Biggest Playoff Upsets

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

From research I did, the following playoff series are the biggest upsets in NHL history based on regular season points (minimum 25 points difference). I listed them by playoff season. If there are any errors, please forward:

1930 26 points Montreal 51 Boston 77 (Montreal 2-0)
1945 28 points Toronto 52 Montreal 80 (Toronto 4-2)
1951 36 points Montreal 65 Detroit 101 (Montreal 4-2)
1975 27 points Toronto 78 Los Angeles 105 (Toronto 2-1)
1979 25 points NYR 91 NYI 116 (NYR 4-2)
1980 25 points NYI 91 Philadelphia 116 (NYI 4-2)
1981 29 points Edmonton 74 Montreal 103 (Edmonton 3-0)
1981 25 points NYR 74 Los Angeles 99 (NYR 3-1)
1981 33 points NYR 74 St. Louis 107 (NYR 4-2)
1982 27 points Quebec 82 Montreal 109 (Quebec 3-2)
1982 48 points Los Angeles 63 Edmonton 111 (Los Angeles 3-2)
1983 26 points NYR 80 Philadelphia 106 (NYR 3-0)
1984 29 points Montreal 75 Boston 104 (Montreal 3-0)
1986 32 points NYR 78 Philadelphia 110 (NYR 3-2)
1986 29 points Toronto 57 Chicago 86 (Toronto 3-0)
1986 29 points NYR 78 Washington 107 (NYR 4-2)
1986 30 points Calgary 89 Edmonton 119 (Calgary 4-3)
1991 38 points Minnesota 68 Chicago 106 (Minnesota 4-2)
1991 37 points Minnesota 68 St. Louis 105 (Minnesota 4-2)
1993 32 points NYI 87 Pittsburgh 119 (NYI 4-3)
1996 27 points Colorado 104 Detroit 131 (Colorado 4-2)
2000 27 points San Jose 87 St. Louis 114 (San Jose 4-3)

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[acr*]

Wow, '86 was just the year of the upset based on that research.

I'm surprised the Sharks over the Wings in '94 didn't make the list

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wow, '86 was just the year of the upset based on that research.

I'm surprised the Sharks over the Wings in '94 didn't make the list

Here are the regular season point totals for those two teams:
Detroit 100
San Jose 82

 

[monkey_00*]

I'd have to also add that year the Leafs upset the Detroit Red Wings with that Series clincher in overtime scored by Nicolai Borschevsky.

 

[futurcorerock]

'91 North Stars: Giant Killers

 

[Big Phil]

I'd have to also add that year the Leafs upset the Detroit Red Wings with that Series clincher in overtime scored by Nicolai Borschevsky.

I'd hardly call that an upset though. The Leafs had 99 points. The Red Wings had what 103? Not very much difference. The Isles of that same year had 87 points and somehow knocked off the Pens with 119 and two time Cup champions.

Also I think that the '71 Canadiens knocking off Boston is pretty big. The Bruins had 121 points and the top four leading scorers in the regualr season. Montreal had 97 points so it inst that different, but still good.

 

[Habsfan 32]

1986 had alot of upsets. Pretty impressive.

 

[WVP]

The Isles of that same year had 87 points and somehow knocked off the Pens with 119 and two time Cup champions.

The Penguins were so good that year.

David freakin' Volek.

 

[Kestrel]

I'm surprised nobody's commented on:

1982 48 points Los Angeles 63 Edmonton 111 (Los Angeles 3-2)

I wasn't even quite 3 years old yet, so I never saw it - but if that post is accurate, a point differential of 48 - to me, that seems like a pretty amazing upset.

 

[NYR94]

The 91 Minnesota team, by far. Any team that wins a playoff series having finished the regular season BELOW .500 (27-39-14) creates a huge upset. The fact that they were a wopping 12 games below .500 and made it to the Stanley Cup finals is incredible.

 

[tom_servo]

I'm surprised nobody's commented on:

1982 48 points Los Angeles 63 Edmonton 111 (Los Angeles 3-2)

I wasn't even quite 3 years old yet, so I never saw it - but if that post is accurate, a point differential of 48 - to me, that seems like a pretty amazing upset.

Not to mention that during one game in the series, the Kings overcame a 5-goal deficit to win.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I'm surprised nobody's commented on:

1982 48 points Los Angeles 63 Edmonton 111 (Los Angeles 3-2)

I wasn't even quite 3 years old yet, so I never saw it - but if that post is accurate, a point differential of 48 - to me, that seems like a pretty amazing upset.

It is accurate. Check out the 1981-82 Oilers and Kings regular season numbers:

Edmonton 48-17-15 417 GF 295 GA
Los Angeles 24-41-15 314 GF 369 GA

Here is a series breakdown (the road team won Games 1, 4 and 5):

Game 1: LA 10-8
Game 2: Edm 3-2 OT
Game 3: LA 6-5 OT
Game 4: Edm 3-2
Game 5: LA 7-4

Edmonton had the second most points in the League that season. LA had the 17th most points in the NHL that season (4 teams in each of the 4 divisions made the playoffs) in a 21 team League. They lost the next series to Vancouver who went to the Finals and lost to the NYI. The game Tom Servo mentioned is known as "The Miracle on Manchester" because LA overcame a 5-0 deficit to win Game 3 in OT.

I also have a book called "The History of Hockey" by Brian McFarlane. In it he quotes writer Terry Jones of the Edmonton Journal, after the Kings eliminated the Oilers. "From today until they've won a playoff series again, they are weak-kneed wimps who thought they were God's gift to the NHL but found out they were nothing but adolescent front-running goodtime Charlies who couldn't handle any adversity."

