The 14 Teams That Have Won The Stanley Cup After Losing Game 1 In The Past 50 Years

The Panthers got off on the wrong skate in their quest to defend their Stanley Cup title against the Oilers with a 4-3 loss in overtime in Game 1. They may have fallen into a hole, but there are more than a few teams that have managed to bounce back and earn the right to hoist the trophy after going down a game.

It goes without saying you want to win the first game of the Stanley Cup Final if you end up as one of the two squads that earn the right to battle for that hallowed trophy.

20 NHL teams that have checked that box have managed to pull off the sweep since the Finals shifted to a best-of-seven format in 1939, but plenty of others have managed to squander that advantage before ending up on the losing end.

Here’s a look at all of the ones that have overcome a Game 1 setback en route to securing a championship since 1975.

2020: Lightning

Teams that have won the first game of the Stanley Cup Final have had a pretty good run over the past few years, but that streak follows another one on the opposite end of the spectrum that began near the end of the 2010s.

The Lightning are the most recent team to win it all after losing Game 1, as the Stars opened up their series in 2020 with a 4-1 victory.

However, Tampa Bay rattled off three straight wins before Dallas extended the series with an overtime victory in Game 5 only to get shut out in what ended up being the final contest.

2019: Blues

The Blues hadn’t appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1970 when they got a rematch with the team that beat them in that series (courtesy of the iconic goal Bruins captain Bobby Orr scored) in 2019.

Boston got a 4-2 win in Game 1, but St. Louis evened the series in the ensuing showdown and eventually pulled out to a 3-2 lead before clinching The Cup with a 4-1 victory in Game 7.

2018: Capitals

No one expected the Golden Knights to make it to the Stanley Cup Final in the first season of their existence. However, they not only did that but managed to jump out to a 1-0 lead over the Capitals.

Unfortunately for Las Vegas, the 6-4 win was the only win they’d get in the series where Washington pulled off the backdoor sweep and Alex Ovechkin finally got to raise the Stanley Cup for the first time.

2011: Bruins

The Bruins were riding Stanley Cup drought that was closing in on 40 years in 2011, while the Canucks were hoping to win it for the first time in the history of a franchise that joined the NHL in 1970 and bring the trophy back to Canada for the first time since 1993.

Vancouver snuck out a 1-0 win in  Game 1 and pulled out to a 2-0 lead before Boston surged back to tie the series up.

It ultimately went to seven games before the Bruins sealed the deal with the win that sparked a riot in Vancouver.

2009: Penguins

Sidney Crosby was hoping to get some redemption (and his first Stanley Cup) when the Penguins met the Red Wings in the finals in 2008 a year after Pittsburgh was outfoxed by Detroit.

The rematch certainly lived up to the hype, as the Red Wings got their first of two straight 3-1 victories in Game 1 before the Penguins tied things up in a series that needed seven games to be decided before Pittsburgh secured The Cup on the road.

2004: Lightning

We’ve got our second appearance from Tampa Bay, who also fell into a 1-0 hole in 2004 after the Flames got a 4-1 win in Game 1.

The Lightning quickly erased the deficit in Game 2 in what became a literal back-and-forth series until Game 7, which ended with Tampa getting its first Stanley Cup in its first appearance in the finals.

2002: Red Wings

2002 marked the first time the Hurricanes appeared in the Stanley Cup Final since their move to Carolina in 1997 (the Whalers never made it that far when the franchise was in Hartford), and they also got their first Finals win with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1.

Unfortunately, they didn’t end up being much of a match for a Red Wings squad that won its third Stanley Cup in five seasons after wrapping up the series in five games.

1999: Stars

Most NHL fans are familiar with how the Stanley Cup Final showdown between the Stars and the Sabres ended, as Brett Hull scored a controversial triple-overtime goal in Game 6 thanks to the skate that appeared to be in the crease when he netted it.

It began, however, with the Sabres getting a 3-2 win that only required a single overtime session, but Dallas ended up taking control en route to the title.

1994: Rangers

Dallas won The Cup in fairly dramatic fashion to bring a streak of four consecutive Finals sweeps to an end, and that run was sandwiched by another series that offered plenty of intrigue.

The Canucks got a 4-1 win over the Rangers to open things up in 1994, but New York responded by rattling off three straight wins. Vancouver was able to rally to force Game 7 but ultimately fell short with a 3-2 loss.

1993: Canadiens

The Kings didn’t have much trouble earning a 4-1 win over the Canadiens in Game 1 in 1993 and were also in control of Game 2 before the infamous penalty that led to Los Angeles defenseman Marty McSorley being sent to the penalty box for using an illegal stick thanks to the curve that violated the rules.

Montreal was able to rally after capitalizing on the man advantage, as the Habs won Game 2 in overtime for the first of four straight victories that brought the series to an end in five games.

1991: Penguins

We’ve got our second repeat appearance courtesy of the Penguins, who fell to the North Stars in a 5-4 loss in Game 1 in 1991.

The teams ended up trading wins until Pittsburgh took control of the series with a victory in Game 4 and notched three in a row to wrap it up in six on the back of Mario Lemieux’s standout play and the magic of Jaromir Jagr’s majestic mullet.

1986: Canadiens

The Canadians are the third team to show up twice thanks to what went down when they met the Flames in 1986, which was the seventh time two teams hailing from Canada earned a spot in the Stanley Cup Final (they were also responsible for the eighth—and most recent—three years later).

As was the case in 2004, Calgary earned an edge with a win in Game 1, but as was the case in 1993, Montreal didn’t lose another game and won The Cup in five.

1985: Oilers

1986 marked the second year in a row a Canadian (but not a Canadien) team pulled off a backdoor sweep in the Stanley Cup Final, as the Flyers also won Game 1 against the Oilers before Edmonton evened things up and never looked back while successfully defending their title.

1979: Canadiens

We’re capping things off with one last appearance from the Canadians, which is yet another instance where they lost Game 1 and then won four in a row; the Rangers opened things up with a 4-1 win, but that was the lone bright spot for New York.

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