The waiting is nearly over, with the Edmonton Oilers preparing to face the Florida Panthers on Saturday night in game one of this season's Stanley Cup Final. It seems like a fair shout to claim the majority of hockey fans -- and probably sports fans in general who'll tune in -- will want to see a competitive series between the two teams.
In fact, you can take this a step further and assume a lot of fans (and indeed media) would have no problem with the series going the distance. In this respect, on Thursday we shared all the times the Stanley Cup Final has gone to seven games, with the current format beginning all the way back in 1938-39.
However, there is always the chance (fear?) that a major sporting event will not live up to expectations. (Think of all those uncompetitive Super Bowls during the 1980s.) For example, just last season the Panthers fell four games to one versus the Vegas Golden Knights.
The dreaded sweep
Even worse, there is the possibility of the Stanley Cup Final finishing with a four-game sweep by one of the competing teams. Along these lines, the Panthers endured such an outcome back in 1995-96, at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.
Turning to the Oilers, this has also happened to them once before, as they were swept by the then-dynasty New York Islanders in their first ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1982-83. Interestingly though, the Oilers would have their revenge the following season as they effectively ended the Islanders' reign atop the NHL and began their own, winning by four games to one.
The win over the Islanders in 1983-84 would begin a run of five Stanley Cup championships in seven seasons. This would include a four-game sweep of their own in 1987-88, versus the Boston Bruins.
Here is a list of all 20 Stanley Cup Finals, which ended in a sweep. Although please note we are only including those which have occurred since the NHL turned to a best-of-seven series format:
Season | Winning team | Losing team |
|---|---|---|
1940-41 | Boston Bruins | Detroit Red Wings |
1942-43 | Detroit Red Wings | Boston Bruins |
1943-44 | Montreal Canadiens | Chicago Blackhawks |
1947-48 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings |
1948-49 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings |
1951-52 | Detroit Red Wings | Montreal Canadiens |
1959-60 | Montreal Canadiens | Toronto Maple Leafs |
1967-68 | Montreal Canadiens | St. Louis Blues |
1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | St. Louis Blues |
1969-70 | Boston Bruins | St. Louis Blues |
1975-76 | Montreal Canadiens | Philadelphia Flyers |
1976-77 | Montreal Canadiens | Boston Bruins |
1981-82 | New York Islanders | Vancouver Canucks |
1982-83 | New York Islanders | Edmonton Oilers |
1987-88 | Edmonton Oilers | Boston Bruins |
1991-92 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Chicago Blackhawks |
1994-95 | New Jersey Devils | Detroit Red Wings |
1995-96 | Colorado Avalanche | Florida Panthers |
1996-97 | Detroit Red Wings | Philadelphia Flyers |
1997-98 | Detroit Red Wings | Washington Capitals |
As per the above, 13 Canadian teams have been involved in four-game Stanley Cup Final sweeps and they have a record of 9-4 (albeit including the all Canadian matchup between the Canadiens and Leafs in 1959-60). More recently there was a PR nightmare for the NHL of four consecutive seasons with four-game sweeps, although on the positive side the last one occurred 16 years ago,
Returning to this season's Stanley Cup Final clash specifically, as per NHL.com, the majority of hockey media analysts appear to be siding with the Panthers. And while we won't go as far as to predict who will eventually emerge victorious, we do feel quite confident in claiming there shouldn't be a four-game sweep this time around. (Famous last words...)