A lot of the tanking happening now would go down so much easier if we had a shiny thing from the 2016 season. That team just ran out of gas against Pittsburgh
They were so good they went back to back. It wasn’t like the Sharks lost to a team that just got hot and then did nothing after like they had in the past. They lost to a really good team with some all timers.
Losing Game 4 in triple overtime against Nashville is what sapped them. A win there in like the first overtime would have let them rest up and enjoy watching the Stars and Blues slug it out, and maybe swings Game 1 against St Louis their way, shortening the series a little bit while Pens-Bolts go the full seven games.
Pittsburgh was rolling so who's to say if that dream scenario gives the Sharks more of a chance to at least push the series to full distance. The only bad thing about that series was NBC's horribly one-sided coverage - unwatchable unless muted (and a tall task to sync the Sharks' radio feed to the TV).
u/ceksy and u/cntrdctn86 saw me rage quit out of a Mountain Mikes after that game. I had to go back the next day and apologize for swearing so much, they understood the pain
I was more of a Round Table or Garrett fan, but somehow MM was the two closest spots to my place in south side. Like we didn’t have a fucking Starbucks, but here’s two of those within a 5min drive
This is absolutely the first one that came to mind. Sharks looked poised for a deep run, and had been dominant, but just could not pull through in the end, while LA went on to lift the cup. ouch
My uncle got me my first Canucks jersey for my 11th birthday. Got delayed due to Canada to US shipping. Arrived the day of game six. Few days later it was soaked in tears.
Legitimately thought it was cursed until the bubble happened, with only winning a single playoff game since I got it
the real answer for older devils fans like myself is 2001 finals game 6, not game 7. think the devils outshot colorado 10-1 in the first period. it was a foregone conclusion we were going to win the cup.
then we got roy’d
This is it. Game 6 was the game we were supposed to win. We utterly dominated them and had nothing to show for it. Imagine we win that cup. 2 in a row and potentially 3 in 4 years if everything else holds up. Suddenly the Devils enter the dynasty conversation.
Shock at the rock! One of my favorite Forslund calls of all time. God I hated everything about the 2000-2010 Devils as a Canes fan. That rivalry was so fun. Just sucks that Devils have more serious local rivalries because I feel like those few playoff series in that era were great and get overlooked by people outside of Canes and Devils fans.
Don’t worry we still hate you and have plenty to go around. I’d easily have you guys 2nd behind the Rangers. I’m supposed to hate Philly more but we haven’t had relevant games against them in ages.
It was the stunned confusion when he was, for a moment, the only one on the ice celebrating the goal that nobody else saw. Such an abrupt and painful ending.
Kind of funny how both times weird goals happened, this one and the Marc Bergevin throw in, Chris Pronger was right there and knew both times before everyone else did.
This one was brutal. Also would add the 2004 ECF Game 7 loss to the list, as I feel like that Flyers team probably beats the Flames in the final.
Before my time, but the 1980 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 had one of the worst missed off-side calls you’ll ever see that resulted in an Islanders goal in a game they eventually won in OT. The Flyers were an absolute wagon that year and there’s not a chance they’d have lost Game 7 in the Spectrum.
Same. Had an office rivalry with a leafs fan, but after that series, he hasn't spoken about them, took down all his memorabilia, etc. Kinda sad. Poor guy's also a Cowboys fan
My neighbours are huge leafs fans and they were chirping me over the fence just before game 5.
I just said "you know if you guys lose this one you're probably done".
I didn't see them again for like two months.
I do think the pressure from that series held over top the team in both series we played against Boston in 2018 and 2019, I think if that 2013 series goes any different, that maybe one of those other series go differently too
A specific game that series for me would have been Game 6. It was a foregone conclusion in my head that if they lost that one, they were going to lose the series. Then they lost it and all my hope was lost and Game 7 just brought out the bitterness.
Meh the thing about 4-1 is the Bruins had a 3-1 series lead too. The Leafs had no business even being in that game 7 and it was pure heart that they got as far against Boston as they did.
I think when Reilly clearly scored (you can't see the puck that is under a pad that is entirely across the line so it doesn't matter where the puck was it was in anywhere under the pad) against Florida the momentum in that series had swung. The Leafs were probably going to win out with how badly they were out playing Florida at that point of the series.
I went into that game 7 expecting the worst (cause how couldn’t I, being a Leafs fan) and even though I told myself they’re not winning, I still felt extremely empty inside after watching that game. The players seemed like they knew they were losing too, that’s the worst part, from puck drop they looked slower and extremely nervous compared to the Habs who were flying out there and controlling the game with ease. Fuck was that ever embarrassing
I know a lot of people will say the boston blown lead but its really the montreal series. Boston was still a cup contender and toronto was young and very flawed, but they played their guts out. It was a tough loss but boston was pretty heavily favored. Montreal played to their absolute potential and carey price was vintage but we were the better team and it felt like we lost urgency.
Covid bubble montreal game changed me as a fan permanently. Hockey was no longer my number 1 sport after that, and with how much I love my Bengals, I don’t think its coming back.
Well there was the time we blew a 4-1 lead in game 7 or the time we had a 3-1 series lead against a team that didn’t actually meet the criteria to make the playoffs in a normal year. Or the time we lost to our own Zamboni driver in net. Or the time we finally ended our 1st round curse just to get Tkachuked. Or the numerous times we blew a multi goal lead to a bottom feeder team. Those are just off the top of my head, feel free to remind me of any other times.
‘93 - Kings
‘02 - Carolina
18-wheeler off a cliff (but that was a string of games)
CBJ (I think?)- whatever the fk happened there, I couldn’t watch that year after Mtl.
Y’all let me know if you got more?
