The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe posted an interesting exercise Friday morning in response to a question about the most common path to a Stanley Cup.
While it turns out that no two teams have ever taken the exact same path to a Stanley Cup since the NHL playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1979-80, McIndoe went through which teams have lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion the most by round.
Then he tallied everything up at the end and figured out which team has lost to the eventual champion the most since 1980. Lo and behold, it’s the Bruins.
In fact, they win the title fairly comfortably. The Bruins have lost to the eventual Cup champion 12 times in the last 41 years. The Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers are next at 10, followed by the Washington Capitals (8), Los Angeles Kings (8), Detroit Red Wings (7) and New York Rangers (7).
The Bruins are not the top team in any single round, but have instead spread their losing around. They’ve lost to the eventual champion three times in the first round (Canadiens in 1986, Devils in 1995 and 2003), twice in the second round (Islanders in 1980, Lightning in 2020), three times in the third round (Islanders in 1983, Penguins in 1991 and 1992), and four times in the Cup Final (Oilers in 1988 and 1990, Blackhawks in 2013, Blues in 2019).
The only team that has lost more Cup Finals over the last 41 years is the Flyers, who lost to the Islanders in 1980, the Oilers in 1985 and 1987, the Red Wings in 1997, and the Blackhawks in 2010. The Bruins have at least won one Stanley Cup themselves during that time, in 2011, while the Flyers haven’t won the Cup since 1975.
Speaking of the ‘70s, the Bruins’ grip on this unwanted title would only increase if we went back another decade. While the Bruins won two Cups in 1970 and 1972, they also lost in the Final three times (Flyers in 1974, Canadiens in 1977 and 1978) and lost to the eventual Cup winner two other times (Montreal in 1971 and 1979).
We know the Bruins did not lose to the eventual Cup champion this year, as the Islanders (who beat them in the second round) lost to the Lightning in their next series.
Of course, it should be noted that this isn’t all some massive failure. While it’s obviously frustrating that the Bruins have only won one Cup since 1972, you only end up leading the way in something like this if you make the playoffs a lot, and Boston certainly has.
The Bruins made the playoffs a record 29 straight seasons from 1967-1996 and have missed the playoffs just seven times since then. The only team that has made more playoff appearances since 1980 is the Blues, who hold a narrow 35-34 edge.
The Bruins have played the most playoff games of any team since 1980 (369, with the Penguins second at 355), and the only teams that have more playoff wins than their 181 during that time are the Penguins (194) and Red Wings (191).
So, in summary, the Bruins have made the playoffs a lot, won a lot of games and series, lost to a lot of great teams, and yeah… only won it all once in the last 48 seasons.
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