Vancouver’s Game Three Loss, Historically
Jonathan Willis
June 06 2011 10:41PM
The Vancouver Canucks’ 8-1 loss to Boston was a lopsided affair. I couldn’t remember a worse loss in the Stanley Cup Finals off the top of my head, so I decided to dig to find out how that loss ranked historically.
As it turns out, the Canucks loss to Boston was an historic one. Since the NHL claimed sole possession of the Stanley Cup in 1927, only one team has suffered a more humiliating defeat in Finals play than Vancouver did tonight.
The Worst Losses In NHL Stanley Cup Finals History
| Year | Winner | Goals | Loser | Goals | Difference | Series Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Pittsburgh | 8 | Minnesota | 0 | 8 | Pittsburgh |
| 2011 | Boston | 8 | Vancouver | 1 | 7 | TBD |
| 1996 | Colorado | 8 | Florida | 1 | 7 | Colorado |
| 1965 | Montreal | 6 | Chicago | 0 | 6 | Montreal |
| 1955 | Detroit | 7 | Montreal | 1 | 6 | Detroit |
| 1947 | Montreal | 6 | Toronto | 0 | 6 | Toronto |
| 1942 | Toronto | 9 | Detroit | 3 | 6 | Toronto |
| 2009 | Detroit | 5 | Pittsburgh | 0 | 5 | Pittsburgh |
| 2006 | Carolina | 5 | Edmonton | 0 | 5 | Carolina |
| 2001 | Colorado | 5 | New Jersey | 0 | 5 | Colorado |
| 1997 | Detroit | 5 | Philadelphia | 0 | 5 | Detroit |
| 1990 | Edmonton | 7 | Boston | 2 | 5 | Edmonton |
| 1985 | Edmonton | 8 | Philadelphia | 3 | 5 | Edmonton |
| 1984 | Edmonton | 7 | Islanders | 2 | 5 | Edmonton |
| 1984 | Edmonton | 7 | Islanders | 2 | 5 | Edmonton |
| 1984 | Islanders | 6 | Edmonton | 1 | 5 | Edmonton |
| 1973 | Montreal | 8 | Chicago | 3 | 5 | Montreal |
| 1970 | Boston | 6 | St. Louis | 1 | 5 | Boston |
| 1948 | Toronto | 7 | Detroit | 2 | 5 | Toronto |
| 1936 | Detroit | 9 | Toronto | 4 | 5 | Detroit |
Only three times since 1927 has a team lost by more than six goals in a Finals game – tonight, in 1991 when Pittsburgh eliminated the Minnesota North Stars with a 8-0 win, and in 1996 when Colorado beat Florida 8-1 in Game Two of a four-game sweep.
Still, there’s a worse number for the Canucks: 82.4%. 82.4% of the time, a team that wins at least one game by a gap of five or more goals goes on to win the Stanley Cup Finals.
Fortunately for Vancouver fans, the number that matters the most is 2-1, the Canucks’ series lead.
Vancouver has now been outscored in the playoffs 55-56, yet lead the Stanley Cup Finals.
It does seem that when the back-end of Vancouver goes cluster-bomb, everything falls apart. That accounts for part of being outscored like that. Well, at least history has already been made, I guess.
There's another stat in the 80% range: something to the effect of the proportion of cup finals won when the home team wins the home opener. It's now the battle of the statistically low sample sizes across eras!
Amazing. Has any team ever won the Cup being in the negative on GF/GA?
I think part of this is also due to teams being swept or the 'better' team exercising their dominance, rather than a team completely falling apart. if you know what I mean. I'm not saying the Bruins are or aren't the better team, but that in a lot of these cases some teams just were /way/ better (e.g. in underdog runs, the favourite is obviously a much better team).
The bear eating the Orca.... http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=212526868787504&set=a.183197988387059.42903.100000905788423&type=1&theater
The play was bad on Van part but the most important thing I saw was the inability for the twins to handle the rough stuff it was very noticeable that at least one has a rib injury. Stanley is a very hard trophy to win. Wimps need not apply! We will see who wants this most is for sure.