Monotony of Success – Part 2: How do the Oilers compare to others who reached back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals?
In Part 1, I talked about why I decided to compare the 2025-26 Edmonton Oilers to the nine teams post-1990 that attempted to make the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year. For more background and other notes, including just how bloody hard it is, read it here. This list compares Edmonton’s start through 20 games to these teams, while also looking at how they finished. After a preview where we looked at the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins, we will glance at the eight other teams in the same position as these Oilers.
1998-99 Detroit Red Wings (lost in the second round)
- DET record after 20 games: 12-8
- Finish: 43-32-7, 93 points, third in West
The quest for a three-peat was on in Hockeytown, but the Red Wings knew that the Western Conference was the real challenge, since they had gone 8-0 through Stanley Cup Final games against Philadelphia and Washington.
Their core was to die for. Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Federov, Igor Larionov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Slava Kozlov. Plus depth pieces like Kris Draper, Darren McCarty, and an old but still very productive Larry Murphy. The team had few holes. Their scoring was so spread out, no one achieved 30 goals, yet Detroit was one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
But the start wasn’t so hot. Their SC hangover saw them at .500 (8-8) after a loss to Calgary. As we’ll see a lot with these teams, they had a streaky year. December in particular was ugly, going winless in seven straight (0-6-1).
On trade deadline day, they bulked up. The big move was acquiring Chris Chelios on March 23 for two first-round picks and Anders Eriksson, enhancing their defence even more after signing Uwe Krupp in the off-season to help fill the void left by Vladimir Konstantinov. That wasn’t all. Wendel Clark, Ulf Samuelsson, and even Bill Ranford were added.
As these teams do, they won eight straight games at the end of March en route to a divisional title. However, they were 21 points back of first-place Dallas.
Anaheim stood no chance, soundly swept in the first round, setting up the third edition of Red Wings-Avalanche (Krupp’s former to boot). Colorado reverse-swept the Red Wings, going down 0-2 and winning four straight. The Avs would eventually lose to Dallas. Detroit got got.
2000-01 Dallas Stars (lost in the second round)
- DAL record after 20 games: 12-5-3
- Finish: 48-24-8-2, 106 points, third in West
The Stars came out of a tough Stanley Cup Final loss in 2000 and started to lose some of the innards of the champion core, but were still led by Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Joe Nieuwendyk, Sergei Zubov, Jere Lehtinen, and Ed Belfour.
Their start was pretty strong. After winning just one of their first four games, the Stars reeled off two five-game winning streaks.
Teams had a helluva time scoring on them, as they allowed just 187 goals against, second-best in the league. Dallas had 10 shutouts during the season.
Dallas defeated Colorado in back-to-back West Finals — these series are largely memory-holed but were absolute beauties — and there was a chance brewing they’d meet again. The Avs were hungry and had a huge first-place finish. The Stars finished third in the West. After their annual matchup against the Edmonton Oilers in six games, the Stars played the No. 4-seeded St. Louis Blues, as the Red Wings were upset by the Los Angeles Kings.
This Blues team ended up stunning the Stars in a four-game sweep, holding DAL to just six goals, thanks to Roman Turek, and blueline stalwarts Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. Marty Reasoner also scored three times in the series, and Cory Stillman was the double OT hero in Game 3.
Dallas ran out of steam and perhaps didn’t give the Blues their full attention. Colorado would dispatch the Blues in five and go on to win the Cup.
2001-02 New Jersey Devils (lost in first round)
- NJ record after 20 games: 8-8-2-2
- Finish: 41-28-9-4, 95 points, sixth in East
After winning in 2000 and losing to the Avalanche in seven in 2001, the Devils entered the 2001-02 season losing four straight, before winning eight of their next nine. But inconsistently abounded for this club, which went winless (0-5-2), those two are ties by the way, and it eventually cost Larry Robinson the head coach job in January.
The Devils are similar to the Oilers in that they frequently made coaching changes. All three Devils Cups were won by different coaches, thanks to GM Lou Lamoriello. Robinson was hired in 2000 with just eight games to go in the season, as Robbie Ftorek was dismissed, and it led to a Stanley Cup. Kevin Constantine took the reins and produced a 20-8-2-1 record to ensure a playoff spot, but it wouldn’t last.
New Jersey was still the trap-heavy, defence-led group of Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermeyer. Martin Brodeur played 73 games, and NJ surrendered the third fewest goals against the league. They couldn’t score, though. After Patrik Elias and Bobby Holik, nobody surpassed the 50-point plateau.
There were no standouts in the East standings-wise, as the Devils prepared to play the Carolina Hurricanes in the No. 3-6 seed matchup. The Canes were good on home ice and won all three at home, and took Game 6 on the road to dismiss this Devils team. Constantine was fired that off-season for three-time Jack Adams winner Pat Burns, who’d headman the team to hoisting the Cup a year later. Holik was a huge bright spot in the series (and would get signed to a massive Rangers overpay in the off-season), but the Devils’ lack of offence caught up to them.