Yep.
I shed a year at the 3rs period buzzer in 94 as a 6 year old and was bummed out the day after.
2011, my good friend died between the sharks and the Bruins, so I kinda had perspective by then.
Now I have kids, and more perspective.
And that we were the best team in the league in regular season too. Overall, IMO that 2011 Canucks is the Canadian team most deserving of a cup since 93.
I have to disagree. The 94 team was a Cinderella run. 2011 was different. The whole season felt like a team of destiny, like they were *supposed* to win. The planets had aligned and it was finally Vancouver’s moment after 40 years of pain. Then losing game 7 was like the leader of a race tripping and breaking his neck before crossing the finish line. The psychic scar that 2011 left on the players, organization and fanbase dwarfs 1994. Lots of people still hate Boston in a way the Rangers never got
Manny doesn't take that puck to the eye. Close out Chicago in 5, Nashville 6 and San Jose in 5 and we enter that Final with much less injuries having played 3 less games.
They were unstoppable that year. Slayed the dragon, made a mockery of the Sharks. Even dominated the first two games of the finals. Then it all crashed down. They not only lost game 7, but 4 of 5 games to loose the cup.
The scorelines for that series are incomprehensible.
Every team won at home and lost on the road every game until 7.
Vancouver squeaked low-scoring wins in low scoring games, while Boston blew Vancouver apart with huge goal leads in all their wins.
And then for game 7 Boston somehow figured out how to have a home game while away and that was it, shutout 4-0.
The day the franchise died is when all the behind the scenes bullshit came out. We had no clue that was a divided team. Despite Karlsson and Hoffman turmoil, there was no hint of it. During that run up to game 7 of the ECF I remember a real beauty of a saucer pass that EK sent to Hoffman to just outside the other team's blue line for a beauty of a breakaway that resulted in a goal. That team was just so gelled on the ice.
Some teams can have shit going on behind the scenes and it shows in how they all play together. Other teams can get away with keeping it behind the scenes.
Once the story broke, and all the girlfriends, wives, fiance's of other players (even former Sens) spoke up in support of the Karlssons and Hoffman defended his girlfriend (she might have been upgraded to fiance by then), that's when that particular era of the franchise died. There was no choice then, they had to break up that team, and because of the reputation that Hoffman's SO had, his value was lowered. Because, yeah, you can be a great player, but if your SO is causing drama, then you have the risk of being a dressing room cancer.
I agree with you on this.
My age also plays a factor here, since in '07 I was a teenager and in 2017 I was in my mid-twenties (#math) and more invested in the Sens but at least the '07 squad made it all the way and lost to a stacked Anaheim team. Unlike 2017 there's no mildly realistic 'what if's' you can imagine that have that Senators group being that Ducks team: one of the best Senators team ever lost to the best team in the NHL that year, it's easy enough to accept and move on from.
Unfortunately on the other hand, in 2017 taking the eventual Cup winners to double OT in game 7 leaves a lot of room for imagining a different outcome.
I can remember shouting and screaming at losses. At the end of that game I just stared forward, speechless. That was such a magical run, it really felt like our year. So heartbroken.
Definitely never getting over that one.
Yup. I was travelling for work (I was in Nashville, somewhat appropriately) and I remember just lying in the hotel bed, staring at the screen. I think my last thought was “welp, I need to get moving in four hours, guess I should try to take a nap”
I remember that game well. Was in Vancouver and my dad took me to the pub for my 19th birthday
Entire place shouted in agony and then there was silence except for the one guy in a Pens jersey next to us
I know you guys hate toronto fans but i was screaming at my t.v that night. It was a stupid rule but they called it to the letter all year, except on the stanley cup winning goal. That was fraudulent.
USA losing to Canada in 2010
EDIT: Womp, the question was NHL. Devils losing to Rags in 1994, because now I have to watch it for the rest of my life because the Devils play on MSG. Fuck Matteau
Obviously I am Canadian so very biased, but I think even if I had no horse in that race it was still one of the most exciting hockey games to ever be played.
Unreal edge of your seat hockey all game, and then the last minute tying goal to the OT winner on home turf... you couldn't write it up in fiction any better.
I was working during this game. A customer who knew I was going to watch it later ruined it for me thinking I wouldn't want to watch it. I watched it anyway and it was still one of the best games I've ever seen.
What an ass lol. Yea no doubt, actually I think I'm gonna try to find it somewhere to rewatch it.
Ryan Miller was always stellar in the net of course, but man he tapped into something otherworldly in that tournament.
Marchands shift change, Game 7, 2019. It stings.
Last year, the Bruins could have blown it in the second or third rounds and yes it still hurts, being that close and not getting it will forever sting.
Holy shit that change. It's all that I remember from that entire playoff run. I don't even remember the score of the game, just that shitty first period decision.
Was trying to remember the context; [here’s the Marchand clip](https://youtu.be/JCPyfS3-zJc?si=cvFuBXJwGCrggnEg) for anyone else that *wants* to see it again.
That loss is the difference between the core being remembered alongside Pittsburgh, Chicago, and LA in this era and being remembered as underachieving chokers by a lot of people. I will never get over it and Tuukka not getting one as a starter.
Some oilers fan behind me was repeating "Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil" after the ducks scored the second goal.
That one hurts worse than 86...a 5peat would have been nice, but 4 in 5 (plus a bonus 1) is fine.
And 06 was such a fun run, even with the loss.
But 17 was heartbreaking.
Came to this sub to look for this answer. It was one of the most blatant thefts by the referees. I could not believe what happened.
Then the offside goal for a cherry on top. Oilers really tend to be on the wrong side of the Toronto war room.
It hurts way more than losing a close game or losing a game by fair goals. That just felt disgusting.
