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7 Most Improbable NHL Stanley Cup Runs

by Spencer Toth - 2/18/2026

Most improbable Stanley Cup runs Jonathan Quick

There is nothing more exciting than an underdog story, and the nature of the NHL playoffs creates more upsets than any other sport. Over the years, teams have gone on incredible Stanley Cup runs that will not be forgotten, going from mediocre teams to Stanley Cup champions. The grueling four-round playoff format ensures that no Stanley Cup win can be considered a fluke, but that doesn’t mean these Cup runs were anything short of unexpected. Here are the most improbable Stanley Cup runs of all time. 

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#1 Los Angeles Kings, 2012

If you are ranking miracle runs in the NHL playoffs, the 2012 Los Angeles Kings are miles ahead of the rest. The Kings barely snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed and had the longest odds to win the Stanley Cup when the playoffs got underway. They had one of the worst offenses in hockey, they fired their coach in the middle of the season, and were long shots to beat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks, let alone go on a deep playoff run. 

None of that mattered. Los Angeles didn’t only win the Stanley Cup, they dominated as the eighth seed, posting an incredible 16-4 run en route to their parade. Jonathan Quick put together one of the most remarkable Stanley Cup runs in history, posting a 1.41 GAA and a .946 save percentage. As the eighth seed, Los Angeles needed to win on the road, and they did exactly that, posting a 10-1 road record. This wasn’t the case of an underdog scraping by with some lucky bounces; the Kings were dominant on the defensive end of the ice, and bullied their opponents en route to the most improbable Stanley Cup run of all-time. 

#2 Chicago Blackhawks, 1938

This one is from before you were born, but it just might be the craziest one on this list. Chicago made the playoffs with a 14-25-9 record, as six of the eight NHL teams made the postseason at that time. They had the worst record of a Stanley Cup champion, and it isn’t even close. The Blackhawks weren’t just bad; they were objectively terrible on both ends of the ice. Then, their starting goalie, Mike Karakas, got injured during the playoffs, forcing the team to sign a backup from a local amateur league just to dress a roster. Somehow, they managed to prevail, beating the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Americans, and the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the 1938 Stanley Cup. 

#3 St. Louis Blues, 2019

On January 3rd, 2019, the St. Louis Blues were dead last in the entire league, and were already calculating draft odds for the offseason. Jake Allen was struggling in goal, their locker room had serious fractures, and it looked to be another lost year for the Blues. 

Enter Jordan Binnington. The Canadian Olympic goalie has never put up stellar numbers in his career, but he has shown that he can deliver clutch moments when his team needs him most. That reputation was created on the back of this Cup run, as Binnington helped flip the script down the stretch. The Blues went on a tear to close out the year that included a franchise record 11-game win streak. It wasn’t the cleanest Cup run with a 16-10 record, but it was capped off by a stunning road upset against the Big Bad Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script for the Blues in 2019. 

#4 Montreal Canadiens, 1993

The Montreal Canadiens were the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, and it was far from an easy path for the Habs. Montreal entered the playoffs as a solid team with 102 points but was only the sixth-best team in the regular season. They then went on one of the most statistically improbable Stanley Cup runs. Montreal won an NHL-record 10 overtime games en route to the Cup. When the game ticked into sudden death, it felt as though Patrick Roy and the Habs were all but guaranteed to prevail. Roy was known for legendary playoff performances, and his 1993 Stanley Cup run solidified him as an all-time great. In the Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens came up against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings as huge underdogs. They lost game one, but then ripped off four straight wins, including three in overtime, to take the Cup north of the border. 

#5 New York Islanders, 1980

The New York Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983, but many people forget how dreadful this franchise was before that dominant streak. The Islanders were more known for playoff heartbreak than dominance, having just lost to their big brother, the New York Rangers, the year before, despite posting a stellar 51-15-14 record. They had never reached the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history and were used to getting repeatedly bullied by the physical Philadelphia Flyers. However, the 1980 season was when the Islanders finally broke through, with Mike Bossy leading the way. The Islanders went on to dominate the 1980s with three more Cups, but the entire landscape would have been very different if they hadn’t made this improbable run first. 

#6 Carolina Hurricanes, 2006

The Carolina Hurricanes had missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and were seen as long shots to win in 2006. They found themselves down 2-0 in the first round but then stormed back to string together four straight wins. Things weren’t going their way in the second round, either, and that was when they made the gutsy call to throw in rookie goaltender Cam Ward. He had played only 28 games at the time, but Ward instantly solidified the Hurricanes’ defense and would go on to be one of the most dominant playoff goalies of the modern-era. In a parity-driven salary cap landscape, the Hurricanes proved that guts, determination, and strong goaltending could turn any team into a champion overnight. 

#7 Montreal Canadiens, 2021

This one didn’t even feel real. While the Canadiens didn’t go on to win the Stanley Cup in 2021, they still put together what could be the most unlikely Stanley Cup playoff run. The shortened COVID-19 season allowed them to sneak into the playoffs in the North Division, but they suddenly found themselves trailing 3-1 to the top-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs. Carey Price then put on a clinic in the crease, allowing the Habs to storm back and advance to the second round. They then swept the Winnipeg Jets, edged out an incredibly stacked Golden Knights side, before eventually falling to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final. This one didn’t end in glory, but it felt irresponsible to leave it off the list. 

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