2009-10 Detroit Red Wings (lost in the second round)
- DET record after 20 games: 10-6-4
- Finish: 44-24-14, 102 points, fifth in West
There was a lot of belief that the Wings and Penguins could meet again for a third straight year. But the miles on the Red Wings started to grow on this team, again in an Olympic year, after 70-point seasons for Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, who won the Selke. But only one of their top-eight scorers was under 29, and that was Valtteri Filppula.
Jimmy Howard took the reins as a starter and performed very well at a .924sv%. After the Olympic break, Red Wings hockey resumed, going on a 16-5 heater to end the season. What happened next was a seven-game struggle against the Phoenix Coyotes. Detroit won it, but maybe lost the war, as the 1-seed San Jose Sharks were on deck. The Sharks won this in five, but all four Wings losses were by one goal.
This group of Red Wings would fight in a second-round rematch next year vs San Jose, but they wouldn’t find the type of success Hockeytown was accustomed to.
2009-10 Pittsburgh Penguins (lost in the second round)
- PIT record after 20 games: 13-7
- Finish: 47-28-7, 101 points, fourth in East
Pittsburgh came out of the gates guns-a-blazin’, winning nine out of the first 10 games in pursuit of back-to-back Cups. They started to fall back down to earth in November, but Sidney Crosby was on top of the hockey world. Not only did he score 109 points, but he also won the Rocket Richard, and just like the current Oilers situation, it was an Olympic year. Crosby, of course, scored the Golden Goal in Vancouver, and the Pens were primed as true contenders.
Evgeni Malkin missed some time throughout the season, unable to continue his run of consecutive 100-point seasons. Along with the studs, veterans like Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, and Ruslan Fedetenko, rounded out the lineup.
However, they finished fourth in the East with a couple of losses in April, which allowed Washington to be the one-seed (remember the old conference plus division winner format).
After a six-game win vs Ottawa, their playoff hopes were Halak’d by the Montreal Canadiens during the month of Jaroslav Halak. He played the best hockey of his life to will the Habs to an East Final. But the tight-checking game of the Habs ended up frustrating Pittsburgh, who couldn’t find answers.
2017-18 Pittsburgh Penguins (lost in the second round)
- PIT record after 20 games: 10-7-3
- Finish: 47-29-6, 100 points, second in Metro
It was a sluggish November, though at times, although Phil Kessel was nails with 8-16–24 to lead the way. This was the first full season of Matt Murray at the helm after Marc-Andre Fleury was released through the expansion draft. Murray was alright with a .903 save percentage. The road record was nothing special, but PIT was really good at home.
Overall, though, this was a consistent team that just got got. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were their usual selves, and it was the last super season from Kessel. Letang achieved a 50-point plateau, but it would be this core’s last hurrah.
Pittsburgh got past Philadelphia in six games, setting up yet another Crosby vs. Ovechkin series for the third straight year. But the Penguins lost in the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Capitals in six games, ending the chance of a three-peat. It was finally Washington’s year.
2021-22 Tampa Bay Lightning (lost in the Stanley Cup Final)
- TB record after 20 games: 12-5-3
- Finish: 51-23-8, 110 points, third in Atlantic
After losing four of their first six, the Lightning achieved a comfortable record at the quarterpoint of the season, with Nikita Kucherov only playing three games. He’d only finish with 47 regular-season games played. Alex Killorn produced above his normal level with 8-10–18, but his pace would cool.
Andrei Vasilevsky was dominant. A 10-4-3 record, a .926sv%, and two shutouts. Great goaltending, the usual great efforts from Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman, plus the rise of Killorn, were big reasons why the Lightning were seven games above .500. You’ll notice how they were 12 points better than the 2024-25 Panthers, but still third in this top-heavy division.
Tampa Bay was active. They spent multiple first-round picks to acquire Brandon Hagel, and snuck Nick Paul out of Ottawa, who’d they eventually extended forever. Tampa was bolting up for another long playoff run.
Handing the Maple Leafs yet another seven-game disappointment in Round 1, the Lightning cruised past the Panthers, and then reverse-swept the Rangers after starting 0-2.
In the end, it did seem the Lightning ran out of gas as the playoffs went along. Colorado was also just better, and they dashed the hopes of a three-peat in six games.
2024-25 Florida Panthers (won the Stanley Cup).
- FLA record after 20 games: 12-7-1
- Finish: 47-31-4, 98 points, third in Atlantic
Florida was playing roughly .500 hockey through eight games before they reeled off a seven-game win streak. Sam Reinhart’s 15 goals and 30 points led the way, but neither Sergei Bobrovsky nor Spencer Knight had a save percentage over .900.
