To put the early years of these fierce provincial foes in perspective, both teams made the playoffs each year from their inauguration through 1991, with one of them skating in the Stanley Cup Final for eight consecutive years (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990) and winning it six times during that span, spilling oceans of blood en route.
There were dark times too. Edmonton missed the postseason 18 times (1993-1996, 2002, 2004, 2007-2016, 2018, 2019), including a NHL record 10 consecutive postseason absences (2007-2016). Calgary failed to qualify for the playoffs 15 times (1992, 1997-2003, 2010-2014, 2016, 2018).
Both missed the same postseason eight times (2002, 2010-2014, 2016, 2018), including seven of the past nine playoffs. On the other hand, both qualified for the same postseason 13 times (1981-1991, 2006, 2017), though it's only happened twice in the past 26 seasons (2006, 2017).
In terms of head-to-head playoff matchups, the Alberta teams have locked horns five times (1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991). Edmonton has won all but one such series (1986), owing to a spectacular Steve Smith own goal, with the winner reaching the Stanley Cup Final four times (1983, 1984, 1986, 1988) and hoisting twice (1984, 1988) after such affairs.
Interestingly, when both Alberta sides have played the same opponent in a postseason, the victor has advanced to the Stanley Cup Final every time (1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 2006) but once (2017), hoisting the Cup all but twice (2006, 2017).
The last time Edmonton and Calgary both qualified for the postseason was 2017. Neither made it past the opening round, falling to San Jose and Anaheim, respectively.
For the sake of NHL fans everywhere, let's hope this playoff rivalry is sparked again soon.
Since the Stanley Cup was dedicated to NHL's top team in 1926, only five franchises (Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues) have qualified for consecutive Cup Finals and lost each time. Nine times the losing streak was limited to two years though twice a three year streak struck (Toronto 1938-1940, St. Louis 1968-1970). The charts below describe these streaks by team and years, and vice versa.
In 2016, the Tampa Bay Lightning fell one game short of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for their second consecutive year. Had they qualified and lost to their western conference counterpart, they would have become the sixth franchise on this inglorious list.
The chart below describes, in descending order, the number of seasons each of these 23 teams has gone without winning a series in the Stanley Cup playoffs, showing the last year they actually won a postseason series. Where no year appears, that team has NEVER won a playoff series.
Of the eight teams advancing to the second round of the 2019 Playoffs, two (Boston, San Jose) won at least one playoff series last year. None of the others (Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, New York Islanders, St. Louis) won a series in the 2018 Playoffs. In fact, four of them didn't even qualify for last year's playoff (Carolina, Dallas, New York Islanders, St. Louis).
Playoff berths are harder to come by every year. Make the most of each opportunity as parity promises your window will likely quickly close.
Since the Stanley Cup was first awarded to the NHL's best in 1926, only 10 times have the same two teams met in the Cup Final in consecutive years. Of those 10 meetings, the same team won both series 7 times and teams split 3 times. Put another way, the Cup champion has successfully defended its title in 7 of the 10 rematches (70%).
The chart below describes every consecutive Cup rematch by year.
When two teams split the first six games of a best-of-seven playoff series, a 'winner take all' Game 7 is staged. Heroes are born and victors crowned in this high-stakes affair. Not surprisingly, Game 7s have produced some of the most memorable moments in NHL postseason history.
Once reserved solely for the Semifinal and Final rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the best-of-seven format was expanded to include the Quarterfinals in 1968 and Preliminary round in 1987. Of the 681 best-of-seven NHL playoff series played through 2018, 169 (25%) have resulted in a Game 7 with the home team holding a healthy 98-71 (58%) edge. The team that scores first has a 126-43 (75%) edge, including a 5-0 record in 2016. 40 of the 169 (24%) Game 7s have gone to overtime, with the home and road teams each winning 20 times (50%).
Over the past 31 postseasons since the 1987 expansion of all series to best-of-seven, a Game 7 has been played in 125 of the 465 series. Put another way, 28% or approximately every 1 in 3.6 playoff series have gone to seven games. The chart below describes Game 7s by year, noting the number and round in which a seventh game(s) occurred.
