The road to the Stanley Cup Final: Ranking the 14 playoff series that got us here

New York Times

6 hours ago

We're two games into a Stanley Cup Final that already seems like it could be headed for classic status. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's look back at the 14 other matchups that brought us here, with our annual ranking of every series that led to the final.
All in all, it's been a mixed bag of a postseason. We avoided having even one sweep, which is impressive. We also had half the series end in five games, which generally isn't impressive. It's a top-heavy list, but having gone through it all, I'm not sure we can complain about what the hockey gods served up. Let's start at the bottom and work our way up.
Expectations: An epic battle for Eastern supremacy, with the red-hot Hurricanes finally facing a true contender. Hey, at least this time it won't be a sweep, right?
What we got: A series where, by the end, we were disappointed we didn't get a sweep.
Overtimes: None.
Mandatory controversy: We had a few, including Shayne Gostisbehere shooting a puck at Brad Marchand in Game 1. But maybe the most memorable moment from a not-very-memorable series came when it was over: Paul Maurice appearing to lecture an annoyed Rod Brind'Amour about handshake-line etiquette.
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Defining moment: Brind'Amour making the gutsy call to bench Frederik Andersen after two shaky performances, only to watch Pyotr Kochetkov get shelled in a Game 3 loss that basically ended the series.
Bottom line: We've seen worse series over the years, but given how good this should have been, I'm not sure there have been many bigger letdowns.
Expectations: A relatively quick and easy Carolina win over the depleted Devils.
What we got: A relatively quick and easy Carolina win over the depleted Devils.
Overtimes: Two, with the teams splitting double-OT decisions that included the series-ending Game 5.
Mandatory controversy: Timo Meier briefly earned a rare goaltender interference major for trucking Andersen in Game 4, only to have it rescinded on replay review. Andersen ended up leaving the game, and Brind'Amour was not happy.
Defining moment: We pretty much have to go with Sebastian Aho's series winner on the power play in OT.
Bottom line: Pretty much what we expected, although Game 5 was a wild ride that elevated the series just enough to keep it out of the running for the bottom of the rankings.
Expectations: The consensus was that the Hurricanes would win, maybe even convincingly. But the Capitals had been surprising us all season, so maybe they'd do it again with a classic series.
What we got: The former, unfortunately.
Overtimes: One, in the opener, that was won by Jaccob Slavin's seeing-eye shot.
Mandatory controversy: Was there one? I'm not even sure. Do stolen mouth guards count?
Defining moment: We'll go with Andrei Svechnikov's series winner, which wasn't pretty but fit the Hurricanes' 'just get it on net' ethos.
Bottom line: This was the round that legitimately got the 'Wait, are the Hurricanes boring or just effective?' discussion going, which is rarely a good sign of a fascinating series. I'm pretty sure they're also the only team to ever take up all three spots at the bottom of a best-series list, so … congrats?
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Expectations: A nice warmup for Vegas as it looked to get back into championship form.
What we got: A tougher series than most were expecting, with the underdog Wild giving the Golden Knights just about all they could handle.
Overtimes: Two, coming back-to-back in games 4 and 5, with the Golden Knights winning both. Switch even one of those results and we would have been in serious upset territory.
Mandatory controversy: Late in Game 5, the Wild scored what appeared to be the potential winner before a double review eventually wiped it out.
Defining moment: I'm going with Brett Howden's overtime winner in that crucial Game 5, which gets bonus points for being the final play of Marc-Andre Fleury's 21-season career.
Bottom line: A lot of us were sleeping on this one heading in, but it delivered some compelling opening-round drama.
Expectations: The star-studded rematch from last year's conference final, featuring an Oilers team seeking Stanley Cup redemption facing a Stars team that had gone all in on getting over the third-round hump.
What we got: One truly good period from the Stars, which was enough to win Game 1 but not enough to make this a competitive series.
Overtimes: None. And thanks to empty-netters, all five games ended up being decided by three goals or more.
Mandatory controversy: Darnell Nurse's slash on Roope Hintz didn't lead to a suspension, but it did lead to all sorts of conspiracy theories about the Stars forward having faked an injury, right up until he had to miss the crucial Game 4.
