A History of Rematches in the Stanley Cup Final

The Expansion Era

In 1967-68, the NHL expanded to 12 teams with the California Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues joining the league. Thanks to how the divisions were set up, the Blues went to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, losing all of them to older teams.

Two of their matchups came against the Canadiens in 1968 and 1969, and they weren’t particularly close series as the Canadiens won both of them four games to nothing. The Blues fell to the Bruins in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, also a sweep, as Bobby Orr scored one of the most famous goals in hockey’s history.

The Bruins won another Stanley Cup in 1972, as Orr scored another game-winning goal. They returned to the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Flyers beat them in six games. It was the same result in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals, as the Flyers moved to 2-0 when in the finals.

Eventually, the Flyers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals as the Canadiens defeated them in four games in 1976, kick-starting another four seasons of dominance. Up next for the Canadiens were back-to-back matchups against the Bruins in 1977 and 1978. Like the Stanley Cup Finals against the Flyers, these two series didn’t end well for the Bruins, falling four games in 1977 and six games in 1978.

The Canadiens won another Cup in 1979, defeating the Rangers in five games for their 22nd Stanley Cup. It was an expansion team that became a dynasty starting in 1980, as the New York Islanders defeated the Flyers in six games in 1980, the North Stars in five games in 1981, and the Vancouver Canucks in 1982. By this time, the Oilers dynasty was about to start, but something weird happened.

A Trend for Generational Talents

If I were to have a Mount Rushmore of the best players since the 1980s, it would include two Edmonton Oilers and two Pittsburgh Penguins: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid. The last two times two teams have met in two consecutive postseasons, something unusual has happened.

In the 1983 postseason, the Islanders won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup, knocking off the Oilers in four games. The next season, the Oilers defeated the Islanders in five games to win their first Stanley Cup, kick-starting a dynasty of their own. That dynasty ended in 1990 after winning their fifth Stanley Cup.

Lemieux and his Pittsburgh Penguins won the next two Stanley Cups, defeating the North Stars in six games in 1991 and the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the 1992 postseason. Despite having a generational talent in Lemieux, the Penguins didn’t win another Cup in his career.

That said, Lemieux played with a young Crosby in 2005-06, playing 26 games with seven goals and 22 points in Crosby’s rookie year (where he finished with 39 goals and 102 points. The Penguins didn’t make the postseason that season and fell in five games to the Ottawa Senators in 2007, but the 2008 postseason was different.

That postseason, the Penguins got their win back against the Senators, sweeping them in four games. They then beat the Rangers and Flyers, both in five games, to make it to their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1992. That season, they lost to a stacked Red Wings team.

But like Gretzky before him, Crosby led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals the following year, also against the Red Wings. They got through the Flyers in four games, defeated the Washington Capitals in seven games, which became an annual tradition, and then swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins started the Hurricanes’ 15-game losing streak in the Conference Finals until they won Game 4 against the Panthers this season.

Anyway, the Red Wings and Penguins played a hard-fought series, with the Penguins coming out on top thanks to Maxime Talbot’s goal midway through the second period and Marc-André Fleury’s game-saving save with seconds left on the clock.

That was the last time two teams played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, well, that is until Wednesday. We all know what happened in the 2024 postseason, but the question is: can Connor McDavid do what Gretzky and Crosby did after losing in their first Stanley Cup Finals? Time will tell.