If Montreal Wins the Stanley Cup - Biggest Fluke in NHL History?

[McShogun99]

You can’t win 16 games against 4 teams and consider it a fluke.

Every Cup winner has earned it.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

No, but there is 0 chance in hell that they would ever beat Tampa so this is all moot

 

[Bread and Circuses]

Absolutely.

Signed,

Bruins fan.

 

[BayStBullies]

No one wins a Stanley cup by fluke, what kind of bullshit narrative is this? If they win, they earned it. Hell, I hope they beat Tampa, who had a ridiculous advantage given for them.

 

[Albatros]

You can’t win 16 games against 4 teams and consider it a fluke.

Every Cup winner has earned it.

Most cup winners didn't win 16 games though.

The 1938 Black Hawks only won 21 games out of 58 in regular season and playoffs (14+7) combined. Perhaps they, too, earned it, but I wouldn't object if someone wanted to call it a fluke.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Best fluke ever.

Vegas not winning always makes me happy.

 

[adsfan]

There's been a bunch of fluke SB winners:

68 Jets
69 Chiefs
01 Patriots
07 & 11 Giants
12 Ravens.
18 Patriots

But winning 16 games is no fluke in the NHL postseason.

That is an interesting take considering that the Jets won 16-7 and the Chiefs won 23-7.

I think that it was Joe Namath's year and Hank Stram knew Bud Grant's playbook better than 1/2 the Vikings.

I think that you are right about the 01 Pats. The Rams had 50% more yardage but the three turnovers killed them.
The called back TD also hurt the Rams.

 

[OrrNumber4]

You win four consecutive best-of-seven series, you have earned the cup.

End of story.

 

[HabsAddict]

We accomplished nothing. Just happy to be here. We'll try harder.

 

[BKIsles]

Nah, they just needed to be brought to the brink of elimination by the Leafs to make them remember they are a good team with a stud goaltender.

 

[metalan2]

They made the playoffs with an 86 point pace in the weakest division that also only had 7 teams.

So being in the playoffs was a definite fluke.

Then they got to avoid the #1 and #2 teams in the first and second rounds despite being the lowest seed.

Now to win it all, they will have to beat Vegas, and likely Tampa, so it's very much a real accomplishment. But the path up to the conference finals definitely is not on par, and is 100% flukey for the modern era, in that they were afforded opportunities and matchups in a way we'll likely never see again.

This. Once in a lifetime opportunity here. Habs may not be back for another couple decades.

 

[Maffew]

If Montreal wins it will be a huge upset. But it will have been well earned.

Fluke is not the word to use when the team is beating other “superior” clubs head to head.

The people ITT calling the Habs performance a flue have used the word so much that I'm not sure it means anything to them anymore. They're just being detractors because it makes them feel like special little snowflakes.

 

[hoglund]

The Leafs had no goaltending. that was one of their major downfalls along with there 2 top players were held in check again.

I agree, although you can't fault Campbell, it seemed like he and Spezza were the only players to show up. It's true that if they had Taveres they'd likely have won the series and that's the point that Montreal needed the Leafs to choke and lose their captain to win. I hope that Montreal can rebound from their last loss and win the series and maybe even the cup.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

While the 93 Habs were a much better team than this one and still finished like 6th in the league, winning 10 straight overtimes seems like a bigger fluke than anything that’s ever happened in the playoffs.

 

[TGWL]

How's this different than an 8th seed LA team completing a cinderella story cup win?

 

[Red Dread]

What a rude and condescending premise.

 

[GM Armchair]

Montreal plays defence perfectly. They shut down Toronto top players, Winnipeg could do nothing, and now they are shutting down Vegas. Not a fluke.

 

[Louie the Blue]

I agree, although you can't fault Campbell, it seemed like he and Spezza were the only players to show up. It's true that if they had Taveres they'd likely have won the series and that's the point that Montreal needed the Leafs to choke and lose their captain to win. I hope that Montreal can rebound from their last loss and win the series and maybe even the cup.

I still think Montreal would’ve defeated Toronto in 7 with Tavares.

 

[jeangauthier]

All you need to do is to look at the bloodied and bruised faces of the players.......they’re is no fluke......you get this far it’s on guts and hard play..........if the Habs don’t make it to the Cup finals I’ll certainly won’t be disappointed..........it’s a good run and it ain’t over just yet........

 

[MtlBoxFan]

I will say this, it will be quite unprecedented for a team to win a cup without their coach

 

[aufheben]

You can’t put it past a team with 24 Stanley Cup banners to pull a 25th one out of their ass.

 

[HFpapi]

Don't think you can ever call a Stanley Cup a fluke since you have to beat 4 teams and win 16 games....but off the top of my head, it would certainly compete with the '06 Hurricanes for weakest team on paper to win the cup.

 

[AcerComputer]

a win is a win, are you serious? Are you goin to be one of those * guys who wants one in the record book. * team won cup by fluke. When the Kings won as an 8th seed was that a fluke too?

The reality MTL has been dominated or badly outshot in a lot of these games, but they manage to hang in there, with Price standing on his head, and then wait for some fluky giveaway where a guy like Paul Byron gets a breakaway and scores on their only shot in 10 minutes.

 

[theimmortal1]

If any team wins the Cup they deserve it.

4 straight best of 7 series.

Will they win it? They have to up their game quite a bit. Tampa (or even the NYI) as well as VGK are many steps up from Toronto and the Jets

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

The reality MTL has been dominated or badly outshot in a lot of these games, but they manage to hang in there, with Price standing on his head, and then wait for some fluky giveaway where a guy like Paul Byron gets a breakaway and scores on their only shot in 10 minutes.

The reality is MTL dummied both our embarasingly easy first and second round matchups, like taking candy from a baby