In Conan O’Brien’s last Tonight Show broadcast before he finally left NBC over the whole Jay Leno fiasco, he had some poignant parting words. You should watch them if you haven’t, but essentially he said this: don’t be cynical. Even in the darkest times, there are better comforts to be found than the expectation of the worst from people.
That said, there is prudence in adjusting one’s expectations according to demonstrated behaviors, and if overtime isn’t the place to adjust one’s expectations for this team, I don’t know what is. The Stars were on the equivalent of a PK streak for them (3-for-4 on the kill Tuesday), and when they managed to come up with the big kill at the end of regulation, it was hard not to get hopeful, because that’s just what fans do.