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I'd hardly call that an upset though. The Leafs had 99 points. The Red Wings had what 103? Not very much difference. The Isles of that same year had 87 points and somehow knocked off the Pens with 119 and two time Cup champions.

Also I think that the '71 Canadiens knocking off Boston is pretty big. The Bruins had 121 points and the top four leading scorers in the regualr season. Montreal had 97 points so it inst that different, but still good.

Phil...something interesting as I looked at the standings from that era while researching the biggest upsets. Montreal of course won the Cup in 1968, 1969 and 1971 but failed to make the playoffs in 1970. They finished with the exact same mark as the 4th place NYR (38-22-16) and their 92 points (5th place in the East of 6 teams and they were just 7 points behind division winner Chicago) was 6 more points than the West Division winner St. Louis and 34 more points than Oakland which finished 4th in the West and made the playoffs. It was the last year the divisions were comprised of the Original Six in the East and the Expansion 6 in the West.

 

[Gainey23]

95-96 Florida Panthers...knocked off Phi, Pitt...and who else?

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

95-96 Florida Panthers...knocked off Phi, Pitt...and who else?

Philly (103 points), Pitts (102 points), FLA (92 points) and Boston (91 points). Florida beat Boston (I recall Bill Lindsay in that series) 4-1, Philly 4-2 and then Pitts 4-3 winning Games 6 and 7.

 

[LadyByngJeanRatelle]

1999-2000 I believe.

(2) Ottawa vs. (7) Toronto.

Not sure about the point differential, I know Toronto just squeezed into the playoffs on the last weekend.

Anyway, Ottawa scored 3 goals in the series.

Leafs sweep 4 straight.

End of Alexei Yashin's reign of terror in Ottawa.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

1999-2000 I believe.

(2) Ottawa vs. (7) Toronto.

Not sure about the point differential, I know Toronto just squeezed into the playoffs on the last weekend.

Anyway, Ottawa scored 3 goals in the series.

Leafs sweep 4 straight.

End of Alexei Yashin's reign of terror in Ottawa.

It was the 2000-01 season. Toronto (90 points) swept Ottawa (109 points).

 

[Habsfunk]

It is accurate. Check out the 1981-82 Oilers and Kings regular season numbers:

Edmonton 48-17-15 417 GF 295 GA
Los Angeles 24-41-15 314 GF 369 GA

Amazing upset, but thank god we're beyond the days where you could finish 17 games under .500 and still make the playoffs.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

i hate these threads because they always remind me of 1993 and 1996.

 

[Murphy]

I'm surprised nobody's commented on:

1982 48 points Los Angeles 63 Edmonton 111 (Los Angeles 3-2)

I wasn't even quite 3 years old yet, so I never saw it - but if that post is accurate, a point differential of 48 - to me, that seems like a pretty amazing upset.

Hi all, first post for me. I lived through this one and it was horrible as an Oil fan. The Kings owner Jerry Buss actually got up and walked out of game three with the Oilers up 5-0. The TV broadcast at the time showed him leaving and all. That comeback in the third and completing it in overtime was one of the biggest collapses of any team anywhere. At least the Oilers learned from it.

The flip side was the Oilers beating Montreal in the first round in 1980. At the time us Oiler fans were still pretty much giddy just being in the NHL. For The Oilers to knock off Montreal in only their second year was surreal. At the time, the Stanley cup playoffs seemed so far away, and it was like we didn't really even belong there. To knock off the fabled Habs like they did was a undescribable feeling, joy, shock and awe all wrapped into one.

 

[TMac21]

Montreal over Boston in 2001-2002 was a big upset in my eyes.

 

[Poochie_D]

Montreal over Boston in 2001-2002 was a big upset in my eyes.

true that.... how about that 3-1 comeback hahaha oh man... the habs will always beat the bruins... i feel kinda bad

 

[Kritter471]

The 2003 Mighty-Frickin'-Ducks.

Swept Detroit, bounced Dallas in 6.

I was at that 5OT game. Still breaks my heart.

 

[acr*]

1999-2000 I believe.

(2) Ottawa vs. (7) Toronto.

Not sure about the point differential, I know Toronto just squeezed into the playoffs on the last weekend.

Anyway, Ottawa scored 3 goals in the series.

Leafs sweep 4 straight.

End of Alexei Yashin's reign of terror in Ottawa.

I remember the weekend that led to that. 3 teams and 2 playoff spots. If I remember correctly, most of the people outside the fanbases of the three teams thought that the playoffs would be more exciting if the Leafs didn't make it, because the Canes and Bruins were more explosive teams, or something like that. In the end, the B's didn't make it(we had to draw New Jersey in the last game of the year...) and the Canes were down 3-0 to the #1 seed Devils before losing in 6. Then the Leafs shock everyone

 

[Murphy*]

Hi all, first post for me. I lived through this one and it was horrible as an Oil fan. The Kings owner Jerry Buss actually got up and walked out of game three with the Oilers up 5-0. The TV broadcast at the time showed him leaving and all. That comeback in the third and completing it in overtime was one of the biggest collapses of any team anywhere. At least the Oilers learned from it.

The flip side was the Oilers beating Montreal in the first round in 1980. At the time us Oiler fans were still pretty much giddy just being in the NHL. For The Oilers to knock off Montreal in only their second year was surreal. At the time, the Stanley cup playoffs seemed so far away, and it was like we didn't really even belong there. To knock off the fabled Habs like they did was a undescribable feeling, joy, shock and awe all wrapped into one.

Murphy2 is not associated with Murphy or the Hutz Nutz organization. Thank you for your time...*****es.