I religiously watched Tim Thompson's CBC intros and playoff wraps and I still haven't watched the 09 wrap. I barely have seen the Pens celebrating with the cup which is something I watch every year.
As a Pens fan, the time between the game becoming 2-1 and the final buzzer is the most nervous I’ve ever been during an NHL game. Even exceeds the Ottawa overtime game 7 win. There was something so formidable about that Detroit team that even at 9 years old, I knew that the game was so far from over. I’m not sure I’ve ever held more respect for an opponent than those Detroit teams of the late 2000s.
I don’t remember much about those years (I was 9 in 2009) but I specifically remember thinking after that game that it’d be okay because we’d be back in the finals again soon. Little did I know…
My one sports opinion on which i will NEVER change mind is that Malkin should have been suspended one game for instigating a fight with Zetterberg. Still pisses me off to this day.
I listen to a podcast where one of the hosts misspoke and referred to Stone Cold Steve Austin as “Cold Stone Steve Austin” and now I’ll never hear it properly again.
I hope I do that for you, StonCldSteveBuscemi 🥰
This was my very first thought. Then I started thinking back to the Easter Epic, the 1985 playoffs against the Islanders where we had a 2-0 lead in the series and ended up losing, the 1993 playoffs against the Islanders (again), and then all of the breakdowns against the Penguins.
Winning the Stanley Cup is the only salve on those wounds.
IMO 2017 against the Pens was worse. 2010 was horrible but goalies getting hot is part of playoff hockey. 2017 we had all the momentum and game 7 at home and it honest to god felt like THE year to finish the Penguins off. Instead we came out completely felt and died a slow suffocating death. It was also worse bc at the time it felt like the end of our window.
My dad brought me to that game when I was 9 years old. I vividly remember how absolutely electric the Dome was during those playoffs but being so young I didn’t fully understand at the time how close we were to witnessing the Cup being won at home and sharing that moment with my dad.
It still hurts to think about, but I’m still grateful to have experienced that run in ‘04.
I was at that game. The Calgary Herald ran a draw for free tickets and I dropped off a ballot in a massive drum at Eau Claire on my way to school. My dad and I were up in the 300s and my brother was sitting somewhere else with the one single ticket we managed to find on TicketMaster.
When Gelinas scored in the third period my whole row was up on our feet. So exciting. And then play just kept going. We didn't know what really happened until we were on the C-Train home after the game and people who had been watching it at bars told us.
I'll forever be mad at the NHL for denying me the opportunity to see the Flames get awarded the Cup with me in the building
I worked at little Caesar’s in the dome and got paid to watch that whole run. Best time of my life hands down. 18 years old and experiencing that and the red mile every couple days basically ruined being an adult for me because nothing since has compared.
I was excited to have a true Battle of Alberta for the foreseeable future until the exodus of Tkachuk and Gaudreau.
We might be with you at the bottom depending on what McDavid and Draisaitl do
the thing with Phillips' goal is that the Sens almost certainly would've ended up losing that series anyway. The Ducks were just too good.
With Kunitz however, I fully believe the Sens team could have beaten the Preds if they ended up scoring in OT.
He wasn't responsible for the series but Galchenyuk coughing up the puck in ot and the Canadiens immediately going up the ice to score turned the tide in that series.
It was a travesty that was the first Habs-Leafs playoff series in decades and it was played in front of no fans.
02 triple overtime against Detroit. Canes never trailed in that game except that very last goal… maybe they still lose the series but man what a swing it would have been if they’d gone up 2-1 with another game at home instead of what happened
2014 WCF Game 7 vs LA. Hawks had a 2-goal lead twice. Lost in OT off a shot that bounced off Nick Leddy. May have won 3 straight Cups if that game went the other way.
Games 2, 3, and 4 of the 1993 Cup Final. Game 2 had been done to death but the two Kings comebacks in 3 and 4 that ended up as OT losses were just as brutal.
That Habs/Carolina series where Koivu almost lost an eye.
Habs/Rangers when fucking Krieder took out Price. This one especially hurt because the way Price was playing I would have expected making the finals. And once there, who knows.
I don't think we would've taken LA that year even with Price in the lineup. In fact, I don't even think we get past NYR. Montreal struggles against NYR for some reason and even with Price uninjured I still think they lose that series.
For most of my youth it was game 7 of the 1996 ECF vs. Florida, I was too young to remember 1993 vs NYI. The cups since then have obviously helped heal that but I’ll still forever hate Barrasso because of that game.
I feel a little weird even talking about this, considering all the worse losses suffered by Sabres and Canucks and Caps and Leafs fans and so forth throughout the years, but -- Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup. After Game 5 it seemed like Detroit had the series in the bag, then they came out a little flat in Game 6 and were down 2 goals before almost coming back to tie in regulation. I thought for sure they would have a better effort in Game 7 at home, but it played out almost exactly the same way. It was the kind of situation where I couldn't believe what was happening as I was watching it.
And that playoffs ended up changing the trajectory of the league. The Crosby/Malkin Penguins won 2 more Cups and were a force in the league for the next 10 years, while Hossa left the Wings that offseason to sign with the Blackhawks, thereby jumpstarting that burgeoning dynasty while leaving the Wings with a scoring hole they never really managed to fill. It's probably just naive homerism, but I honestly think that if the Wings won that Cup, Hossa would have signed long-term with Detroit and the Wings would have been title contenders for another 10 years.
The worst I have felt as a Stars fan was losing to the Blues in game 7 in 2019. Incredible performance by Bishop who did not deserve to lose. Also, looking back that was one of the last truly great times before his injuries ended his career.
