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With Pittsburgh's 7-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last night, both the Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings now enjoy 2-0 leads in their respective playoff series, which means the two teams are about halfway to a return engagement in the Finals just one year after Detroit defeated Pittsburgh in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 2008.
While two teams meeting in the Finals in back-to-back seasons was a fairly common occurrence in the Original Six era, we've only seen it happen three times since the league's historic major expansion before the 1967-68 season.
The first instance came in the 1968 and 1969 Stanley Cup Finals, when the mighty Montreal Canadiens met the expansion St. Louis Blues in back-to-back seasons. In their incredible wisdom, NHL owners thought it would be a good idea to pack all of the expansion teams into the Western Division, thereby guaranteeing that one of those franchises would earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals.
But after seeing the Blues get swept in three straight seasons, first by the Canadiens in 1968 and 1969 and then by the Bruins in 1970, the league decided that it might be a good idea to shift the Blackhawks out West when the league expanded by two teams before the 1970-71 seasons, while also making sure the playoff pods crossed over before the Finals, thereby giving the expansion teams in the West an extra hurdle if they wanted to play for the Cup.
And yes, there was a time in the NHL when the Penguins and Flyers were in the Western Division, while Detroit and Vancouver played in the East.
The next instance came in 1977 and 1978 when the Canadiens met the Boston Bruins in back-to-back seasons, winning the two series by counts of 4-0 and 4-2.
The last instance occurred in 1983 and 1984, as the New York Islanders made one last stand, and then succumbed to the Edmonton Oilers. In the 1983 series, the Islanders made short work of Gretzky, Messier and the rest of the high-flying Oilers, sweeping them in four games on their way to their fourth Cup in four seasons. But just one year later, the tables were turned, and after gaining a split on Long Island, the Oilers won three straight games on home ice to take the first Cup of what would ultimately be five in the next seven seasons.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
4 comments
Comments
Nice write up, EMac. I hope the Blackhawks can wreak the repeat party, but it seems unlikely.
by Sneaky on May 22, 2009 2:13 PM EDT reply actions
Just like the Oilers, the young, ultra talented Pens have learned from their loss to the incumbent, veteran Wings… and history will repeat itself when the Pens take the Cup this year!!
GO PENS GO!!
by LastSonOfKrypton on May 22, 2009 3:23 PM EDT reply actions
I agree, LastSon. This Pens Squad is very much a different team than last season. They have met with a fiercely determined Canes club, and thus far have matched that determination with some serious drive of thier own. Detroit is obviously a power in the West, and should the Pens best the Canes, they’ll prove a most worthy opponent.
by hockey_eh_721 on May 22, 2009 3:45 PM EDT reply actions
Wow, Vancouver was in the Eastern Conference, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were in the Western Conference before Gary Bettman came to power! That’s amazing. Please don’t tell all the Bettman haters. Also, where’s the Campbell Conference and Prince of Wales Conference names? Bettman must have been in charge in the early 70’s too.
by auxlepli on May 22, 2009 5:33 PM EDT reply actions
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