'We're all sick of it': Haula, Wild lament another early exit
Things were supposed to be different this time.
The Minnesota Wild entered the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs with high hopes, and rightfully so, after a successful first season with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench.
Five games later, they find themselves eliminated at the hands of the St. Louis Blues, and forward Erik Haula didn't hold back when describing the mood around the team following Saturday's Game 5 overtime loss.
"What is this, five years in a row? I'm sick of it. We're all sick of it," he said, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. "You can say this or that. I'm just so pissed off."
Minnesota has indeed been eliminated within the opening two rounds in each of the past five postseasons, but defenseman Ryan Suter echoed the sentiment that this year was supposed to be different.
"The team we had this year, this year had a different feel ..." he said. "We had a team that could've gone far."
The Wild finished fifth in the NHL standings with 106 points, but won just a single game when it mattered most.