I saw this earlier today while at work but secretly hoped it was an April Fool's joke.
Oh man. What a brutal way to get eliminated.
We were absolutely dominating this game, outshooting the Panthers 36-11 after 40. 23-2 in the opening period alone.
With our playoff lives in the line, our team decided to collectively theirs in the towel. Our power play went 0-6 and our D refused to block shots.
Vasilevskiy let in 5 goals on just 19 shots and was chased from the net in front of his home fans, who ferociously boo'd him off the ice.
To say that GM JonDuke is disgusted would be an understatement. I can't describe the level of frustration. We had one of the best teams on paper and thought this was the year. Much like Tampa losing to Columbus last year, we did not come close to our playoff expectations. NHLs Tampa and CPHLs Philly both had the same goalie. Coincidence? Probably.
Big changes will have to be made in the off season.
Credit where it's due though. Huge props to SuperMatt and the Panthers organization for knocking us out. Linus Fracking Ullmark?? What the actual ef? I'm going to cry myself to sleep. Good luck to everyone left in the chase.
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