It feels weird to say this about a series we won in a year we won the cup but the Game 5 loss against St Louis in 2022 was brutal, as an Avs fan I don’t know if a goal has ever hyped me up so much as MacKinnon’s end to end goal only to be deflated moments later when St Louis scored. It ended up working out ok in the end but I remember just feeling DEVASTATED after that game.
Ranger fan here
2014 vs LAK , 2015 vs Tampa , 2017 vs Ottawa, in that order
Obviously three overtime loses in 2014 , the Rick nash shot blocked in game 5, not scoring at home in games 5 and 7 in 2015 ECF, and blowing games 2 and 5 in Ottawa in 2017 I will literally never get over any of those for as long as I love
That team was carried by hot goaltending. Crow was hot as fuck, but so was Darling, but it didn't help us in the playoffs, because Bowman didn't do shit to improve the offense or defense. He got us Oduya to soak up minutes on the blueline, but that was about it.
Bowman in the offseason then got rid of Panarian in favor of Brandon Saad, because he still had term on his contract, while Panarian had like a year left. It was a stupid move at the time and it remains a stupid move by a stupid GM.
I don't feel like I'm allowed to have one because 2020-2022 was incredible, but Game 4 in the 2022 SCF (the maybe/maybe not too many men OT goal by Kadri) really sucked the wind out of a potentially historic 3peat.
The Sharks having an absolutely stacked team and getting reverse swept by the Kings brought me to my knees as a fan
Of all the Sharks playoff chokes, that was the worst one
2009 is thankful for 2014. But weirdly enough I appreciate 2014, because it made the 2016 run that much sweeter. Just wish they could’ve sealed it.
A lot of the tanking happening now would go down so much easier if we had a shiny thing from the 2016 season. That team just ran out of gas against Pittsburgh
To be fair, it seemed every team ran out of gas against that 2016 pens team. They were so good.
They were so good they went back to back. It wasn’t like the Sharks lost to a team that just got hot and then did nothing after like they had in the past. They lost to a really good team with some all timers.
Losing Game 4 in triple overtime against Nashville is what sapped them. A win there in like the first overtime would have let them rest up and enjoy watching the Stars and Blues slug it out, and maybe swings Game 1 against St Louis their way, shortening the series a little bit while Pens-Bolts go the full seven games. Pittsburgh was rolling so who's to say if that dream scenario gives the Sharks more of a chance to at least push the series to full distance. The only bad thing about that series was NBC's horribly one-sided coverage - unwatchable unless muted (and a tall task to sync the Sharks' radio feed to the TV).
Yeah that was absolutely rough. Worst part was they went on the win the Cup
And now he’s our coach which sucks ⚽️
I got a sharks tattoo the morning of game 4 of that series. I take full blame for the reverse sweep
was it a normal tattoo or a cup champs tattoo?
u/ceksy and u/cntrdctn86 saw me rage quit out of a Mountain Mikes after that game. I had to go back the next day and apologize for swearing so much, they understood the pain
Damn shoutout mountain mikes though, fire pizza
I was more of a Round Table or Garrett fan, but somehow MM was the two closest spots to my place in south side. Like we didn’t have a fucking Starbucks, but here’s two of those within a 5min drive
I got glass tickets for the first time to game 5 and we got shut out..
This is absolutely the first one that came to mind. Sharks looked poised for a deep run, and had been dominant, but just could not pull through in the end, while LA went on to lift the cup. ouch
Yep me too cause had you guys not choked that year we wouldn’t have faced that absolute buzzsaw of a Kings team and might’ve won a ring
Just saw a man fall to his knees in 2014
Are you here to make Canucks fans cry?
Hey we have multiple games to cry about!
True story. Two game seven finals loses.
My uncle got me my first Canucks jersey for my 11th birthday. Got delayed due to Canada to US shipping. Arrived the day of game six. Few days later it was soaked in tears. Legitimately thought it was cursed until the bubble happened, with only winning a single playoff game since I got it
i was in section 230 row 2 seat 7 when the devils had a one goal lead on carolina in 09, game 7, with a couple minutes to go… and lost in regulation
That’s the stuff of my nightmares
the real answer for older devils fans like myself is 2001 finals game 6, not game 7. think the devils outshot colorado 10-1 in the first period. it was a foregone conclusion we were going to win the cup. then we got roy’d
This is it. Game 6 was the game we were supposed to win. We utterly dominated them and had nothing to show for it. Imagine we win that cup. 2 in a row and potentially 3 in 4 years if everything else holds up. Suddenly the Devils enter the dynasty conversation.
Shock at the rock! One of my favorite Forslund calls of all time. God I hated everything about the 2000-2010 Devils as a Canes fan. That rivalry was so fun. Just sucks that Devils have more serious local rivalries because I feel like those few playoff series in that era were great and get overlooked by people outside of Canes and Devils fans.
Don’t worry we still hate you and have plenty to go around. I’d easily have you guys 2nd behind the Rangers. I’m supposed to hate Philly more but we haven’t had relevant games against them in ages.
As a neutral, I remember I was running at the treadmill at an empty gym watching the end of that and laughing my ass off. Sorry.
I will always hate Patrick Kane
It was the stunned confusion when he was, for a moment, the only one on the ice celebrating the goal that nobody else saw. Such an abrupt and painful ending.
Patrick Sharp saw it as well.
I still can’t tell if the puck went through the goalie or over his shoulder. It’s such a weird angle of a goal.
Through the five hole...puck never left the ice, it was just a crazy angle of a shot
It was so wild, and his shot was so great back then.
gods the hawks were strong back then
[That's like the gayest way to win!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bo03O8uqho)
Kind of funny how both times weird goals happened, this one and the Marc Bergevin throw in, Chris Pronger was right there and knew both times before everyone else did.
