Stanley Cup Finals History: Greatest Moments, Legendary Teams, and Record-Breaking Performances

The beautiful, ruthless game that we call hockey, yet how can it be so graceful and full of flair, but at the same time be so rowdy and barbaric? The New York Times columnist wrote this in one of his articles in 2006: “It’s a Stanley Cup thing. The boys mangle one another for a series, performing all kinds of nasty tricks, then they make nice, shaking soggy hands as the teams shuffle in opposite directions.”

It has continued like a tradition. Even in these contemporary days of modernity and freedom, we got to see everything that defined hockey for more than a century in the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals. After the barbaric 3rd period of Game 3, Oiler coach Kris Knoblauch just nonchalantly claimed it was “Boys being boys”.

In the next game, we saw the precision of Leon Draisaitl’s shot, the grit of a team not willing to give up, and it ultimately took them to the record books. Because that’s what the Stanley Cup Finals are all about, about reaching and claiming greatness for yourself. And along the way, the Oilers are leaving behind footprints of their glorious struggle.

Most Memorable Stanley Cup Finals Moments

Which one do we choose, and which one do we leave out? This sport has given us legends like Maurice Richard, Henri Richard, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Alex Ovechkin, and so many more icons – they were born to make history and leave their indelible mark, which we keep going back to when hockey nostalgia hits us. Now, the Edmonton Oilers are leaving behind a precious legacy of their own.

Going into Game 5 on June 14, Connor McDavid and his team could have been 3-1 and playing a survival battle. At least that’s how it looked after the first period of Game 4 ended 3-0 to the Florida Panthers. But the Oilers were not staying down. They pushed back and overturned the 3-goal deficit to go 4-3. Panthers forward Sam Reinhart equalized with 18 seconds remaining – a crushing blow for the Oilers.

But they again showed resilience, which manifested through Leon Draisaitl. A one-handed goal in Overtime meant the Oilers became the first team in 106 years to overturn a 3-0 deficit to win on the road. The last time it happened was in 1919 when the Montreal Canadiens did it against the Seattle Metropolitans.

The Oilers’ win was also the 6th time in NHL history that a team overturned a 3-0 deficit in a Stanley Cup Finals game. But it was not just the Pacific Division team writing its name in the record books. Draisaitl orchestrated it, and he ended up being a history-maker himself. The German has become the first player in NHL playoff history to score four overtime goals in a single postseason edition.

And it’s poetic that he made history by scoring such a clever goal. The Panthers are known for their defensive solidity, which is reinforced by a goaltender who thrives on keeping pucks out of the net. But not in Game 3 OT. Close to Sergei Bobrovsky‘s goal, Draisaitl deflected the puck off Panthers Defenseman Niko Mikkola‘s skates, and the netminder couldn’t react fast enough.

The puck sneaked in between the legs to give the Oilers the win. That was a perfect NHL moment of a great outdoing another great, which makes Leon Draisaitl a true elite. The NHL has had many of them. Let’s look at some of them and their Stanley Cup Finals records.

Legendary Teams That Dominated the Stanley Cup Finals

We have to start this story with the Montreal Canadiens. Their prowess has waned over the years, but none of them have come close to matching their Stanley Cup victories. They are the most successful team with 23 Championship wins. The Canadiens have also been to the most Stanley Cup Finals (33).

Not to get too boring, but they also hold the record of winning the most consecutive Stanley Cups (5 from 1956 to 1960). The 60s was the decade of the Canadiens too, winning 4 Cups in 5 seasons between 1965 to 1969. If we are to talk about another team comparable to the Canadiens’ feat, we have to talk about the 2025 Stanley Cup Finalist Edmonton Oilers. From 1984 to 1990, they would win 5 Cups, including ending the dynastic run of the New York Islanders.

The Oilers’ win over the Islanders in 1984 was a revenge after the New York franchise swept the Oilers in 1983 to make it 4 Stanley Cups in 4 years. Yes, that’s how good the Islanders were. If you look back and go through the history of the NHL, you will see many such franchise dominating periods where they were unbeatable juggernauts.

The Detroit Red Wings had their time, and the Toronto Maple Leafs too. Even going to the Stanley Cup Finals is an achievement in itself. The Leafs had gone to 3 consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. But the distinction is that they lost all 3 Finals. The same thing happened to the St. Louis Blues.

Record-Breaking Performances in Stanley Cup Finals History

If we move away from team accomplishments to focus on iconic individuals, the first man who gets mentioned in the list is Maurice Richard, the Canadiens star who has won 8 Stanley Cups in his career. The 2nd and 3rd in the list are also Montreal Canadians. Jean Beliveau is second with 30, followed by Bernie Geoffrion with 24.

In terms of points, Jean Beliveau is the leader with 62 points. But nobody beats Oilers and Kings legend Wayne Gretzky in assists. He is the overall assist leader with 35, and the player who has scored the most points in a Stanley Cup Finals series (13).

If we shift to most goals in a single series, that’s Bernie Morris. Holding a record that’s more than a century old; Morris had scored 14 in a single series in 1917. There’s another name and another record we have to mention. Glenn Hall, the Hall of Fame goaltender holds the distinction of making 957 saves in Finals games, an NHL record.

The glorious history of the Stanley Cup will only keep getting enriched as long as we have teams like the Panthers and the Oilers who keep setting the standards and make hockey more impressive.

How the Stanley Cup Shaped the Global Popularity of Hockey?

This is the biggest impact, isn’t it? How a game became a lifeblood of a nation and brought its people together. No, we are not exaggerating. This game, and thanks to the telegraph and the railways, was able to transcend the regional differences that existed between Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Klondike, and Winnipeg.

Divided under the colonial rule of the British, but with hockey, they realized they all loved one thing. And a hundred years later, they are all with the Oilers who try to become the first Canadian team after 32 years to win the Stanley Cup. The Stanley Cup Finals happen to be the most-watched broadcast event in Canada.

Year-on-year, viewership keeps on boosting, with average viewership crossing 4 million in 2025. And the USA doesn’t lag that far behind. The NHL comes in the top-10 for non-football sports. In fact, this might show you how big the NHL is becoming in the US. The Florida Panthers were named the ‘Sports Team of the Year’ in 2025 at the Business Journal Sports Business Awards.

The quality of the Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup Finals keeps drawing more numbers. And not just that. The Panthers’ rise has inspired youth hockey programs across warmer markets—a trend that began in 2023 and continues into 2025. That the NHL is really appealing to the youth is evident from the 233 million impressions and 23 million video views that the 2022 Finals got.

The high digital engagement across external outlets like ESPN is a sign that the younger generation like what they see in the NHL. Meanwhile, the NHL has tried to reach out to the sections who, like everybody, want to experience and revel in the joy of team sports, but can’t due to a lack of accessibility.

Thanks to the NHL in ASL, the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals will have an alternate telecast dedicated completely to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community using American Sign Language. Fans can access the content through Max streaming services in the US and Sportsnet+ in Canada.

In 2024, the NHL became the first pro sports league to deliver a live game broadcast just for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. And this year, they are back with that in the Stanley Cup Finals. The broadcasters will provide ASL visual descriptions of all plays, which will include referee calls. They will be accompanied by visual rule explanations to clarify rulings made during the game.

Add to that the tactical replay analysis of goals and other impact plays. And there are many more elements included which you can check on the NHL website. In fact, if you go through it, you will realize how much thought and effort have gone into devising and implementing it.

Kudos to the NHL. They are making the world a more inclusive place, one Stanley Cup Finals at a time.