The Most One-Sided NHL Playoff Series Ever

Published on April 13th, 2026 4:09 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


The list of the top 10 most lopsided NHL playoff series (based on goal differential) has some very interesting entries.

You have a six-game Conference Finals where one team outscored the other by 19 goals.

You have a Stanley Cup Final that went to seven games despite the fact that the losing team managed just eight goals.

You have a Stanley Cup Final where the losing team managed to score just ONE goal over the course of the entire series.

Let's look at the top 10 most lopsided NHL playoff series by goal differential:


1. 1985 Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Black Hawks (Conference Final, 6 games, +19 goals) - the Oilers scored 18 goals in the first two games of this series. Amazingly enough, the series was tied 2-2 when things shifted back to Edmonton for Game 5. Over the next two games, the Oilers would win by scores of 10-5 and 8-2. Over the course of the six game series, the Oilers scored 44 goals and outscored the Black Hawks by 19 goals.

2. 1944 Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs (Semifinals, 5 games, +17 goals) - here is the thing about this series - the Leafs actually won Game 1 by a score of 3-1. After that? Total annihilation. The Canadiens outscored the Leafs 22-3 over the next four games, including an 11-0 demolition in Game 5 that remains the most lopsided playoff game in NHL history. Rocket Richard scored five goals in Game 2 alone, setting a playoff record that has only been matched three times in the 80+ years since. The 1943-44 Canadiens went 38-5-7 in the regular season, and this series was a pretty good reminder of why.

3. 2011 Boston Bruins vs Vancouver Canucks (Stanley Cup Final, 7 games, +15 goals) - this is the strangest entry on the list, and it isn't even close. How does a seven-game Stanley Cup Final end up with a +15 goal differential? Simple - the Canucks won their three games by a combined score of 5-4, while the Bruins won their four games by a combined score of 23-8. Boston put up 8-1 victories in both Games 3 and 6, and Tim Thomas stopped 40 shots in that Game 3 win. After Aaron Rome's hit on Nathan Horton in Game 3, the Bruins outscored Vancouver 21-4 the rest of the way. The series went seven games and it wasn't even close.

4. 1970 Boston Bruins vs St. Louis Blues (Stanley Cup Final, 4-game sweep, +13 goals) - the Blues made the Stanley Cup Final in each of their first three seasons, and they were swept all three times. This was the third and most lopsided of those sweeps. Boston won the first three games 6-1, 6-2 and 4-1 before St. Louis made things interesting in Game 4, taking a 3-2 lead into the third period. Johnny Bucyk tied it, and then Bobby Orr scored 40 seconds into overtime to deliver the most iconic goal in NHL history - the one where he goes flying through the air after being tripped by Noel Picard. That image is still the most famous photograph in hockey. The Bruins outscored St. Louis 20-7 in the series.

5. 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Minnesota North Stars (Stanley Cup Final, 6 games, +12 goals) - this series is interesting because the North Stars actually held a 2-1 series lead after three games. Minnesota won Game 1 by a score of 5-4, and the series appeared to be fairly competitive. Then Pittsburgh woke up. The Penguins won the final three games by scores of 5-3, 6-4, and 8-0. That 8-0 Game 6 remains the most lopsided Cup-clinching game in NHL history, with Tom Barrasso stopping all 39 shots he faced. Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Mark Recchi, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, Bryan Trottier and some kid named Jaromir Jagr were all on that roster. The series ended with Pittsburgh holding a +12 goal differential.

6. 1996 Colorado Avalanche vs Florida Panthers (Stanley Cup Final, 4-game sweep, +11 goals) - this was the Panthers' first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Avalanche absolutely crushed them in Game 2 by a score of 8-1. Peter Forsberg had a first-period hat trick in that game. The thing is, the other three games were all decided by a single goal, including the Cup clincher that went to triple overtime. So the series was both a dominant sweep AND a series of tight games, depending on which game you looked at. Colorado outscored Florida 15-4 in the series. The Avalanche won their first-ever Stanley Cup and remain the only franchise with a 100% winning record in the Cup Final.

7. 1969 Montreal Canadiens vs St. Louis Blues (Stanley Cup Final, 4-game sweep, +9 goals) - this was a rematch of the 1968 Final, where the Canadiens also swept the Blues, though that series was much closer (all four games decided by one goal). The 1969 edition was more of a beatdown. Rogie Vachon was brilliant in net for Montreal, limiting St. Louis to just three goals across four games and posting one shutout. Game scores: 3-1, 3-1, 4-0, 2-1. The Blues went to the Stanley Cup Final in each of their first three seasons and were swept every single time. They wouldn't make it back to the Final until 2019, when they finally won the whole thing.

8. 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning vs Montreal Canadiens (Stanley Cup Final, 5 games, +9 goals) - the Canadiens made an unlikely run to the Final in 2021, but things went sideways pretty quickly once they got there. Tampa Bay won Game 1 by a score of 5-1 and never really let up. Montreal managed to avoid the sweep with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 4, but the Lightning closed things out with a 1-0 win in Game 5. The Canadiens scored a total of 8 goals in 5 games. Tampa Bay outscored Montreal 17-8 in the series and won their second straight Stanley Cup. This was widely considered the most lopsided Cup Final of the salary cap era.

9. 1944 Montreal Canadiens vs Chicago Black Hawks (Stanley Cup Final, 4-game sweep, +8 goals) - the '44 Canadiens show up twice on this list, and for good reason. After dismantling the Leafs in the Semifinals (see #2 on this list), Montreal swept the Black Hawks in the Final. Game scores: 5-1, 3-1, 3-2, 5-4 (OT). Rocket Richard scored five goals in the series, including a hat trick in Game 2. Toe Blake scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 4, and Bill Durnan stopped the first penalty shot ever awarded in a Stanley Cup Final during that same overtime period. The 1943-44 Canadiens went 38-5-7 in the regular season and then went 8-1 in the playoffs. That team was ridiculous.

10. 2003 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim vs Minnesota Wild (Western Conference Final, 4-game sweep, +8 goals) - the goal differential here doesn't jump off the page at +8, but consider this - the Wild scored ONE goal in four games. One. That is still the all-time record for fewest goals by a team in an NHL playoff series. Anaheim won the four games 1-0 (OT), 2-0, 4-0 and 2-1. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was absolutely unbeatable in that series, and the Ducks' defense completely smothered everything Minnesota tried to do. This is the defensive version of what the 1985 Oilers did on the other end of the ice.