(P = Preliminary, Q = Quarterfinal, S = Semifinal, F = Final)
Breaking it down by round, the most Game 7s over the past 31 seasons on a percentage basis have occurred in Semifinal (18/62 = 28%) and Quarterfinal (35/124 = 28%), followed by the Stanley Cup Final (8/31 = 26%) and Preliminary (67/248 = 27%) round. Interestingly, 6 of the past 17 Finals and 6 of the past 9 Semifinals have been decided by a seventh game. In sum, the likelihood of a Game 7 in a NHL playoff series since 1987 is 1 in 3.5 for the Semifinal and Quarterfinal with a slight decrease to roughly 1 in 3.65 for the Preliminary round and 1 in 3.75 for the Stanley Cup Final.
The charts below show the total number of Game 7s played by each NHL team along with their win/loss records, with all-time statistics on the lefthand side and data since 1987 on the righthand side.
NHL Game 7s All-Time
NHL Game 7s Since 1987
Team: Series (Record)
Team: Series (Record)
Boston: 26 (14-12)
Pittsburgh: 16 (10-6)
Detroit: 25 (14-11)
Boston: 15 (9-6)
Montreal: 23 (14-9)
New Jersey: 15 (7-8)
Toronto: 23 (12-11)
Washington: 15 (4-11)
Pittsburgh: 17 (10-7)
Detroit: 14 (7-7)
Philadelphia: 16 (9-7)
Toronto: 12 (6-6)
St. Louis: 16 (8-8)
New York*: 11 (9-2)
New York*: 15 (9-6)
Philadelphia: 11 (6-5)
New Jersey: 15 (7-8)
Montreal: 10 (7-3)
Washington: 15 (4-11)
San Jose: 10 (6-4)
Chicago: 14 (7-7)
Vancouver: 10 (6-4)
Calgary: 12 (5-7)
Colorado: 10 (4-6)
Los Angeles: 11 (7-4)
St. Louis: 10 (4-6)
Edmonton: 10 (6-4)
Los Angeles: 8 (6-2)
San Jose: 10 (6-4)
Chicago: 8 (5-3)
Vancouver: 10 (6-4)
Anaheim: 9 (3-6)
Colorado: 10 (4-6)
Edmonton: 8 (5-3)
Anaheim: 9 (3-6)
Tampa Bay: 8 (5-3)
Tampa Bay: 8 (5-3)
Calgary: 8 (2-6)
Minnesota^: 7 (3-4)
Buffalo: 6 (1-5)
New York**: 7 (3-4)
Ottawa: 6 (0-6)
Buffalo: 7 (1-6)
Dallas: 5 (2-3)
Ottawa: 6 (0-6)
New York**: 5 (2-3)
Dallas: 5 (2-3)
Carolina: 4 (4-0)
Carolina: 4 (4-0)
Minnesota^^: 3 (3-0)
Minnesota^^: 3 (3-0)
Nashville: 3 (1-2)
Quebec: 3 (2-1)
Phoenix: 3 (0-3)
Nashville: 3 (1-2)
Florida: 2 (1-1)
Hartford: 3 (0-3)
Hartford: 2 (0-2)
Florida: 2 (1-1)
Minnesota^: 2 (0-2)
Phoenix: 2 (1-1)
Winnipeg~: 2 (0-2)
Winnipeg~: 2 (0-2)
Winnipeg+: 1 (1-0)
Winnipeg+: 1 (1-0)
Quebec: 1 (0-1)
Oakland: 1 (0-1)
* New York Rangers ** New York Islanders ^ Minnesota North Stars ^^ Minnesota Wild ~ Winnipeg Jets (1979-1996) + Winnipeg Jets (2011-Present)
Boston has skated in the most Game 7s (26) in NHL history with Boston, Detroit and Montreal winning the most (14). Over the past 31 seasons, however, Pittsburgh has played more Game 7s (16) than anyone else and winning the most (10). Carolina, Minnesota Wild and the Winnipeg Jets (2011-Present) have never lost a Game 7; Ottawa, Hartford, Phoenix, Winnipeg (1979-1996) and Oakland have never won a Game 7; and Columbus has never skated in one.
