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7 NHL Stanley Cup Favorites Who Dramatically Collapsed

by Spencer Toth - 3/24/2026

Stanley Cup Favorites who collapsed Brad Marchand Boston Bruins

Everyone loves a good Cinderella story in the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, for one team to rise above expectations, another has to fall short. Stanley Cup favorites who looked poised to win the Cup don’t always reach their aspirations, and a season or two of failure can see the entire franchise get blown up. These teams looked as though they were ready to claim hockey’s ultimate prize, but what ended up happening couldn't have been further from the truth. Whether injuries, poor play, or bad puck luck were their demise, there is no denying that these Stanley Cup favorites represent some of the biggest disappointments in the league’s history. The playoffs are where dominant regular seasons go to die, and here are the biggest flops of all time.  

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#1 Boston Bruins (2022-23)

The Boston Bruins set NHL records for both wins (65) and points (135) during their historic 65-12-5 regular season in the 2022-23 season. David Pastrnak led the way with 61 goals and 113 points, while eight players, including two defensemen, finished with 50+ points on the season. The Bruins didn’t enter the season as favorites to win the Stanley Cup; in fact, they were far from that at +2800 odds. However, the Bruins' dominant regular season had them as the overwhelming favorite to lift the Stanley Cup, as they were as short as +300 before the first round. 

In the first round of the playoffs, Boston was expected to easily swat aside the Florida Panthers with -350 odds to reach the second round. The Panthers had only won a single playoff series in the last 18 years and squeaked into the playoffs as the eighth seed. Everything was going to plan when Boston took a 3-1 lead home for Game 5, before everything fell apart. The Bruins went on to lose three straight games, including a Game 7 overtime defeat at TD Garden to eliminate them from the playoffs. After setting NHL records for regular-season dominance, the Bruins being bounced in the first round felt like an impossibility. While they didn’t enter the season as a Stanley Cup favorite, their dominant regular season had the Bruins poised for a deep playoff run. That Game 7 defeat will never be forgotten, giving the Bruins the biggest playoff collapse of the modern era. 

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning (2018-19) 

Before the Bruins set the record with 65 wins, Tampa Bay held that record with 62 victories in the 2018-19 season. They opened the season as one of the favorites at +875 and shortened all the way to +230 before the playoffs began. To say the Lightning were Stanley Cup favorites would be an understatement, as it felt all but guaranteed this team would at the very least win the conference. They were fresh off three conference finals appearances in the last four years, and it appeared as though this was the best roster yet. Nikita Kucherov was starting to emerge as a real scoring threat with 128 points, while Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point scored 40+ goals and 90+ points each. Andrei Vasilevsky looked dominant with a .925 save percentage, as this team was firing on all cylinders. 

A first-round matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets looked like an easy win. The franchise had never won a playoff series before, going 5-16 across four previous appearances. Tampa Bay looked poised to win Game 1, taking an early three-goal lead at home. Then everything changed. The Blue Jackets made it 3-1 in the second period before storming back with three goals in a 6:09 span in the middle of the third to win 4-3. The Lightning then got dominated 5-1 in Game 2 before heading to Columbus, where the Presidents’ trophy winners got swept 4-0 by the lowly Blue Jackets. They became the first and only Presidents’ Trophy winners of the expansion era (since 1968) to get swept in the first round. 

#3 Washington Capitals (2009-10)

The Washington Capitals entered the 2009-10 season as the clear Stanley Cup favorite, led by eventual all-time NHL leading goal scorer Alexander Ovechkin. He scored 51 goals and 109 points alongside Nicklas Backstrom’s 101-point outburst, leading the Capitals to the top of the Eastern Conference. They had a dominant 121-point regular season, and previous playoff defeats felt like a distant memory after their best regular season of all time.  

In steps Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens. Halak wasn’t seen as one of the best goaltenders of his era, but he proved his worth against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals. He posted a .948 save percentage across the seven-game series, stonewalling the league’s most explosive offense time and time again. Washington took a 3-2 series lead in Game 5 despite Halak stopping 35 of 37 shots and only found the back of the net twice more in the series. Washington took 54 shots in Game 6, with Halak stopping 53 of them, but still went home for the winner-take-all Game 7. Halak posted a 41-save showing in the Capitals’ 2-1 defeat, eliminating Ovechkin and company for another playoff letdown. The term ‘getting goalied’ often gets thrown around in the NHL, but no team felt it more than the 2009-10 Washington Capitals.  

#4 Vancouver Canucks (2011-12)

The Vancouver Canucks entered the year as the Stanley Cup favorite after losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals the year before. The city rioted after that defeat, burning down the downtown core, but there was renewed optimism again by the time the 2011-12 season rolled around. Henrik and Daniel Sedin’s on-ice chemistry was ridiculous, and the Canucks went on to win the Presidents’ Trophy before drawing the Los Angeles Kings in round 1. They lost in five games, and the Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup from the 8th seed in the West. 

This collapse felt different than others, as the Canucks had gotten within one game of winning the Stanley Cup just one year before. It was no surprise to see Vancouver at the top of the standings, as they were stacked from top to bottom with one of the best goaltenders in the league in Roberto Luongo. None of that mattered when Jonathan Quick shut them down, as the Canucks quickly went from Stanley Cup favorites to afterthoughts overnight.

#5 Chicago Blackhawks (2016-17)
All good things eventually come to an end, but how the Blackhawks' dynasty finished was a shock to everyone. They had already won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015 during the Kane-Toews era and looked poised for another deep run in 2017. Their core was still intact with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on the blue line, while Corey Crawford was reliable in goal. They won the Western Conference with 109 regular-season points, their second-highest total in franchise history. 

Then they got swept. Chicago scored just three goals in the first three games against the Nashville Predators, as their dynamic offense fell flat at the worst possible time. Nashville wasn’t a bad side, but Chicago had just dominated the league for the last decade and once again found themselves as the top seed and Stanley Cup favorite heading into the playoffs. Nashville ended up going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that didn’t help soothe the sting from the Blackhawks' first-round exit. Chicago didn’t make the playoffs in the next two seasons and has only had one playoff berth since. 

#6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1992-93)

If you want a team that looked destined to be a dynasty, the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins are the perfect example. They had won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992 and came into the 1992-93 season as +400 favorites to make it three in a row. They entered the postseason with astonishing +100 odds, among the shortest of all time. They finished the season with 56 wins and 119 points and ripped off an NHL record 17 straight victories that still stands today. The Penguins made it to the second round, but a seven-game collapse against the New York Islanders is the kind that has gotten more dramatic with age. Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in the playoffs after setting an NHL-record win streak were never supposed to lose. This is one of the purest examples of a Stanley Cup favorite with previous playoff triumphs falling apart dramatically. 

#7 Montreal Canadiens (1947-48)
The Montreal Canadiens were fresh off their 1947 Stanley Cup victory and were expected to remain one of the NHL’s dominant teams. In an era with only six teams and much less parity than today, dynasties were the norm, and the reigning champions were almost always in the mix the following year. Instead, Montreal delivered one of the most shocking drop-offs in league history. 

Not only did the Canadiens fall short of winning as the Stanley Cup favorites, but they missed the playoffs entirely. This was unheard of for Montreal, as four of the six league’s franchises were granted a playoff berth each year. They had made the playoffs seven straight years before 1948 and made the playoffs each of the next 21 years after, including 12 Stanley Cup victories. It was not as if they lost talent; the Canadiens simply fell short game after game despite boasting the strongest roster in the league. Their swift drop-off, followed by a quick rise back to the top, makes the 1947-48 season the most dramatic year-long collapse the league has ever seen. 

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