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Stanley Cup Playoff Notes -- Colorado is 9-1 in first and second round playoff series since moving from Quebec to Denver; the only loss was '98 series vs Edmonton. -- St Louis made the Stanley Cup Finals its first three years of existence, from 1968-70, when the league expanded from six to 12 teams, and had all six of the new clubs in the same division, guaranteeing an expansion team in the Fianls for three years running. Scotty Bowman's Blues went 0-12 in those three Finals, and have never made it back there. Since 1970, the Blues are 13-15 in first round series, 2-11 in the second round, and 0-2 in the third round, including this year's setback vs Colorado. -- Boston has not won a Stanley Cup since 1972; they have missed the playoffs for two consecutive years for first time since before Bobby Orr was in uniform. -- Calgary is 0-6 in playoff series since winning the Cup in '89. Three of those six series losses came in game 7's at the Saddledome. -- Anaheim has managed just one playoff series win in franchise history, a seven-game win over Phoenix in '97. Their other two series resulted in four game sweeps at the hands of Detroit. -- Carolina also has just one NHL series playoff win, back in '86, when they were the Hartford Whalers. The Whale swept Quebec (now the Avalanche) 3-0. -- Chicago, one of the original six teams, has not made the playoffs since '97, and has not won the Cup since 1961. The Blackhawks have been to the Finals five times since then, but have come up dry. -- Edmonton has not had the home ice edge in a playoff series since '91, they year after they won their last Stanley Cup. Montreal has not had home ice since '93, the last year they won a title. -- Florida went 12-10 in the playoffs during their '96 run to the Finals. Other than that spring, the Panthers have won only one of nine playoff games. -- Los Angeles made its only trip to the Finals under the leadership of Barry Melrose in '93; it was the only time the Kings have ever been past the second round of the playoffs. -- The Islanders have not been in the playoffs since '94, and have not had home ice in a series since '88. You almost forget they're still in the league. -- The Rangers you always remember, because they spend the most money, and still haven't made the playoffs since '97. New York has won its last five first round series, however, with last loss vs Washington in '91. -- Ottawa has won only one playoff series in its history, a '98 upset over the Devils. -- Philadelphia has not won the Stanley Cup since winning back-to-back titles in '74 and '75; they have made five trips to Finals since then. -- Wayne Gretzky better get to work on the team he just bought, the Phoenix Coyotes. Once known as the Winnipeg Jets, this franchise has won just two NHL playoff series, both over Calgary (in '85 and '87). They have lost 12 of their last 14 first round series, including the last eight in row, and missed playoffs in '01. -- San Jose has three playoff series wins in its relatively brief history, and all came in very dramatic fashion, in Game 7's on the road. -- Tampa Bay has made the playoffs only once, falling to the Flyers 4-2 in '96. -- Toronto, another one of the Original Six, won the Cup in the last season there were six NHL teams, 1966-67. They have not won a Cup since, and have not even been back to the Finals. -- Washington has Michael Jordan as a minority owner, but his magic has not rubbed off on them. The Caps are just 6-11 in first round series, 1-5 in the second round. Washington did make the '98 Finals, getting swept by the Red Wings. |
