It’s an age-old hockey question, a favourite among doubters and skeptics. “Sure, they’re doing well in the regular season. But are they built for playoff success?” Internet trolls like to accompany this sentiment with #FirstRoundExit and broom gifs.
It’s not just blind criticism. The NHL playoffs are a whole different animal from the regular season, and it’s entirely possible for a player or a team to be successful in one but not the other. We see it almost every year—that team you expect will have a deep run in the postseason gets knocked out early and ruins your bracket.