Defining moment: Two, both from Game 5. First, Pete DeBoer's panic move that saw him yank Jake Oettinger out of an elimination game. Second, Connor McDavid's breakaway dagger against backup Casey DeSmith to snuff out any comeback momentum.
Bottom line: Like the Hurricanes and Panthers, this one should have been a classic but ended up as a dud. In related news, I'm starting to think Mikko Rantanen might not be a sure thing for the Conn Smythe anymore.
Expectations: The Battle of Ontario, playoff edition, finally revived after more than two decades.
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What we got: A pretty good series and a reminder that modern rivalries aren't what they used to be.
Overtimes: Three straight, with the Leafs taking a 3-0 series lead before the Senators battled back in Game 4.
Mandatory controversy: In maybe the dumbest controversy of the entire postseason, we got 24 hours of discourse about pregame warmup puck shooting.
Defining moment: After plenty of hand-wringing over whether the first Ottawa playoff crowd in eight years would actually be supporting the home team, Sens fans finally rose and got loud early in overtime of Game 3 … only to have Simon Benoit immediately silence them with a seeing-eye winner.
Bottom line: A good series that teased us with what would have been an epic Ottawa comeback, but this felt like more of an appetizer for potential rematches in the coming years.
Expectations: The classic battle for the Pacific title that we all had penciled in since September.
What we got: A fun series with some ups and downs that needed another game or two to live up to the hype.
Overtimes: Two, both won by Edmonton, in Game 2 and the series-finale Game 5.
Mandatory controversy: That Game 2 overtime winner for the Oilers came shortly after Viktor Arvidsson appeared to use a can opener to send Brayden McNabb head-first into the boards. Bruce Cassidy was not impressed.
Defining moment: We didn't realize it at the time, but it was probably Tomas Hertl taking out Calvin Pickard in Game 2. We all figured the return of Stuart Skinner spelled doom for the Oilers, and he wasn't sharp in Vegas' Game 3 win. But then he closed the series with back-to-back shutouts and now heads into the final as the unquestioned starter.
Bottom line: The series delivered big stars, bad blood and some fascinating moments, packing about as much drama into five games as you could reasonably ask for. We just wish we'd been able to see a longer series.
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Expectations: Two teams that had soared past expectations all season to end up at opposite ends of the Eastern seeding. The standings told us this one should be an easy call, but going in, it felt like anything could happen.
What we got: A series that was over quickly but packed some interesting twists and turns into its short run time.
Overtimes: One, in the opening game, which featured a third-period comeback by the Habs followed by the first playoff overtime goal of Alex Ovechkin's career.
Mandatory controversy: There were a few, including a brawl on a bench and a potential phantom icing call in that Game 1 overtime. But the biggest impact, literally and figuratively, came from Tom Wilson's hit on Alexandre Carrier in Game 4. Habs fans thought it could have been a penalty, but the refs disagreed, and it led directly to a series-altering goal.
Defining moment: We could pick several crucial goals, skilled plays or big hits, but let's be honest: We all know it was when Wilson made that face.
Bottom line: For a weird crossover wild-card matchup, this one was fun without overstaying its welcome. No complaints.
Expectations: It was a first-round rematch for the fourth year running, but this time the Kings had home ice to go with the best home record in the league. If they were ever going to show they could hang with the Oilers, this was their chance.
What we got: They could not, in fact, hang with the Oilers.
Overtimes: One, in Game 4, a crucial Oilers comeback that tied the series.
Mandatory controversy: That OT goal came on a power play thanks to a tripping call, which you don't often see in sudden death. We also got a puck-over-glass controversy, because those are always fun.
Defining moment: It's an easy call for this series — the disastrous Jim Hiller challenge in Game 3 that served as the turning point for the game, the series and potentially even the entire postseason. You know a challenge is bad when nobody is even pretending to do the whole 'nobody understands goalie interference' schtick.
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Bottom line: The loss led to big changes in the Kings front office and a team questioning where it goes from here. And honestly, if we're not going to get an existential crisis or two out of the first round, what's even the point?
Expectations: A rematch from 2023, pitting a desperate Leafs team on the verge of finally quieting the doubters against the reigning champs.
What we got: The ultra-rare seven-game series that still manages to feel like a blowout.
