The New York Islanders missed the playoffs in the 2017 season by one point. On top of that, the Nashville Predators, who had the same amount of points at 94, made it to the Stanley Cup Final.
When a team misses the playoffs by one point, it is inevitable to pick apart every loss and see just where things went wrong. In particular, in 2017, there were many third-period collapses or last-minute losses. Missing by a point can be taxing on a team. It’s also understandable if every player feels the blame in thinking “if I had just scored maybe one more goal.