Boston Bruins Defeated by the Florida Panthers as the Curse of the Presidents’ Trophy Claims Another Victim

The Boston Bruins set history twice this season, but not how they wanted to. After finishing with the most points in the history of the NHL, the Bruins were on the wrong end of the largest playoff upset in the league's history. It was shocking for a team with a roster that experts had ranked among the best. However, history told us the Bruins could be in trouble.

Their star talent and seemingly endless depth led Boston to win the Presidents' Trophy by finishing with the most points in the NHL. They dominated throughout the season and entered the playoffs as one of the heaviest favorites in NHL history.

While there are reasons why they dropped their opening series to the Florida Panthers, many hockey fans blame the loss on the infamous Presidents’ Trophy curse.

Below we will cover why the Bruins were such a heavy favorite, the history of the Presidents’ Trophy curse, and how their early exit changed the Stanley Cup odds with Hockey betting sites.

The Bruins didn’t just win the NHL regular season, they dominated it. Boston finished in the top ten in the league in goals forced (3.66 GF/G), assists (515), shots (2,702), penalty kill percentage (87.3%), goals allowed (2.12 GA/G), save percentage (93.1%), and goal differential (+128). That shows you this team's depth and balance, which is how they accrued the most points in NHL history.  

Boston finished 22 points ahead of the next-best team, showing how much better they were than the rest of the league. This is even more impressive when considering how good the Eastern Conference was this year.

It was undoubtedly an incredible season, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the Presidents’ Trophy curse.

The NHL created the Presidents' Trophy in 1985 as an award for the regular season’s best team. A total of 37 teams have now won the award, but just eight went on to win the Stanley Cup. While you can’t expect each Presidents’ Trophy winner to win the Cup ever season, that is a staggeringly small number.

The last time a team won the trophy and the Stanley Cup was when the Chicago Blackhawks did it in the 2012-13 season. Since then, we have seen shocking upsets and losses to the regular season champions early in the playoffs. 

The latest example of the curse was the Florida Panthers, who just knocked out the Bruins. The Panthers had an incredible season en route to the President’s Trophy, but they were swept in the second round of the playoffs. While they managed to at least win one series, the sweep made the series loss even more embarrassing.

The Bruins entered the NHL playoffs as the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Now that they have been eliminated, bookmakers have made big adjustments to their odds for the remaining teams.  

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, these are now the top five favorites to take home the Cup:

• Toronto Maple Leafs +370 
• Edmonton Oilers +400 
• Dallas Stars +550 
• Vegas Golden Knights +600 
• Carolina Hurricanes +700 

With the second round set to begin this week, the bookmakers view the field as being wide open. That is a win for sports bettors, as the remaining teams provide much value now that the Bruins have been eliminated.

While the Bruins losing ends our chance of seeing more NHL history, it does signal for an even more exciting battle for the Stanley Cup.