The Carolina Hurricanes lost just one game heading into the Stanley Cup final, which still makes it possible for them to finish among the six champions that lost the fewest games since the NHL introduced four best-of-seven series in 1986-87.
The Stanley Cup has long been considered the most difficult trophy to win in North American professional team sports.
Teams must win 16 playoff games and survive four rounds to capture hockey's ultimate prize. However, some teams made the journey look much easier than expected.
The Carolina Hurricanes lost one game en route to the Cup final but have dropped Games 1 and 3 so far against the Vegas Golden Knights, which have lost five games total so far.
Since the NHL playoffs changed to having four best-of-seven rounds in 1986-87, only six Stanley Cup champions lost fewer than five games in the post-season. Here are those teams.
1987-88 Edmonton Oilers, Two Losses
Led by captain Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the first round, swept the Calgary Flames, beat the Detroit Red Wings in five games in the conference final and swept the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final to win their fourth championship in five years.
Edmonton outscored its opponents 84-53 along the way.
Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the playoffs with 43 points in just 19 games, while Grant Fuhr won the Vezina Trophy after recording 40 wins in 75 appearances during the regular season.
The championship also marked the end of an era in Edmonton, as Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings during the off-season.
1994-95 New Jersey Devils, Four Losses
After losing in the conference final the year before, the Devils made a statement by capturing the first championship in franchise history while suffering only four playoff losses.
The Devils finished the lockout-shortened regular season with a 22-18-8 record, good for second place in the Atlantic Division. Their only sweep of the post-season came in the Stanley Cup final against the Red Wings.
During the regular season, the Devils recorded the fewest power-play goals in the NHL with 22 and had the fewest power-play opportunities with 164. In the playoffs, their power play shot up to 25 percent, and they averaged just 1.70 goals against in 20 games.
Claude Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the playoffs with 13 goals.
1992-93 Montreal Canadiens, Four Losses
Captain Guy Carbonneau and the Montreal Canadiens finished third in the Adams Division. Their longest series came in the first round, where they needed six games to eliminate the Quebec Nordiques.
After that, they swept the Buffalo Sabres and beat the New York Islanders and Kings in five games each.
To this day, this remains the Canadiens' most recent Stanley Cup championship and the last time a Canadian-based team has won the trophy.
Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy, while Montreal set an NHL record by winning 10 consecutive overtime games during a single post-season.
The Canadiens also set a playoff record for the most overtime victories in one year.
Wayne Gretzky made his first and only Stanley Cup final appearance as a member of the Kings, but the Canadiens took care of them quickly.
1996-97 Detroit Red Wings, Four Losses
Adversity was one of the defining characteristics of this Red Wings team. Previous post-season disappointments, including being swept by the Devils in the 1995 Stanley Cup final, fuelled Detroit's determination to end its 42-year championship drought.
The Red Wings had not won a Stanley Cup since 1955. Captain Steve Yzerman had patiently carried the franchise since 1983, while coach Scotty Bowman helped develop the famed "Russian Five," featuring Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Slava Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Vyacheslav Kozlov.
Their exceptional passing, fluid skating and natural chemistry revolutionized the way hockey was played. Detroit's dominant playoff run culminated in the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship in more than four decades.
Detroit beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2, swept the Anaheim Ducks, eliminated the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 and swept the Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
2021-22 Colorado Avalanche, Four Losses
One of only two teams on this list from the 21st century, the Avalanche lost just four games throughout the entire post-season.
Ten of Colorado's playoff victories came in comeback fashion. Coached by Jared Bednar, the Avalanche finished the post-season with the highest rate of 5-on-5 scoring chances. They also posted a 9-1 road record, becoming one of the few NHL teams to clinch all four playoff series away from home.
Cale Makar led the charge, winning the Norris Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy in the same year.
2011-12 Los Angeles Kings, Four Losses
The Los Angeles Kings became the first eighth-seeded team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup since the conference-based playoff format was introduced in 1994.
Their dominant post-season run saw them become the only team in NHL history to eliminate the first-, second- and third-seeded teams in their conference in consecutive rounds. That included eliminating the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in five games.
The Kings became the first team to win its first 10 road games in a single post-season and received stellar goaltending from Jonathan Quick, who posted a 1.41 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Los Angeles was also the first team in NHL history to take a 3-0 series lead in all four playoff rounds.
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