Following series clinching losses on Saturday night, the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators join the New Jersey Devils in 2010 Playoff disappointment. Apparently.
Detractors of the Avalanche and Senators (mostly the Senators… Honestly, who hates the young, up-and-coming Avs?) say the Playoffs were busts for each club. Some have already claimed the Senators choked in this year’s Playoffs.
Let’s pretend for a second that a Playoff series consists of more than a single game (or period). Let’s take a slightly more intelligent perspective on the Avalanche and Senators series. The opponents in each series – the Sharks and Penguins, respectively – are heavy favorites to play for the Stanley Cup in June. They are considered among the elite NHL teams.
In the case of the Avs and Sens, it’s pretty impressive both teams qualified for the Playoffs. Virtually no one thought Colorado had any chance of being in the post-season. And only a few more of the ‘experts’ thought Ottawa would qualify for the Playoffs. That’s the difference between the Avs and Sens and the New Jersey Devils – a team with larger expectations and a team that should have gone farther than the 1st round.
The Devils choked big time. Consider the blockbuster deal they pulled off to acquire star Ilya Kovalchuk in February. Consider the strong regular season they had and their series opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers. Consider the fact that expectations were higher for the Devils than they were for the Avalanche and Senators combined. And don’t forget last year’s 1st round meltdown against the Carolina Hurricanes. Neither Colorado or Ottawa even made the 2009 Playoffs.
Exactly how can a team (or teams) and their Playoff elimination be considered a choke when they weren’t expected to make the post-season and ended up playing superior opponents? To me, it’s about realistic expectations. You can’t “choke” when you live up to expectations. Many didn’t expect the Avalanche or Senators to advance beyond the 1st round of the Playoffs. Most figured the Devils would be a 2nd or 3rd round team, or better.
Excuse me for getting a little bent out of shape on this, but I’m choking on this bullshit.
Stay classy, Avalanche and Senators. Neither team choked.
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I agree. Had Pittsburgh not had another horseshoe on the Fisher no-goal, and Cooke not been Johnny on the spot, there’d be game 7. And if they had lost that one, then there’s a choke. We may have choked last night but not by losing the series.
Colorado is building a good team, as we hope are the Sens. The Devils may well be on the decline as Marty is nearing time for a swan song. This may have been it.
The Avs played Waaaayyyy better then I expected and to call that a choke is ridiculous.
I have a hard time calling the Sens a choke, really… 6 games… OT… Vs. defending Cup Champs…. I think the “Choke”-term is coming from confused Leafs fans…
OK you’ve got me… The Leafs haven’t lost a Playoff game in the last 5 years. They are clutch, and far more superior in every single way when compared to the Senators.
We all know I’m a Leafs fan (translation: I’m a sucker for punishment) and although its common knowledge I despise the Sens, I hope all the animosity that seems to be floating around Twitterland these days regarding last night’s loss isn’t spun onto all us Leaf fans. Tho no fan of the Sens, I’m not happy another Canadian team is out, even if it is the Sens.
If there are Leaf fans out there celebrating the Sens loss, or bashing their gameplay – well, they’re idiots because people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and the Sens have obviously outplayed us this season. I hope these fans smarten up and learn to get classy.
One more thing, all you guys are pure awesomeness no matter the team you support.
Now….wheres that stupid Sens jersey I have to wear as a result of a bet loss? *cringes*
Epic comment, Nock4Six. Epic comment. Probably one of the best ever written on Stayclassy!!
It’s also worth noting that both Colorado and Ottawa had significant injuries to deal with. Colorado was missing Milan Hedjuk and Peter Mueller, who were key parts of their powerplay and are both top 6 forwards. Ottawa was missing Alexei Kovalev and Milan Michalek.
Even with healthy rosters, I’m not sure either team have the depth that San Jose and Pittsburgh have, so I find it very surprising that you could say either team choked. I’d say both teams, especially the Avs, gave their opponents a pretty good scare for a 1st round series.
Excellent article, 100% true