In terms of winning more than one Game 7 in a single postseason, 22 teams have done it twice with only two teams winning three best-of-seven series in a Game 7 in a single playoff (Boston 2011, Los Angeles 2014). The chart below lists all NHL teams that have ever won two or more Game 7s in a single postseason, indicating year and rounds in which they turned the trick.
NHL Game 7s Won Same Year Year: Team (Round) 1950: Detroit (S, F)* 1964: Toronto (S, F)* 1968: St. Louis (Q, S) 1990: Chicago (P, Q) 1993: Toronto (P, Q) 1994: New York^ (S, F)* 2001: Colorado (Q, F)* 2002: Colorado (P, Q), Toronto (P, Q) 2003: New Jersey (S, F)*, Minnesota (P, Q) 2004: Tampa Bay (S, F)* 2006: Carolina (S, F)* 2009: Carolina (P, Q), PIT (Q, F)* 2010: Montreal (P, Q) 2011: Boston (P, S, F)* 2012: New York^ (P, Q) 2014: Los Angeles (P, Q, S)* 2015: Tampa Bay (P, S) 2016: St. Louis (P, Q) 2017: Pittsburgh (Q, S)*
* Stanley Cup Champion ^ New York Rangers
(P = Preliminary, Q = Quarterfinal, S = Semifinal, F = Final)
The Presidents' Trophy is awarded annually to the team with the best NHL regular season record. Since its inaugural offering in 1986, it has been awarded 33 times to 17 different franchises. The recipient is guaranteed home ice advantage for all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Unfortunately for recipients, regular season success and home-ice advantage does not always translate in postseason success. The chart below shows each Presidents' Trophy winner by year and playoff result.
Of the 33 recipients through 2019, eleven (35%) qualified for the Final and eight (24%) won the Stanley Cup (1987, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2013). Of the 20 others, seven (21%) were ousted in the Preliminary round (1991, 2000, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2019), nine (27%) were eliminated in the Quarterfinal (1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), and six (18%) stalled in the Semifinal (1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2015).
Earlier this week the Presidents' Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round. Once again, the regular season's best fails to achieve Stanley Cup success.
Since the inaugural offering of the Presidents' Trophy in 1986, awarded to the team with the best regular season record, its recipient has drawn the defending Stanley Cup champions eight times in the subsequent postseason. The chart below shows each meeting by year, matchup and outcome.
* Defending Stanley Cup Champion
(P = Preliminary, Q = Quarterfinal, S = Semifinal, F = Final)
In the first three postseason meetings between the regular season's best and defending league champs, the prior year's Stanley Cup champions won (1988, 1992, 1998) and went on to hoist consecutive Stanley Cups. The next four matchups saw the Presidents' Trophy winners oust the defending Cup champions (2001, 2002, 2011, 2013) and win the Stanley Cup in every instance but one (Vancouver 2011).
This meeting marks the 10th playoff series between the clubs, with Pittsburgh holding a 9-1 advantage and a 3-0 record during the Crosby-Ovechkin era. It's also the first time that the top two regular season finishers have met in the playoffs since 2001 when Colorado met New Jersey in the Stanley Cup Final.
When a team wins the first four games of a playoff series they are said to have swept the series and their opponent. When the victor does so NEVER trailing in any of the four games, they have completed the rare feat of a PERFECT sweep.
The Montreal Canadiens lead the league with six perfect sweeps and are the only team to do it twice in a single postseason. That happened in 1960 when Montreal annihilated both the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafsen route to their fifth straight Stanley Cup championship. Chicago, on the other hand, owns the honor of being on the losing end of a perfect sweep four times, leading all teams in this category.