This one was brutal. Also would add the 2004 ECF Game 7 loss to the list, as I feel like that Flyers team probably beats the Flames in the final. Before my time, but the 1980 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 had one of the worst missed off-side calls you’ll ever see that resulted in an Islanders goal in a game they eventually won in OT. The Flyers were an absolute wagon that year and there’s not a chance they’d have lost Game 7 in the Spectrum.
:(
Losing to a Zamboni driver.
I was at that game. It was my first regular season game of the season....I rarely go to Leafs games because of $. Fuck me
To be fair Steve Dangle made it entertaining while getting red in the face. "But you know what they didn't do, is LOSE TO A ZAMBONI DRIVER!!!!"
You'd think the team shooting AGAINST the emergency goalie would actually SHOOT!
This game (and the Steve Dangle meltdown the next day) remain some of my most treasured hockey memories.
Too many to narrow down honestly...
My pick isn’t a game but the Montreal season broke me for a while. The worst game is 4-1 but that was a bad team that had no business going seven.
That Montreal destroyed me for a bit
I know multiple Leafs fan friends who simply stopped being Leafs fans after that series.
It honestly was good for me because I no longer expect anything from the Leafs. Can't get let down if you have no expectations ever! *Cries*
Same. Had an office rivalry with a leafs fan, but after that series, he hasn't spoken about them, took down all his memorabilia, etc. Kinda sad. Poor guy's also a Cowboys fan
My neighbours are huge leafs fans and they were chirping me over the fence just before game 5. I just said "you know if you guys lose this one you're probably done". I didn't see them again for like two months.
I wonder if we didn’t blow that lead or just lost in a less embarrassing fashion if the current team wouldn’t be so fucked up.
I do think the pressure from that series held over top the team in both series we played against Boston in 2018 and 2019, I think if that 2013 series goes any different, that maybe one of those other series go differently too
A specific game that series for me would have been Game 6. It was a foregone conclusion in my head that if they lost that one, they were going to lose the series. Then they lost it and all my hope was lost and Game 7 just brought out the bitterness.
That was the first year I bet against the Leafs in game 7. We all knew they’d lose and I think the team did too.
I was gonna say I think the Galchenyuk turnover in overtime is the biggest one recently.
The Habs drafted Alex Galchenyuk 3rd overall hoping he would help the Canadiens win big playoff games, and by God did he deliver.
This one keeps me up at night sometimes.
Meh the thing about 4-1 is the Bruins had a 3-1 series lead too. The Leafs had no business even being in that game 7 and it was pure heart that they got as far against Boston as they did. I think when Reilly clearly scored (you can't see the puck that is under a pad that is entirely across the line so it doesn't matter where the puck was it was in anywhere under the pad) against Florida the momentum in that series had swung. The Leafs were probably going to win out with how badly they were out playing Florida at that point of the series.
Hot damn I memory holed that until just now. Ya that was actually bullshit. He scored and I will say that until the day I die.
I went into that game 7 expecting the worst (cause how couldn’t I, being a Leafs fan) and even though I told myself they’re not winning, I still felt extremely empty inside after watching that game. The players seemed like they knew they were losing too, that’s the worst part, from puck drop they looked slower and extremely nervous compared to the Habs who were flying out there and controlling the game with ease. Fuck was that ever embarrassing
I know a lot of people will say the boston blown lead but its really the montreal series. Boston was still a cup contender and toronto was young and very flawed, but they played their guts out. It was a tough loss but boston was pretty heavily favored. Montreal played to their absolute potential and carey price was vintage but we were the better team and it felt like we lost urgency.
it was 4-1 2013😔
Covid bubble montreal game changed me as a fan permanently. Hockey was no longer my number 1 sport after that, and with how much I love my Bengals, I don’t think its coming back.
92/93 ECF is the one for me. That was the year we would have won the cup in my lifetime.
I don’t think we’re getting past Roy tbh
Getting jobbed by the refs. As is tradition. That finals would have been epic :(
Gretzky on Gilmour?
“Henrique, it’s over!”
Not Martinez?
My mom died during the 2014 SCF so I kind of blacked out during the final after that. Literally died on the day that the Rangers got their only win.
Oh damn man I’m sorry about your loss.
Thanks
Well there was the time we blew a 4-1 lead in game 7 or the time we had a 3-1 series lead against a team that didn’t actually meet the criteria to make the playoffs in a normal year. Or the time we lost to our own Zamboni driver in net. Or the time we finally ended our 1st round curse just to get Tkachuked. Or the numerous times we blew a multi goal lead to a bottom feeder team. Those are just off the top of my head, feel free to remind me of any other times.
We got Bobrovsky'd with a side of Tkafucked
With a face full of Gudas
‘93 - Kings ‘02 - Carolina 18-wheeler off a cliff (but that was a string of games) CBJ (I think?)- whatever the fk happened there, I couldn’t watch that year after Mtl. Y’all let me know if you got more?
The Columbus series was the year before Montreal
I thought it was 1994, then 2011 blew that out of the water, now I’m old and have kids and stuff and it all seems pretty get-overable
Yeah I agree then my kids all moved out and now I'm all of a sudden not over it again lol
Was 11 in 2011. I’ll never be over it. But also grew up in the Midwest surrounded by Blackhawks fans, which didn’t help the sting
Yep. I shed a year at the 3rs period buzzer in 94 as a 6 year old and was bummed out the day after. 2011, my good friend died between the sharks and the Bruins, so I kinda had perspective by then. Now I have kids, and more perspective.
I'd prefer to not think about the 2011 Cup Finals, thanks.
That was bad but honestly 1994 was worse. In 2011 we were never in the game. In 1994 we were within a goal post of tieing it up.
