The Boston Bruins were far and away the best team in the NHL this season, and were actually the best historically, too. Their 65 wins and 135 points were both the highest marks in league history, and they entered the postseason as the obvious favorite to win the championship.
But the Stanley Cup Playoffs are some of the most unpredictable in sports, and that proved to be true in Boston’s first round series against the Florida Panthers.
Boston Bruins Join Patriots And Warriors In This Unfortunate Statistic
PANTHERS JUST UPSET THE BRUINS IN THE FIRST ROUND
WOW 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/TQEbmIEa7p
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 1, 2023
The Panthers barely snuck into the playoffs, qualifying as the 8th seed and setting themselves up for a date with the presumed best team to ever hit the ice. But after being down 3 games to 1, the Panthers somehow pulled off the incredible upset, winning the final three games, including two overtime thrillers.
Florida will move on to try and continue their Cinderella run, but for Boston, the heartbreak is almost immeasurable. But they’re in good company, if you want to call it that. The 2022–23 Bruins will be talked about in the same breath as the New England Patriots and Golden State Warriors, but for all the wrong reasons.
Both of those dynasties suffered serious collapses that remain blemishes on their resumes. The 2016 Warriors were the best regular season team ever, winning a record 73 games and cruising to the NBA Finals. They blew a 3-1 lead in the championship series to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in one of the most talked about sporting events in recent memory.
⚫️ 2023 Bruins: most points and wins in a season in NHL history
⚫️ 2016 Warriors: most wins in a season in NBA history
⚫️ 2007 Patriots: most wins in a season in NFL history
⚫️ 2001 Mariners: matched the most wins in a season in MLB historyThey all fell short of a title. pic.twitter.com/jalTDdY7Mv
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 1, 2023
The Patriots had the same fate in their near-record breaking season. New England finished the 2007 season with a 16-0 record, and were looking like locks to become the first team to finish a season undefeated since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the first to go 19-0. Eli Manning and the New York Giants had other plans, and the greatest season ever ended in bitter disappointment that still stings to the fan base and the franchise.
But wait, there’s more. The best regular season record in MLB history belongs to the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who won 116 games that year. But they, too, were unable to complete the mission, losing in the ALCS in 5 games to the New York Yankees.
You can now add the 2023 Boston Bruins to the list. In all four major North American sports, the team that has had the best regular season in league history has failed to win the championship.
