Series Discussion: Round 2 (Caps vs Rangers) 2015 Playoffs

[Capsman]

Buffalo Bills say hi.

No comparison for a couple reasons. One, there are no series leads to blow for the Bills. Really there was the Norwood miss and that's it, the rest were blow-outs. Two, losing in the final game is not as bad because no team "moves on". Yeah you don't win the Super Bowl, but there are no playoffs left to torture you. We have to watch teams we shoulda, coulda beaten move on.

 

[Capsman]

Browns say hi way more

For 2 Elway games, yes. We have had like 10, going on 11. When your team sucks all season it's not heart break. I haven't been heart broken over the Skins for the most part in the Snyder era, just pissed. The Caps are an entirely different situation.

 

[Capsman]

If, and I mean IF the Caps win tomorrow, the satisfaction will be unbelievable. Perhaps we are being prepared so our joy will be greater than the joy of any other NHL fan base when we finally win it all.

 

[g00n]

There is no legacy of choking worse than the one dragged behind the Capitals. None.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Is Barry going to give the TOI Ovi needs to take over the game?

I am not seeing it thus far.

If I'm Trotz, I'm playing Ovi 27 to 30 minutes with a few double shifts until we get a safe lead. Vigneault always tries to have Girardi and McDonagh on the ice when Ovi is there.
I doubt they can eat up minutes as well as Ovi.

Increase Kuznetsov's ice time and use Backstrom in a shutdown role against their top line.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

There is no legacy of choking worse than the one dragged behind the Capitals. None.

Sure about that ?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Sure about that ?

I'm betting if you combine series lost with lead and series lost in game 7, with series lost as favorite, and we win hands down....

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

There is no legacy of choking worse than the one dragged behind the Capitals. None.

It's like a friggen curse! What did we all do in a past life to deserve this? IMO only Cubs fans have it worse in major sports.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Sure about that ?

How many 2-0 and 3-1 series leads have the Sharks blown?

I suppose they have blown a 3-0 series lead and that is something even the Caps haven't done.

 

[NoMoreChoking]

Caps and Sharks are defintely the biggest chokers in hockey. If we lose tomorrow, we might be king in that regards.

But if we win, my god how sweet it will be

 

[Langway]

The Thornton era Sharks made it to a conference final.

When the expectation to such a great extent is that they'll choke maybe (just maybe) they'll have the ability to rebel against that fate and win the game for once.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

How many 2-0 and 3-1 series leads have the Sharks blown?

I suppose they have blown a 3-0 series lead and that is something even the Caps haven't done.

Washington blew a 3-1 lead to an 8 seed in the first round. Biggest choke in NHL history.

But the current king chokers are the Blues. Those poor fools.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

The Thornton era Sharks were the heavy favourites in the playoffs ever since they had the core of Thornton + Marleau. Expectations were so high for them last year. Even the choking Caps can't lose a series up by 3-0.

If we lose tomorrow it will be embarrassing, but if Tampa loses the series to Montreal, they will be considered the biggest chokers in the universe.

 

[Hivemind]

Washington blew a 3-1 lead to an 8 seed in the first round. Biggest choke in NHL history.

No. The biggest choke in NHL history is being a single game away from the Cup and then losing 4 straight. What the Caps did against the Habs doesn't even come close to the 1942 Red Wings.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

No. The biggest choke in NHL history is being a single game away from the Cup and then losing 4 straight. What the Caps did against the Habs doesn't even come close to the 1942 Red Wings.

Well agree to disagree as I find losing 3 straight to an 8 seed in the first round is far more embarrassing than losing 4 straight in the Finals.

 

[Capitlols]

101 seconds from the ECF. That'll sting for a while.

 

[Hivemind]

Well agree to disagree as I find losing 3 straight to an 8 seed in the first round is far more embarrassing than losing 4 straight in the Finals.

Choke != embarrassment

Most hockey fans will forget about the 2010 Caps. They're just another President's Trophy team that didn't win the Cup. Hockey fans remember the teams that lost after being up 3-0.

 

[Langway]

To me the most unforgivable blown series are those involving comeback teams that didn't have championship pedigree. That's why the Montreal series stands out so much even within Washington's history.

It's one thing to lose to an Islanders team that still had players from their dynasty years or the early 90's Penguins teams or for the Sharks to blow it against the Kings and another to do it against a hot goaltender and not a whole lot else. It happens but the sting of the Montreal series will be very difficult to top.

