The Florida Panthers enter the Stanley Cup Final as favourites to beat the Edmonton Oilers, but there are understandably a variety of opinions on how it will all play out. We would assume though, that the majority neutral observers are just hoping for a close series which goes the full seven games.
Even allowing for the long and glorious history of the Stanley Cup, it may still surprise some people that the final has been a best-of-seven series since the 1938-39 season. The Boston Bruins were the first team to win it all under the new (current) format, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one.
The first time the Stanley Cup Final went to seven games, came just three seasons later in 1941-42. And this time the Leafs were on the right side of history, as they beat the Detroit Red Wings four games to three.
Overall, the Stanley Cup Final has gone to seven games on just 17 occasions. Two of these times involved the Oilers, with them beating the Philadelphia Flyers in 1986-87, but ending up on the losing side to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06.
The Oilers will of course be aiming to end up on the winning side again, if the series does go the distance this time around. Here is the full list of Stanley Cup Finals which went to seven games:
Season | Winning team | Losing team |
|---|---|---|
1941-42 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings |
1944-45 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings |
1949-50 | Detroit Red Wings | New York Rangers |
1053-54 | Detroit Red Wings | Montreal Canadiens |
1954-55 | Detroit Red Wings | Montreal Canadiens |
1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings |
1964-65 | Montreal Canadiens | Chicago Blackhawks |
1970-71 | Montreal Canadiens | Chicago Blackhawks |
1986-87 | Edmonton Oilers | Philadelphia Flyers |
1993-94 | New York Rangers | Vancouver Canucks |
2000-01 | Colorado Avalanche | New Jersey Devils |
2002-03 | New Jersey Devils | Anaheim Ducks |
2003-04 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Calgary Flames |
2005-06 | Carolina Hurricanes | Edmonton Oilers |
2008-09 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Detroit Red Wings |
2010-11 | Boston Bruins | Vancouver Canucks |
2018-19 | St. Louis Blues | Boston Bruins |
Of note, Canadian teams have been involved in 12 of the 17 seven game series and have a record of 6-6, albeit they've lost the last four times. One final thing to consider, is that if the Oilers do manage to take the Stanley Cup Final to seven games, they will need to win it on the road, which is where they failed last time out in 2005-06 versus the Hurricanes.