Despite a strong start, this edition of the Panthers was super streaky. After that seven-gamer, they lost six of their next seven. Then won six of their next seven. It was injuries to Matthew Tkachuk that the team contended with later. As we know, the Panthers added a heavy injection of Seth Jones and Brad Marchand that gave them a refreshed look in the playoffs, particularly after an April stretch where they lost seven of their last 10.
From there, we know what happened.
The Panthers pumped the Lightning in round 1, but were stretched to the brink by the Leafs, who did their usual choke job and let the Panthers survive after a 0-2 start. Florida blew by Carolina to set up the rematch against the Oilers.
The resilience of this team really came to play after they surrendered a three-goal lead in Game 4 and allowed the Oilers back in the series, tied 2-2. That Game 5 was a masterclass for FLA, nullifying the bodyswapped Oilers and taking that road game and crushing Edmonton’s hopes.
With a 5-1 win in Game 6, these Panthers became the only team (out of nine) since 1990 that won the Stanley Cup in their third straight SCF season.
So, how does this apply to the Edmonton Oilers?
Well, we know already how hard it is to win, but with the element of 40-some additional games the past two seasons, it became even harder for these teams to lift the Cup again. Oftentimes these teams get got. Most lost in the second round to an opponent they were “better than” in regular-season terms, and were upset.
As we saw, the 01-02 Devils record is the closest to the Oilers’ current mark, a team that couldn’t put the pieces together. That’s how the Oilers appear throughout the first 20 games, but there’s still 62 more to play, and a playoffs to watch (knock on wood).
Ultimately, previous history doesn’t dictate future results, but it is worth knowing that the 1956 Montreal Canadiens are the last team to win the Cup after losing it back-to-back. If the Oilers have shown anything in the McDavid era, it’s to do things the hard way, the historic way, like how they came back from 0-3 down in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Like always, time will tell.
Three players that will decided the Heat's fate on Monday night
The Miami Heat are playing the same team in back to back games yet again, but unlike last time the Heat are coming off a loss in the first contest. Some players need to change from the first game, and others need to stay the same for the Heat to come away with the victory. Let’s take a look at these players and evaluate how they did in the first matchup and what needs to change in the second.
Norman Powell – Grade: A+
Norman Powell was sensation and was a large part of the reason the Heat stayed in the game on Friday night for so long. His offense was perfect, and he showed all night why he so important to the team. The Heat might be the highest scoring team in the league, but their offensive rating is only middle of the pack. The offensive rating shows that the Heat, though greatly improved, have not completely fixed their offense. This is where a guy like Powell helps keep the team afloat. He was scoring whenever he wanted on all parts of the court. The defense had literally no answer for him as he went off for 38 points on an efficient night of 12/22 shooting and 8/15 from three.
The pressure he puts on the defense helps the four other players on the court to get easier looks and find their rhythm better as well. For the Heat to be competitive again, Powell has to be lights out on Monday night.
Kel’el Ware – Grade: C+
Kel’el Ware might be the Heat’s biggest X factor this year. If he takes a leap, and plays at that level consistently, then the Heat as a whole take a leap in the Eastern Conference standings. Ware continues to show his talent and has made strides in correcting some of his flaws this year, but a couple still remain, and it pains the Heat consistently. The biggest issue for the Heat recently is the inability to get defensive rebounds. As the main rebounder on the team, a lot of that falls on Ware.
Now I want to be clear, this is by no means all his fault, almost everyone on the team contributes to this issue. I am putting this on Ware because I think he has the best ability to fix this, at least until Bam Adebayo returns from injury. The Knicks have excellent rebounders all around their roster, the Heat have to be willing to box out on every shot. That simply did not happen on Friday night and the Heat were punished greatly, evidence by letting up 8 offensive rebounds to Mitchell Robinson. This can not continue, not even a little bit.
Nikola Jovic – Grade: C-
Jovic’s box score looks decent when considering he only played 13 minutes, but then you have to ask why he only played 13 minutes. That answer is because sometimes the box score can be misleading if you remove some stats, like his 5 fouls and then it also does describe how he actually played. Jovic has been the biggest let down this year for the Heat and without Adebayo or Tyler Herro, his disappointing play has been highlighted even more.
It is no secret the Heat do not have the biggest team. Because of this they need every forward to play well. Jovic simply has not consistently, and it is hurting the team. Like I mentioned under Ware, the team’s rebounding has been lackluster at best, Jovic can help to fix this problem also. On Friday night he pulled down 4 rebounds in his 13 minutes, which shows how he can be useful. His offensive potential could also be a huge boost to the team, but he needs to be more consistent in his output to be trusted. Jovic elevating his play can unlock a lot for the Miami Heat, and they will need that if they want to win on Monday night.