 

[g00n]

What other sports franchise has averaged a blown 2 game series lead every three years for the last 30 years? Anybody?

 

[artilector]

I don't consider the Montreal series a huge choking job. They kept throwing everything they had at Montreal, puck just didn't go in. Choking is when one usually feels some degree of shame. I didn't feel shame, it was just sad.

Now, 2-6 and 0-5 at home in Game 7, that's choking.

 

[peterthegreat12]

"It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here, what better time than now?"

 

[The Consiglieri]

Sure about that ?

Sure about that ?

1985: Up 2-0 on Islanders, lose 3-2
1987: Up 3-1 on Islanders, lose 4-3, in 4OT
1992: Up 2-0, and 3-1 on Penguins, lose 4-3
1995: Up 3-1 on Penguins, lose 4-3
1996: Up 2-0 on Penguins, lose 4-3
2003: Up 2-0 on Lightning, lose 4-2
2009: Up 2-0 on Penguins, lose 4-3
2010: Up 3-1 on Montreal, lose 4-3
2013: Up 2-0 on New York, lose 4-3


record in penultimate games in series:

1985: 0-1
1987: 0-1
1988: 1-1
1992: 0-1
1995: 0-1
2008: 0-1
2009: 1-1
2010: 0-1
2012: 1-1
2013: 0-1
2014: 1 win and....

Current Record in Game 7's*: 4-10


Honestly, I don't think anyone can touch us, add the OT heartbreak, and it gets even worse.

Sad fact:

I can't watch Caps playoff hockey because it's gotten to the point where I simply believe defeat is inevitable, especially if I watch (since I saw virtually every game mentioned in these chokes), and as a result, I can't enjoy us taking early 2 games to zero, and 3 games to one leads either. It's torture, love my team, but can't watch them play because of the curse, and the superstitious feeling that my watching makes losing more likely, rather than less. Avoiding watching Game 5, and 6 didn't help (i was in the shower when our goal was disallowed, and they scored the equalizer, turned it off when it went to OT, and I was golfing when we went down 2-0 in the first period, watched long enough to see us down 2-1 at end of 2nd period, then watched Parts Unknown instead).

At this point I just feel completely jinxed whether I watch or not, and feel like I won't and can't enjoy watching playoff hockey unless we're down 2 games to zero, 2 to 1, or 3-2, in which case I feel the curse isn't in effect (but losing is even more likely simply based on odds).

Really frustrating.

Would be incredible for the team to do a full '98, and just go out there and kick the blank out of the Rangers tomorrow night, but that doesn't seem to be this team's tactical approach. Hope and pray the curse will go away, tomorrow and beyond.





*Caps lost to Islanders in 5 back in 1985 when the preliminary playoff round was best of 5.

 

[SimplySensational]

The way you guys are talking in this thread, I thought game 7 was last night and the Capitals lost.

 

[The Consiglieri]

Choke != embarrassment

Most hockey fans will forget about the 2010 Caps. They're just another President's Trophy team that didn't win the Cup. Hockey fans remember the teams that lost after being up 3-0.

1942 hockey isn't even on the same planet. The Habs picked up a million cups back then by a bogus draft system, there were 6 teams, the playoffs were a series or two. It's not remotely analogous, the championships matter, but it's flat out not the same, not even close. Back then professional sports teams weren't even taken seriously for the most part beyond soccer, and baseball.

It's much, much more different since the late sixties, and seventies on, and especially since Gretzky.

The Caps chokes are a 100x more embarrassing than some obscure choke back when most of the players were serving for Canada or the US in WWII anyway.

 

[The Consiglieri]

The way you guys are talking in this thread, I thought game 7 was last night and the Capitals lost.

I've always been curious and envious. After all that's gone down between 1985 and today, how are people able to have hope? To actually expect something good to happen? How after going from the penultimate joy, to getting pantsed, atomic wedgied, and punted in the arse into the emotional sporting septic tank 9 times in twenty-eight years, are you still able to watch, and expect something different to happen?

That kind of positivity, enthusiasm, and faith, in the face of zero evidence suggesting there is any hope whatsoever is just flat out amazing to me. I envy the hell out of it, and wish I felt the same way, as at this point, I get zero joy from the experience of watching playoff hockey, just anxiety, followed by heartbreak, and incredulous disbelief that I actually thought it could play out any differently this time.

Just envy the hell out of those of you with faith. Amazing people.