Breaking it down by round, the most annihilations have happened in the Quarterfinal (7), followed by the Semifinal (5), Preliminary (4) and Final (2). The last team to be so swept in the Cup Final was the Toronto Maple Leafs 55 years ago, adding to their dreary postseason history. Of the two sweeps thus far in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Columbus over Tampa Bay, New York Islander over Pittsburgh), both victims managed to hold a goal lead at some point during a game of the series avoiding the distinction of making this historic list. Pittsburgh narrowly escaped this honor, leading their series for only 3 minutes and 41 seconds thanks to opening goals in games 2, 3 and 4 from Gudbranson, Wilson and Guentzal. Beware of the brooms. But avoid annihilation at all costs. * See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Sweeps.
When a team eliminates their opponent using the minimum number of games without sustaining a single loss in a multi-game series they are said to have swept the other team. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs that means winning the first four games of a best-of-seven series.
Of the NHL's 681 best-of-seven playoff series since the league's origins through 2018, 117 (17%) have ended in a sweep. The most sweeps in a single postseason during this span is five (1969, 1992). Only three times since all postseason series were expanded to best-of-seven in 1987 has a Stanley Cup Playoff series gone without a sweep (1991, 2002, 2016).
Over the past 31 postseasons (since the 1987 expansion to best-of-seven series), a sweep has resulted in 65 of 465 series, representing 1 in 7 (14%) of all playoff series. The chart below describes playoff sweeps by year, noting the number and round in which sweep(s) occurred.
(P = Preliminary, Q = Quarterfinal, S = Semifinal, F = Final)
Breaking it down by round, the most sweeps on a percentage basis have happened in the Stanley Cup Final (6/31 = 19%), though no team has been swept there since 1998 when the Detroit Red Wings disposed off the Washington Capitals. The Quarterfinal (19/124 = 15%), Preliminary (33/248 = 13%) and Semifinal (7/62 = 11%) rounds follow with a historically significant but decreasing likelihood of sweep.
Eight teams took a 3-1 series lead in their best-of-seven series in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 5 of 8 Preliminary round matchups. All won (Boston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay [2], Vegas, Winnipeg, Washington). While a 3-1 lead is always a good thing, it's never a sure thing.
Through 2018, teams have trailed 3-1 in a best-of-seven series 300 times. Only 28 times has the trailing team comeback to win the series. Put another way, the team with a 3-1 series lead wins 90% of the time with the down-and-nearly-out team recovering only 10% of the time.
The chart below describes all 28 comebacks by year, team and round.
Only one team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit twice in the same playoff (Minnesota 2003). Similarly, only one team has ever comeback down 3-1 and blown a 3-1 lead in the same postseason (Vancouver 2003).
The chart below lists all teams involved in such 3-1 series comebacks, showing the total number of series involving such circumstances and their overall win/loss record.
Team
Series
Record
Washington
7
2-5
Detroit
5
2-3
Pittsburgh
5
2-3
Vancouver
4
3-1
Edmonton
3
2-1
New York**
3
2-1
St. Louis
3
2-1
Philadelphia
3
1-2
Los Angeles
2
2-0
Minnesota^^
2
2-0
Montreal
2
2-0
New York*
2
2-0
Toronto
2
1-1
Boston
2
0-2
Colorado
2
0-2
Winnipeg
2
0-2
Chicago
1
1-0
New Jersey
1
1-0
Tampa Bay
1
1-0
Calgary
1
0-1
Minnesota^
1
0-1
Phoenix
1
0-1
San Jose
1
0-1
* New York Islanders ** New York Rangers ^ Minnesota North Stars ^^ Minnesota Wild
It's worth noting that in the thirteen postseasons since the 2004 NHL Lockout, twelve teams have squandered a 3-1 series lead only to stave off elimination by winning Game 7. They are Carolina (2006), Vancouver (2007), Montreal (2008), Philadelphia (2008), Carolina (2009), Vancouver (2011), San Jose (2011), Boston (2013), Los Angeles (2014), St. Louis (2016), Pittsburgh (2017) and Boston (2018). Seven of these games were decided by one goal and five in overtime.
In sum, with a 10% chance of recovery for teams trailing their series 3-1, it's statistically likely their season will soon end.
