toronto or Boston but couldn’t close it out, that would be a choke

But if they go up 1 or 2 0 then lose the next two games, and it goes 7, that’s not a choke. If they lose in 6 games it’s an underperformance, but not a choke

Choke is used too often to describe playoff/season results

As a bruins fan that has seen my team lose in heartbreaking fashion multiple ways, there’s s wide range of qualifiers for disappointment

 

[VinikToWinIt]

Are they still on pace for 63 wins?

They're on pace for 62 at the moment.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

They already choked in 2015 when they lost to the Hawks, if they don’t win this year it’s another choke job.

San Jose, Vancouver, Washington, get labelled chokers for years why is it any different for Tampa?

In 2015, the Lightning finished 3rd in their conference in the regular season. They then won the conference in the playoffs taking out the top 2 seeds along the way.

Then their leading playoff scorer broke his wrist, and their goalie tore his groin.

They couldn't overcome these losses and lost in 6 to a modern day dynasty. But yeah. Let's go with "choked".

 

[Sky04]

Meh, they can try again next year, and the year after and the year after that - not like Tampa's window is closing.

 

[Sky04]

It's going to be painful for other teams to hear, but Tampa has only been icing their competitive team for 2 years. 2015 was a rebuilding season that ended up as a cup final

Yzerman has been building up a top team which just started it's stride last year.

 

[Maestro84]

It wouldn’t be as bad as the 16 Warriors or 07 Patriots or 01 Mariners given the nature of the NHL playoffs, but if they come close or are able to set the all time points record just to lose in the playoffs then yeah that’d be a massive disappointment

 

[VinikToWinIt]

They're gonna get swept in 5 by the Pens in round 1.

The first team ever to be swept in 5. Historic.

 

[CanadienShark]

Disappointment, sure. There are a lot of good teams out there. The dominant regular season team doesn't always win it all.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

I can't be the only Tampa fan that would drown their sorrows and then follow it up with a revolt against Cooper if we come up short again. Because let's be real its heartbreaking being a few wins short of a cup and failing miserably.

 

[BeingTheThunder]

The first team ever to be swept in 5. Historic.

LOL, that deserves a Here's your sign....

 

[Lshap]

The better the record, the bigger the hype, the greater the expectations that are built up about any team -- the worse the fallout if it doesn't happen. You don't get to have an outstanding regular season and then get a pass if it doesn't amount to anything. (General comment for any team, not just Tampa.)

Well put. This isn't just another Presidents Trophy winner, this is a team that would have to slump to finish with 120 points. That's crazy. Tampa has been playing at another atmospheric level than the rest of the league and, barring injury, has no excuse to lose a 7-game series to anyone.

I totally appreciate that many Tampa fans are avoiding overconfidence, just as it's true the window doesn't close after this year, but still... this season's dominance is a rare event with only one legitimate finish.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Even for the best team in the league, it's still way more likely to not win the cup. Calling that a choke is pretty dumb

 

[ER89]

If we don't fill the first page main boards up with 400 threads about the Lightning, is it a choke?

hey man, you stole our jersey scheme, might as well get the full experience of being a leaf fan

 

[King Mapes]

They have a cup.

How many guys played on that team? It's pretty obvious what he meant

 

[King Mapes]

Even for the best team in the league, it's still way more likely to not win the cup. Calling that a choke is pretty dumb

It really depends. When we lost one year to Boston blowing that third period lead it was considered a choke even though we were down 3-1 in that series and Boston being the favorites because of HOW they lost. You can't just call it a choke because they were the number one seed. If they lose first round I can see it though.

 

[General Disarray]

If they lose in the first 2 rounds, them yeah it's a choke regardless of how close the series is.

If they lose in 4/5 in round 3, that's proabably a choke as well.

If they lose in finals in 4, then it's also a choke.

Basically it's cup win, or lose in game 6/7 in the finals to avoid the choke label.