Just when you think you’ve cracked the code to pinch a spot in the playoffs, the unforgiving nature of the NHL can quickly cut a team down. Just take a look at last season’s Calgary Flames. The Saddledome outfit amassed a 41–27–14 record in 2024/25, good for an impressive 96 points and surely enough to end a three-year postseason drought. Indeed, only three other teams in history had ever missed out after amassing such a haul.
Calgary Misses Out
But on this occasion, the Flames were about to become the fourth team on that list. Despite veterans Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau spearheading an impressive campaign, Calgary ultimately missed out by a razor-thin margin, with a tiebreaker leaning in favor of St. Louis, marking the first time in history that a Western Conference side had ever missed out on the end-of-season extravaganza with 96 points.
Yet for all the positives of last season, Calgary was undercut by an inescapable reality: defensive inconsistencies and a pattern of letting critical games slip away in agonizing fashion. The final dagger came via a tiebreaker, as St. Louis matched them in points but bested them by a single regulation win. One more moment of composure—one less defensive miscue, one more clutch goal—and history would read differently.
Next season, online hockey betting sites aren’t completely convinced that the Flames will be able to put this disappointment behind them. The latest hockey betting odds ahead of the 2025/26 season currently have Craig Conroy’s men listed as a +260 shot to reach the playoffs, as opposed to -370 to miss out for the fourth straight year. But before we pencil Calgary’s heartbreak into the NHL’s book of what-ifs, it’s worth remembering: they’re not alone.
This agony—having a playoff-worthy season met only with a quiet locker room and a blank spring calendar—befell three Eastern Conference teams before. Each of them rode 96 points to the edge of glory and was forced to reckon with a reality just as bitter. Each story may be unique, but collectively, they reveal how demanding—and sometimes downright unfair—life on hockey’s razor’s edge can be.
Boston Bruins
Expectations don’t just trail the Boston Bruins—they roar at their backs. In 2014–15, the Beantown outfit entered the season only two years removed from a Stanley Cup Final, and still carried the swagger of perennial contenders. Patrice Bergeron, the faceoff assassin, led all forwards, while Tuukka Rask played a staggering 70 games, posting a .922 save percentage. There was no reason, on paper or in the imagination, to believe the Bruins wouldn’t compete for silverware.
But the script unraveled with the kind of subtle malice only hockey can provide. With the postseason beckoning, no fewer than five key players logged 15-plus games out injured, halting any momentum that the TD Garden had built up in its tracks. Zdeno Chara’s absence lingered. Creative lynchpin David Krejci missed two critical stretches. As such, Boston’s vaunted defense, which had strangled opponents for most of the year, started to offer too many golden opportunities.
Then, when everything needed to go right, things went sideways. The Bruins stumbled in their final three, falling to the Capitals, Panthers, and Lightning. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh clawed a victory in Buffalo to snatch the final playoff berth. Boston’s 96 points, identical to Calgary’s this past spring, earned them only a final bow and a terrifying offseason of upheaval.
Florida Panthers
If Boston’s journey was marred by attrition, Florida’s tale was all about untapped potential—until it wasn’t. After a sluggish start that seemed to doom their year before Christmas, the 2017–18 Panthers mounted one of the most frenzied late-season charges the league has seen since the three-point game was introduced. Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau orchestrated attack after attack, combining for more than 110 assists amid a playoff push that saw Florida win 25 of its final 35 games. Add in the steadying presence of Roberto Luongo between the pipes, and you have a cocktail for destiny… or at least you should.
But even flamethrowers need a spark, and the Panthers discovered—brutally—a cold truth: in the NHL, losses in December are worth just as much as those in April. A fall riddled with missed chances dug a hole that their spectacular spring couldn’t fully erase. Florida’s 44–29–9 record, those 96 points, were as fine a badge as any stamped by a non-playoff team. But with the Devils boasting more regulation wins, the Panthers became postseason spectators.
Yet, failure has a peculiar way of serving as a prelude. The “what ifs” of 2018 catalyzed a hunger inside the locker room; depth was a weakness, and the franchise’s leadership knew it. Within six years, that pain turned to pride—Florida lifted the Cup for the first time in 2024, before successfully defending the title last season, their journey proving that heartbreak can forge champions.
Montreal Canadiens
There are seasons when nothing goes as expected—Montreal’s 2018–19 campaign was one of them. Burdened by low external expectations, the Canadiens assembled a campaign that blended defensive heroics, energetic youth, and an almost reckless disregard for narratives. Carey Price was nothing short of majestic in goal, logging 35 wins and posting a .918 save percentage while dragging a relatively inexperienced blue line through the gauntlet.
Up front, Max Domi took over as the offensive engine, notching a career-best 72 points. Rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi, just 18, became the crowd’s darling, offering two-way play that belied his tender years. The Habs finished at 44–30–8—level on 96 points, with, of all teams, the Boston Bruins. However, they lost out on the tiebreaker. One more goal, anywhere across their voyage, would have rewritten their entire spring.
Still, it was no empty campaign. If the lasting emotion for veterans was bitterness, for fans and management, it was hope. GM Marc Bergevin’s gamble on youth was validated, and the lively play of Montreal’s up-and-comers pointed toward a new era. The hurt would linger, but so would renewed belief.
