Something you might not ever see again…4 straight Stanley cup finals sweeps.

[Section 104]

1995 was a lockout season and the Devils weren’t much better than .500 club during the regular season going 22-18-8. 1994
East Conference Final always gets told in terms of Messier’s guarantee before game 6 and subsequent hat trick and Matteau’s overtime goal in game 7. But the Devils could have been stewing that they had a 2-0 lead after the first period in game 6 and could score again. In game 7 Zelepukin finally scored with 8 seconds left to tie but again they couldn’t score.
So possibly once they reached the playoffs, and finals in 1995, they had a score to settle and prove themselves especially being a suburban team they get relatively little publicity in their own market

 

[tarheelhockey]

That goes to show how truly bad the east is. They took the other best team in the east thru 7 games, and smacked around two of the conferences other top teams around like it was nothing. Only to get obliterated by Vegas.

I mean, Bobrovsky had a .935 through three rounds and a .844 in the Finals.

Some of that can be chalked up to team performance, especially as the series got out of hand and garbage-time goals started racking up. But the series is easily explainable in terms of a Smythe-candidate goalie imploding and his team going down the drain with him.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

97 and 98 I remember very well.

For some reason 95 and 96 not so much. Especially '95.

 

[PocketNines]

That goes to show how truly bad the east is. They took the other best team in the east thru 7 games, and smacked around two of the conferences other top teams around like it was nothing. Only to get obliterated by Vegas.

With the Blues out last playoffs was actually pretty great I watched all the series and I gotta say the Florida Carolina series could have arbitrarily been a sweep the other way. Bobrovsky was an absolute god in that round. It reminded me of when the Blues got Quicked in 2013 actually. Then he fell apart in the final. It was so much him (and Tkachuk's Anti-Dadness Clutch Behavior) that got them through three rounds and when he collapsed back to earth it was over

 

[Brodeur]

1998 was a strange year for the East. Washington was the #4 seed and the #1-3 seeds all lost in the first round so they maintained home ice for the next two rounds. As a result, Caps had a relatively easier path to the SCF: Boston (91 points), Montreal (87), and Buffalo (89).

 

[the valiant effort]

I wonder if we’ll ever see four consecutive competitive Finals ever again.

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

 

[Atoyot]

 

[TheAngryHank]

97 and 98 I remember very well.

For some reason 95 and 96 not so much. Especially '95.

96 colorado swept the Panthers but game 4 did go to overtime in a 0-0 tie.. defenceman U Krupp broke the tie with a slapper.

 

[Mav3rick07]

Read this 3 times over and have no idea wtf OP is talking about, most bizarre thread I've ever seen

Four straight sweeps.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

1995 was a lockout season and the Devils weren’t much better than .500 club during the regular season going 22-18-8. 1994
East Conference Final always gets told in terms of Messier’s guarantee before game 6 and subsequent hat trick and Matteau’s overtime goal in game 7. But the Devils could have been stewing that they had a 2-0 lead after the first period in game 6 and could score again. In game 7 Zelepukin finally scored with 8 seconds left to tie but again they couldn’t score.
So possibly once they reached the playoffs, and finals in 1995, they had a score to settle and prove themselves especially being a suburban team they get relatively little publicity in their own market

That devils defensive system really started to come together during the playoffs. By the time the finals rolled around I think a lot of people who were paying attention saw how tough they were gonna be to beat. They held their first 3 opponents to an average 24 shots per game, and only allowed more than 2 goals in 4 of those 12 games. These were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeded teams in the east that they just completely shut down.

Detroit looked strong, but as a top seed they hadn't really played a top team through 3 rounds. Their first two opponents were well below .500 in the regular season. Chicago was their toughest opponent and they were 4 points behind the devils weakest opponent.

 

[Play]

Read this 3 times over and have no idea wtf OP is talking about, most bizarre thread I've ever seen

Rich coming from you

 

[MikeyMike01]

That goes to show how truly bad the east is. They took the other best team in the east thru 7 games, and smacked around two of the conferences other top teams around like it was nothing. Only to get obliterated by Vegas.

I know most people aren’t taught formal logic in schools, so this keeps coming up, but you absolutely cannot draw that conclusion from the finals.

The only conclusion you can make is that Vegas is much better than the Eastern teams.

 

[JKG33]

I know most people aren’t taught formal logic in schools, so this keeps coming up, but you absolutely cannot draw that conclusion from the finals.

The only conclusion you can make is that Vegas is much better than the Eastern teams.

Sounds like a whole lotta cope to me

 

[Matty Sundin]

Finals have been pretty dry in recent years due to mismatches or teams being so beaten up and injured by the time they get to finals.

2023 - Bit of a mismatch and panthers were injured and had nothing left

2022 - Decent finals but it was obvious Tampa Bay was tired and injured and running of fumes.

2021 - LOL

2020 - Mismatch. Not once did I think Tampa Bay would lose.

 

[PaulD]

They are coached by John Tortarella. They have the two huge hurdles of getting in the playoffs and making it out of the 1st round first.

unless they play the leafs .
last time Flyers played leafs they eliminated them.
last time Torts played the leafs he eliminated them as well.

 

[Sentinel]

Finals have been pretty dry in recent years due to mismatches or teams being so beaten up and injured by the time they get to finals.

2023 - Bit of a mismatch and panthers were injured and had nothing left

2022 - Decent finals but it was obvious Tampa Bay was tired and injured and running of fumes.

2021 - LOL

2020 - Mismatch. Not once did I think Tampa Bay would lose.

Actually 2022 was quite easily the Best of the West vs. the Best in the East. Sure, TB was tired and injured but they had the experience and the goaltending.

 

[Hobble]

Cue the colour commentator bringing up this stat in the first period of Game 1 of the SCF, only to jinx it (as usual) and manifest a sweep,

 

[JianYang]

Finals have been pretty dry in recent years due to mismatches or teams being so beaten up and injured by the time they get to finals.

2023 - Bit of a mismatch and panthers were injured and had nothing left

2022 - Decent finals but it was obvious Tampa Bay was tired and injured and running of fumes.

2021 - LOL

2020 - Mismatch. Not once did I think Tampa Bay would lose.

The first round is traditionally the best hockey.

Watching the final isn't really the climax that it is branded to be. It's more like watching marathon runners on their final stretch trying to will themselves to the finish line.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Actually 2022 was quite easily the Best of the West vs. the Best in the East. Sure, TB was tired and injured but they had the experience and the goaltending.

That’s kind of the thing, it wasn’t Tampa at their best cause the amount of hockey played and injuries though they still did make it a series. The last evenly matched finals recently was probably Blues/Bruins 2019 and Hawks/Bruins 2013. Most finals are just kinda similar to the others ones for those reasons.

 

[MOGlLNY]

Uhh I could easily put NHL 24 on rookie mode and make this happen, and I could just quit in the middle of the games until I win 4 straight in the Finals, and do that each season. So therefore, yes, I would see it happen again. Maybe re-think your prediction next time.

owned

 

[Voight]

How about the Islanders sweeping 3 Cup finals in a row. That's something that will never happen again.

Or winning 19 straight playoff series.

Hell, that hasn't been done in any sport since.

 

[WolfgangPuck]

Which western team do the Flyers sweep to win the cup ?

 

[Video Nasty]