Fall of the Giant. The Bruins also paid for the ‘curse of champions’

Most Czechs have to look in the dictionary for the word that their coach Jim Montgomery used. However, it is extremely apt, as the term ‘stupefying’ combines stupefying and stupefying.

Like staring at something in utter stupor and refusing to believe it.

Like when the Boston Bruins hockey players, after the best regular season in the history of the NHL, were eliminated in the playoffs already in the 1st round.

“It’s hard, so hard,” the Boston captain gushed Patrice Bergeron after losing to the Florida Panthers 3-4 in overtime in the decisive seventh game at home. “I can’t take it in, we’re disappointed, shocked.

The Bruins outscored Florida by 43 points in the regular season, and only once in NHL history has a team with a longer lead lost in the Stanley Cup; The Edmonton Oilers fell to the Los Angeles Kings in 1982, despite being outscored by 48 points.

All this only underlines the amazement and stupefying of everyone: the media, the fans and above all the players themselves.

Video: Bergeron opens the scoring in a flash against the Sabres

WHY THE BRUINS WENT OUT

Even though it sounds a bit esoteric at first listen, the bare facts are hidden behind it: the winners of the Presidents’ Trophy, and especially the extremely dominant ones, simply do not do well in the playoffs.

The latest example is the Tampa Bay Lightning and their extraordinary 2018-19 season, when 128 points from the long competition were caught in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets 0-4 debacle in games. The Bruins are the first regular season champions to be eliminated so quickly since their collapse. On the contrary, the last team that could put both trophies in the showcase at the same time are the Chicago Blackhawks from the year 2012-13.

One single team in the last 11 years. That can’t be a coincidence.

“But we’ve been playing in the playoffs for several months,” repeated the Florida captain among others Alexander Barkov.

Boston thus ranked among the units that simply ran out of breath. It’s as if the Bruins are too exhausted from the pursuit of records – and at the same time, they haven’t had a stretch that’s even slightly longer than their season. They experienced only wins, only joy, only euphoria. Now it’s the other way around.

Video: Verhaeghe sends Florida past Boston to 2nd round

Their home tribulations against Florida are absolutely alarming: four duels, only one win! In the regular season at TD Garden, they had a record of 34-4-3, earning 87 percent of possible points.

Another of the fundamental reasons for the change is the enormous drop in Linus Ullmark’s form. The main contender for the Vezina Trophy, who together with Jeremy Swayman won the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goaltender with the best average, went down in numbers really radically – from an average of 1.89 to 3.33, from a success rate of 93.8 to 89.6 percent.

Whether the reason was possible never-acknowledged health problems or perhaps the way a robber threw him Matthew Tkachuk, Ullmark failed. And Swayman was also a shadow of himself (from 2.27 average to 3.34, from 92 percent success to 87.5).

And the key men in the field? Despite partial criticism, David Pastrňák finished the series with five hits, but without a single assist, which is also surprising for such a creative player. Captain Patrice Bergeron was 0+1 in three starts after returning from injury, and Boston lost all three…

The fact that the most productive man on the team has become a tough guy also proves that the playoffs really represent a completely different dimension of hockey Tyler Bertuzzi (5+5) and with it a proven hitter for tense moments Brad Marchand (4+6).

That Marchand who made a chillingly accurate prediction during a record-breaking season: “It’s not about the regular season at all. If you win the Presidents’ Trophy but don’t win the Stanley Cup, nobody cares…”

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

In all honesty, once they absorb the grief of being eliminated in Massachusetts, the lead will start another solid headache. Although they have most defenders and six important forwards under contract (Marchand and Taylor Hall for another two years, Pavel Zacha for four and Pastrňák even for nine years), but then it is very exciting.

Video: Pastrňák hits the crossbar after Carl’s shot

Bertuzzi, Tomáš Nosek, Nick Foligno a Garnet Hathaway. Jakub Lauko a Trent Frederic they become protected free agents. This is essentially a complete third and fourth line.

In addition, it is far more poignant that the one-year contracts of elite centers Bergeron and David Krejčí have expired. At the same time, both wanted to close their careers with a great triumph, and their continuation is very uncertain. Dmitry Orlov, often the team’s best back in the playoffs, does not have a contract either. And the Bruins have only one goalkeeper signed in Ullmark!

Therefore, after a cruel elimination, one of the best long-term units of this era is in a vacuum. Boss Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney will soon have to decide whether to try to hang on to the current crew for one more try or mercilessly dismantle it. The new Bruins may have a half-changed goaltending and especially the entire offense, so now their strength in the immediate future is very difficult to estimate.

CZECH TRACE

Boston has turned into the largest Czech colony since the heroic days of the team around Jaromir Jágr in the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. Pastrňák will be the biggest support for many, many years, Zacha has had the season of his life in which he has fundamentally increased his productivity and is growing into a valuable universal center for the first two lines, thus finally legitimizing his position as the former sixth draft pick.

Furthermore, only back Jakub Zbořil, who often ended up in the role of a healthy substitute, has a contract. On the other hand, Krejčí, Nosek and Lauko are without a contract.

Even this group can change in half. In short, there are more than enough questions in Boston for the coming weeks and months – and they will also concern the Czechs…