Which is why, when it was finally over, the post-game pain seemed all the more real. "At the start of the year, we sat down as a group: our goal was to be here, we expected to be here," a crestfallen Brendan Gallagher, the team's spirit animal, said from the Habs locker room as the Bolts took turns spiriting their gleaming prize around the ice for more than 18,000 delirious fans. "Regardless of what people thought of our team, the expectations were to win this series. So I know we probably surprised a lot of people, but our expectations were to be the team celebrating right now. And that's why it hurts so much."