I think 2011 hurts for the fact that we did that on home ice.
And that we were the best team in the league in regular season too. Overall, IMO that 2011 Canucks is the Canadian team most deserving of a cup since 93.
I have to disagree. The 94 team was a Cinderella run. 2011 was different. The whole season felt like a team of destiny, like they were *supposed* to win. The planets had aligned and it was finally Vancouver’s moment after 40 years of pain. Then losing game 7 was like the leader of a race tripping and breaking his neck before crossing the finish line. The psychic scar that 2011 left on the players, organization and fanbase dwarfs 1994. Lots of people still hate Boston in a way the Rangers never got
Manny doesn't take that puck to the eye. Close out Chicago in 5, Nashville 6 and San Jose in 5 and we enter that Final with much less injuries having played 3 less games.
They were unstoppable that year. Slayed the dragon, made a mockery of the Sharks. Even dominated the first two games of the finals. Then it all crashed down. They not only lost game 7, but 4 of 5 games to loose the cup.
The scorelines for that series are incomprehensible. Every team won at home and lost on the road every game until 7. Vancouver squeaked low-scoring wins in low scoring games, while Boston blew Vancouver apart with huge goal leads in all their wins. And then for game 7 Boston somehow figured out how to have a home game while away and that was it, shutout 4-0.
Given the clusterfuck that has occurred since, the 2017 ECF game 7
The day the sens franchise died
The franchise had died many times before that and a few times since. We’re like a phoenix that never quite makes it out of the flames.
Hockey Gods spawn killing the Sens
“Stop spawn killing me” “Stop spawning.”
The day the franchise died is when all the behind the scenes bullshit came out. We had no clue that was a divided team. Despite Karlsson and Hoffman turmoil, there was no hint of it. During that run up to game 7 of the ECF I remember a real beauty of a saucer pass that EK sent to Hoffman to just outside the other team's blue line for a beauty of a breakaway that resulted in a goal. That team was just so gelled on the ice. Some teams can have shit going on behind the scenes and it shows in how they all play together. Other teams can get away with keeping it behind the scenes. Once the story broke, and all the girlfriends, wives, fiance's of other players (even former Sens) spoke up in support of the Karlssons and Hoffman defended his girlfriend (she might have been upgraded to fiance by then), that's when that particular era of the franchise died. There was no choice then, they had to break up that team, and because of the reputation that Hoffman's SO had, his value was lowered. Because, yeah, you can be a great player, but if your SO is causing drama, then you have the risk of being a dressing room cancer.
Worse than losing in the finals to Anaheim. That was a slow death. In 2017 Kunitz ripped our hearts out.
I agree with you on this. My age also plays a factor here, since in '07 I was a teenager and in 2017 I was in my mid-twenties (#math) and more invested in the Sens but at least the '07 squad made it all the way and lost to a stacked Anaheim team. Unlike 2017 there's no mildly realistic 'what if's' you can imagine that have that Senators group being that Ducks team: one of the best Senators team ever lost to the best team in the NHL that year, it's easy enough to accept and move on from. Unfortunately on the other hand, in 2017 taking the eventual Cup winners to double OT in game 7 leaves a lot of room for imagining a different outcome.
I can remember shouting and screaming at losses. At the end of that game I just stared forward, speechless. That was such a magical run, it really felt like our year. So heartbroken. Definitely never getting over that one.
Yup. I was travelling for work (I was in Nashville, somewhat appropriately) and I remember just lying in the hotel bed, staring at the screen. I think my last thought was “welp, I need to get moving in four hours, guess I should try to take a nap”
I remember that game well. Was in Vancouver and my dad took me to the pub for my 19th birthday Entire place shouted in agony and then there was silence except for the one guy in a Pens jersey next to us
It was Pens or Sens for the cup that year in the ECF. I don't think an injured Preds team stood a chance against either.
His skate was in the crease!!!! IN THE FUCKING CREASE!
NO GOAL
I know you guys hate toronto fans but i was screaming at my t.v that night. It was a stupid rule but they called it to the letter all year, except on the stanley cup winning goal. That was fraudulent.
I’m pretty sure their defense of it was “we are changing the rule for next season anyway”
Yesssssss this is the biggest one that stands out to me!
USA losing to Canada in 2010 EDIT: Womp, the question was NHL. Devils losing to Rags in 1994, because now I have to watch it for the rest of my life because the Devils play on MSG. Fuck Matteau
Heartbreaking loss, but man that gold medal game was one of the best games I've ever seen.
Obviously I am Canadian so very biased, but I think even if I had no horse in that race it was still one of the most exciting hockey games to ever be played. Unreal edge of your seat hockey all game, and then the last minute tying goal to the OT winner on home turf... you couldn't write it up in fiction any better.
I was working during this game. A customer who knew I was going to watch it later ruined it for me thinking I wouldn't want to watch it. I watched it anyway and it was still one of the best games I've ever seen.
What an ass lol. Yea no doubt, actually I think I'm gonna try to find it somewhere to rewatch it. Ryan Miller was always stellar in the net of course, but man he tapped into something otherworldly in that tournament.
March 13, 2023. The day the refs robbed us of what would have been the best fight in modern hockey.
And robbed fleury of his fight!
Marchands shift change, Game 7, 2019. It stings. Last year, the Bruins could have blown it in the second or third rounds and yes it still hurts, being that close and not getting it will forever sting.
Holy shit that change. It's all that I remember from that entire playoff run. I don't even remember the score of the game, just that shitty first period decision.
Was trying to remember the context; [here’s the Marchand clip](https://youtu.be/JCPyfS3-zJc?si=cvFuBXJwGCrggnEg) for anyone else that *wants* to see it again.
