Last year felt different for me going in (and have comment history to prove it).
I felt more calm and hopeful than in previous years. It was a happy excitement more than my usual nervous excitement.
I actually did two things, before the playoffs began, that I hadn't previously done:
Planned my vacation in June for when I figured the the Cup Finals would most likely be.
Placed an official bet with a real sports book. ($100 to make the finals and another $100 to win - won $1,700 - isolated event. No plans on sports betting again soon.)
It really felt different to me going in. Can't say why. We've had some damn good teams going into the playoffs many times before so it wasn't that.