The fate of the Tampa Bay Lightning proves that there is a curse that follows teams with historic regular season performances.
The Lightning tied an NHL record with 62 wins in the regular season. Then they went out and got swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets, becoming the second President’s Trophy winner to do that.
Moreover, as this ESPN graphic proves, teams that have had historic regular seasons often falter in the postseason.
The Tampa Bay Lightning's 62 regular-season wins were tied for the most by a team in NHL history.
They got swept out of the playoffs in the first round. pic.twitter.com/30hrVX3OQX
— ESPN (@espn) April 17, 2019
There is some logic to this. Everything has to go right for a team to set a record in a regular season for the most wins. On top of that, the team could be so focused on winning in the regular season that they feel a measure of satisfaction for what they’ve accomplished when it’s over. Contrarily, teams that didn’t achieve as much may be hungrier when the postseason comes around.
Still, seeing Tampa Bay, with the three 40-goal scorers in their lineup, get swept, is nothing short of shocking.