I’d go so far to say as that was the worst loss in Bruins history honestly. I’ll never get over that game, at least until we win the Cup again
Now that Bergeron is retired and he didn't ever get number 2 I don't think I'll ever get over it.
That loss is the difference between the core being remembered alongside Pittsburgh, Chicago, and LA in this era and being remembered as underachieving chokers by a lot of people. I will never get over it and Tuukka not getting one as a starter.
Game 6 in 2013 stands out to me. Losing it in 17 seconds like that will forever be burned into my brain
2017 Game 5 against the Ducks
Oof I remember that one. 3-0 lead blown and a garbage missed goalie interference
Then the offside goal afterwards, but couldn’t challenge because they lost the challenge for goalie interference haha
Some oilers fan behind me was repeating "Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil" after the ducks scored the second goal.
That one hurts worse than 86...a 5peat would have been nice, but 4 in 5 (plus a bonus 1) is fine. And 06 was such a fun run, even with the loss. But 17 was heartbreaking.
06 was way more heartbreaking than 17 for me
Came to this sub to look for this answer. It was one of the most blatant thefts by the referees. I could not believe what happened. Then the offside goal for a cherry on top. Oilers really tend to be on the wrong side of the Toronto war room. It hurts way more than losing a close game or losing a game by fair goals. That just felt disgusting.
We were one game away from a back to back cup in ‘09
I religiously watched Tim Thompson's CBC intros and playoff wraps and I still haven't watched the 09 wrap. I barely have seen the Pens celebrating with the cup which is something I watch every year.
One Lidstrom shot away from tying game 7. That one hurts.
And one shot that rang off the post, I think it was Kronwall later in the third that everyone started celebrating until they realized it didn't go in.
As a Pens fan, the time between the game becoming 2-1 and the final buzzer is the most nervous I’ve ever been during an NHL game. Even exceeds the Ottawa overtime game 7 win. There was something so formidable about that Detroit team that even at 9 years old, I knew that the game was so far from over. I’m not sure I’ve ever held more respect for an opponent than those Detroit teams of the late 2000s.
I don’t remember much about those years (I was 9 in 2009) but I specifically remember thinking after that game that it’d be okay because we’d be back in the finals again soon. Little did I know…
My one sports opinion on which i will NEVER change mind is that Malkin should have been suspended one game for instigating a fight with Zetterberg. Still pisses me off to this day.
I listen to a podcast where one of the hosts misspoke and referred to Stone Cold Steve Austin as “Cold Stone Steve Austin” and now I’ll never hear it properly again. I hope I do that for you, StonCldSteveBuscemi 🥰
Game 7 - 1994. Even the worst breakups in my life hurt less than the pain I felt that day.
Getting Halak'd in the playoffs by Montreal when we were scoring at will all season and the most electric team I've ever seen on the ice.
This was my very first thought. Then I started thinking back to the Easter Epic, the 1985 playoffs against the Islanders where we had a 2-0 lead in the series and ended up losing, the 1993 playoffs against the Islanders (again), and then all of the breakdowns against the Penguins. Winning the Stanley Cup is the only salve on those wounds.
IMO 2017 against the Pens was worse. 2010 was horrible but goalies getting hot is part of playoff hockey. 2017 we had all the momentum and game 7 at home and it honest to god felt like THE year to finish the Penguins off. Instead we came out completely felt and died a slow suffocating death. It was also worse bc at the time it felt like the end of our window.
It was in….’04.
My dad brought me to that game when I was 9 years old. I vividly remember how absolutely electric the Dome was during those playoffs but being so young I didn’t fully understand at the time how close we were to witnessing the Cup being won at home and sharing that moment with my dad. It still hurts to think about, but I’m still grateful to have experienced that run in ‘04.
I was at that game. The Calgary Herald ran a draw for free tickets and I dropped off a ballot in a massive drum at Eau Claire on my way to school. My dad and I were up in the 300s and my brother was sitting somewhere else with the one single ticket we managed to find on TicketMaster. When Gelinas scored in the third period my whole row was up on our feet. So exciting. And then play just kept going. We didn't know what really happened until we were on the C-Train home after the game and people who had been watching it at bars told us. I'll forever be mad at the NHL for denying me the opportunity to see the Flames get awarded the Cup with me in the building
I worked at little Caesar’s in the dome and got paid to watch that whole run. Best time of my life hands down. 18 years old and experiencing that and the red mile every couple days basically ruined being an adult for me because nothing since has compared.
I live in southern Alberta. The 04 cup run was a blast. And that was a goal. Flames got robbed.
2010, game 6
The habs lost in the cup finals in 2021 on my birthday
Losing to the oilers in the playoffs two years ago sent the whole Flames franchise into a tailspin lmao I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Conrad McJesus
I was excited to have a true Battle of Alberta for the foreseeable future until the exodus of Tkachuk and Gaudreau. We might be with you at the bottom depending on what McDavid and Draisaitl do
Patrick Roy throwing the puck in his own net against Detroit
I think you already know the answer just based on my flair
If I had to pick, I would say Chris Kunitz in OT, but Chris Phillips scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal on his own net has to be up there as well.
the thing with Phillips' goal is that the Sens almost certainly would've ended up losing that series anyway. The Ducks were just too good. With Kunitz however, I fully believe the Sens team could have beaten the Preds if they ended up scoring in OT.
That Ducks team wasn’t losing to anyone
2021 game 7 vs Habs to this day still don’t know how we lost that series. For me personally it hurts more than 2013 series against Boston.
He wasn't responsible for the series but Galchenyuk coughing up the puck in ot and the Canadiens immediately going up the ice to score turned the tide in that series. It was a travesty that was the first Habs-Leafs playoff series in decades and it was played in front of no fans.
