




Another NHL season has ended in dramatic and entertaining fashion. Alec Martinez’s overtime Stanley Cup clincher has crowned the Los Angeles Kings for the second time in three years.
Unfortunately, there’s only one winner every campaign and twenty-nine losers. With that in mind, I have collected the ten saddest GIFs of the 2014 NHL Playoffs (in chronological order). Enjoy. Or, you can also have a good cry if your team is featured in this Top Ten.
After becoming only the fourth team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead, this was San Jose captain Joe Thornton’s reaction following his club’s biggest debacle in history.
In fact, the San Jose Sharks have been eliminated by almost every team in the Western Conference in their last ten playoff appearances. [s/t @PeteBlackburn].
Poor Ryan O’Reilly. Not only did his team just get eliminated from the playoffs during overtime in a Game Seven, but, he even took a stick in the face during the opposing team’s celebration. [s/t @cjzero].
One Colorado fan broke down in tears after Wild forward Nino Niederreiter scored in OT to send the Avs home.
Another Avs fan who stares in shock and loses the ability to blink. This could be used in a sad version of the NHL’s “No Words” Stanley Cup Playoffs Commercial.
Your team went from third-last to second in the league in one season. You really shouldn’t be that disappointed.
Philadelphia players react after falling two goals short of a second round playoff berth (Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek).
A very lonely Blackhawks fan is surrounded by Wild fans (who are celebrating a Minnesota goal). [s/t @myregularface].
After leading the league in points during the regular season with 104, Sidney Crosby only registered three points in the Penguins’ seven game series against the Rangers.
It wasn’t enough as New York won the rubber match 2-1 to advance onto the Eastern Conference Finals.
A lot of disappointed Pittsburgh fans after their team was dismissed from the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals by the New York Rangers.
Game Seven. Western Conference Finals. Overtime. Chicago hangs their heads after being knocked out of the playoffs by the Kings thus ending their bid to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings (1997,1998).
GIF starts with captain serious Jonathan Toews, then goaltender Corey Crawford, and finally, upper management Stan Bowman.
After losing in the finals of the 2014 Winter Olympics Men’s Hockey Tournament to Team Canada, Henrik went on to lose in the Stanley Cup Finals in double overtime. Lundqvist has now finished second place on the two biggest stages of professional hockey within a span of just four months.
If it weren’t for Lundqvist, would the Rangers be Eastern Conference Champions? Probably not. You have to feel bad for a guy who has been the backbone of his team for so many years. At least he has a big contract to fall back on. In terms of the New York Rangers, who are notorious big spenders, it’s money well invested for once.