Overtimes: One, coming in Game 3. The Leafs had a chance to grab a 3-0 stranglehold on the series, but Marchand had other ideas.
Mandatory controversy: Plenty, but none bigger than Sam Bennett taking Anthony Stolarz out of the series with an elbow to the head in Game 1. This was a big deal right up until the next day when Maurice ordered everyone to stop talking about it, and we did.
Defining moment: Toronto fans booing and tossing jerseys on the ice while the Panthers turned the biggest Leafs game in decades into an embarrassingly easy blowout win. Oh, wait, that happened twice.
Bottom line: You have to be good to beat the champs, and the Leafs just couldn't get close to that level when the series was on the line.
Expectations: The latest installment of the Battle of Florida was set up to be the best one yet, with most of the experts thinking Tampa Bay would reclaim control.
What we got: A surprisingly quick and easy Florida win.
Overtimes: None.
Mandatory controversy: Plenty of ugly hits, including suspensions for Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Hagel (but not Matthew Tkachuk). Even the coaches got into it. If you're looking for the playoff series with the most bad blood, this was it by a mile.
Defining moment: In a rare break from the teams exchanging dirty hits, the Panthers got two goals in 11 seconds late in the third period of Game 4, turning a series that was about to be tied into one that was about to be over.
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Bottom line: Even without any OT or all that much suspense, this was a nasty, old-school series that left you wanting more.
Expectations: A heavyweight battle between two Cup-worthy teams.
What we got: Pretty much that.
Overtimes: One, in Game 6, with Thomas Harley ending the Jets' season.
Mandatory controversy: There were two biggies, both favoring Dallas, with Mason Marchment somehow getting away with swatting an official and Alexander Petrovic's game-winning goal in Game 3 being allowed to stand despite looking like this.
Defining moment: It's hard to choose in a series that was packed with them. We could go with Rantanen's domination in the opener, or a pair of Connor Hellebuyck home shutouts between continued road struggles, or Mikael Granlund's hat trick in Game 4. But I think the moment we'll remember most from the series actually came in a losing cause: Mark Scheifele's return to the lineup after his father died, and the goal he scored to give the Jets a lead they couldn't hold.
Bottom line: This series didn't miss much, aside from a Game 7.
Expectations: A conference-final-worthy showdown between two legitimate Cup contenders, with sky-high hopes for an absolute classic.
What we got: Somehow, a series that blew away even our wildly high expectations.
Overtimes: Two, with the Stars winning games 2 and 3.
Mandatory controversy: Every postseason needs one series to serve as the lightning rod for complaints about the playoff format, and this was it. We also got a late call on Jack Drury that led to the Game 7 winner, which Colorado fans did not appreciate.
Defining moment: The Mikko Rantanen Game, featuring arguably the best period any player has ever had in the postseason ever.
Bottom line: The hockey was ridiculously good, the drama was off-the-charts and the Rantanen factor was irresistible. In any other year, this series is No. 1 by such a large margin that it almost makes the entire post feel pointless. But not this year.
Expectations: The Blues were a reasonably fun story with some long-shot upset potential, and they'd give the Presidents' Trophy winners just enough of a fight to make the series worth watching before quietly making their exit.
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What we got: A combination of a Jets meltdown and Blues defiance that came as close as you can possibly come to an upset before … well, you know.
Overtimes: Just one, but it was double-overtime in Game 7.
Mandatory controversy: We had the coaches feuding over Scheifele's injury, a pregame scolding from the league and even a malfunctioning airplane.
Defining moment: For most of the series, it looked like it would be the image of Hellebuyck fishing a puck out of his net. But that storyline disappeared — well, it took a few days off — thanks to one of the greatest Game 7 comebacks we've ever seen.
How good does a game have to be for the double-OT series winner to be only the third-most-memorable goal? I still can't believe this all happened.
Bottom line: I could see having the Stars and Avs in the top spot on your list. Both series were all-timers, and you could argue the two Game 7s were the best games we've ever had on back-to-back nights. I'm going with the series that produced a game that's in the running for the most dramatic ever, but I don't think there's a wrong answer. Thank you, 2025 Central Division: You were the true MVP of the postseason.
(Photo of Tim Stutzle, Simon Benoit, Mason Appleton and Miro Heiskanen: Claus Andersen and Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images)