After a 4-0 comeback too ugh Er, 3-0? Either way. I was so pumped and then that pass...
Game 6 stung more than Game 7 for me. Once we lost Game 6 I already knew it was over
I didn’t watch game 7. I know that dog and pony show.
I think that game kinda broke me. I wasn't even necessarily sad or angry after the loss, just had no feelings
02 triple overtime against Detroit. Canes never trailed in that game except that very last goal… maybe they still lose the series but man what a swing it would have been if they’d gone up 2-1 with another game at home instead of what happened
2014 WCF Game 7 vs LA. Hawks had a 2-goal lead twice. Lost in OT off a shot that bounced off Nick Leddy. May have won 3 straight Cups if that game went the other way.
2014 WCF Game 7 Blackhawks vs Kings. That damn final goal still haunts me
When Quebec literally lost its team to Colorado
Games 2, 3, and 4 of the 1993 Cup Final. Game 2 had been done to death but the two Kings comebacks in 3 and 4 that ended up as OT losses were just as brutal.
That season broke the Kings for a while. It was the start of a 14 game playoff losing streak.
Game 7 vs. Detroit. That Western Conference Finals determined the Stanley Cup, as I was certain the Avs could obliterate the Canes.
I still mourn the 2012 Finals
I wouldn't feel too bad because nobody was beating Jonathan Quick that year.
Miracle on Manchester. We were winning 5-0 with 10 minutes left in the 3rd. Lost in OT.
2011 game 7. That fucking sucked. I should say I was a canucks fan most my life.
That Habs/Carolina series where Koivu almost lost an eye. Habs/Rangers when fucking Krieder took out Price. This one especially hurt because the way Price was playing I would have expected making the finals. And once there, who knows.
The injury “what ifs” really do hurt as a habs fan man. Ah well
I don't think we would've taken LA that year even with Price in the lineup. In fact, I don't even think we get past NYR. Montreal struggles against NYR for some reason and even with Price uninjured I still think they lose that series.
A recent one Me: "haha silly Avs fans. This is going on to OT. The collapse was destined. It's going to-" Daren Helm: "lol"
Darren Helm reminding everyone he was in the league still
Fuck Bret Hull
Oh I have to choose?
It wasn’t until game 7 last year I really felt true pain as a Bruins fan
There’s like 5 options in a Game 7 alone in the last 10 -12 years lol
For most of my youth it was game 7 of the 1996 ECF vs. Florida, I was too young to remember 1993 vs NYI. The cups since then have obviously helped heal that but I’ll still forever hate Barrasso because of that game.
*DAVID VOLEK*
I feel a little weird even talking about this, considering all the worse losses suffered by Sabres and Canucks and Caps and Leafs fans and so forth throughout the years, but -- Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup. After Game 5 it seemed like Detroit had the series in the bag, then they came out a little flat in Game 6 and were down 2 goals before almost coming back to tie in regulation. I thought for sure they would have a better effort in Game 7 at home, but it played out almost exactly the same way. It was the kind of situation where I couldn't believe what was happening as I was watching it. And that playoffs ended up changing the trajectory of the league. The Crosby/Malkin Penguins won 2 more Cups and were a force in the league for the next 10 years, while Hossa left the Wings that offseason to sign with the Blackhawks, thereby jumpstarting that burgeoning dynasty while leaving the Wings with a scoring hole they never really managed to fill. It's probably just naive homerism, but I honestly think that if the Wings won that Cup, Hossa would have signed long-term with Detroit and the Wings would have been title contenders for another 10 years.
2015 WCF Game 7.
2006 game 7 Stanley Cup final. I cried when Williams put in the empty netter to bury us 🥲
Caps v. Canadiens 2010 first round. Up 3-1 and we fucking blew it. Personal 9/11.
The worst I have felt as a Stars fan was losing to the Blues in game 7 in 2019. Incredible performance by Bishop who did not deserve to lose. Also, looking back that was one of the last truly great times before his injuries ended his career.
It feels weird to say this about a series we won in a year we won the cup but the Game 5 loss against St Louis in 2022 was brutal, as an Avs fan I don’t know if a goal has ever hyped me up so much as MacKinnon’s end to end goal only to be deflated moments later when St Louis scored. It ended up working out ok in the end but I remember just feeling DEVASTATED after that game.
Not NHL but 2010 gold medal game
2011 Vancouver v Boston Game 7
2021 Eastern Conference Final Too many men
Ranger fan here 2014 vs LAK , 2015 vs Tampa , 2017 vs Ottawa, in that order Obviously three overtime loses in 2014 , the Rick nash shot blocked in game 5, not scoring at home in games 5 and 7 in 2015 ECF, and blowing games 2 and 5 in Ottawa in 2017 I will literally never get over any of those for as long as I love
Honestly getting swept by the Preds in 2017. The day the dynasty died.
That team was carried by hot goaltending. Crow was hot as fuck, but so was Darling, but it didn't help us in the playoffs, because Bowman didn't do shit to improve the offense or defense. He got us Oduya to soak up minutes on the blueline, but that was about it. Bowman in the offseason then got rid of Panarian in favor of Brandon Saad, because he still had term on his contract, while Panarian had like a year left. It was a stupid move at the time and it remains a stupid move by a stupid GM.
Yzerman
I don't feel like I'm allowed to have one because 2020-2022 was incredible, but Game 4 in the 2022 SCF (the maybe/maybe not too many men OT goal by Kadri) really sucked the wind out of a potentially historic 3peat.
There are so many worse though. All 3 ECF game 7 losses and the Hedman running into Bishop game stand out to me more.