Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is one of the most exhilarating scenes in sports, and NHL fans will certainly be hoping to see the championship clash between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers go the distance this year.
Throughout Stanley Cup Playoff history, seven-game series have been a fairly regular occurrence. Since 1939, when the NHL adopted the best-of-seven format, there have been 196 game sevens. Included in that tally is 17 in the Stanley Cup Final, and seven since the turn of the century.
We’ll take a look at each of the 17 seven-game series in Stanley Cup Final history:
|
YEAR |
MATCHUP |
|---|---|
|
1942 |
Toronto Maple Leafs def. Detroit Red Wings, 3–1 |
|
1945 |
Toronto Maple Leafs def. Detroit Red Wings, 2–1 |
|
1950 |
Detroit Red Wings def. New York Rangers, 4–3 (2OT) |
|
1954 |
Detroit Red Wings def. Montreal Canadiens, 2–1 (OT) |
|
1955 |
Detroit Red Wings def. Montreal Canadiens, 3–1 |
|
1964 |
Toronto Maple Leafs def. Detroit Red Wings, 4–0 |
|
1965 |
Montreal Canadiens def. Chicago Black Hawks, 4–0 |
|
1971 |
Montreal Canadiens def. Chicago Black Hawks, 3–2 |
|
1987 |
Edmonton Oilers def. Philadelphia Flyers, 3–1 |
|
1994 |
New York Rangers def. Vancouver Canucks, 3–2 |
|
2001 |
Colorado Avalanche def. New Jersey Devils, 3–1 |
|
2003 |
New Jersey Devils def. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 3–0 |
|
2004 |
Tampa Bay Lightning def. Calgary Flames, 2–1 |
|
2006 |
Carolina Hurricanes def. Edmonton Oilers, 3–1 |
|
2009 |
Pittsburgh Penguins def. Detroit Red Wings, 2–1 |
|
2011 |
Boston Bruins def. Vancouver Canucks, 4–0 |
|
2019 |
St. Louis Blues def. Boston Bruins, 4–1 |
The last time the Stanley Cup Final went the distance was in 2019, when the St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 7, 4–1, courtesy of goals from Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford.
Of the 17 winner-take-all games since 1939 in the Stanley Cup Final, only twice has the game-winning goal occurred in overtime. Both of the two overtime goals were scored by the Detroit Red Wings, in 1950 and ’54, respectively. The Red Wings were involved in each of the first six Game 7s under the current format of the Stanley Cup Final, winning three of them.
