The New York Rangers' perfect postseason is no more.
The Presidents' Trophy winners suffered their first loss of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday night, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of their second-round series.
The Rangers started the postseason with seven straight wins, sweeping the Washington Capitals in Round 1 before jumping out to a 3-0 series lead over the Canes in the conference semifinals. New York tied a franchise record for best start to a postseason, becoming just the 12th team in NHL history to open the playoffs 7-0.
The Rangers ultimately fell short of matching the NHL records for best start to the playoffs and longest winning streak in a single postseason. But they could still make NHL history with their playoff record...
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Has a team ever swept the NHL playoffs?
Since the NHL playoffs moved to four best-of-seven rounds in 1987, no team has gone unbeaten en route to a Stanley Cup championship.
What's the record for wins to start the NHL playoffs?
The best start to a postseason came in 1985, when the Cup-winning Edmonton Oilers won nine straight.
The Detroit Red Wings in 1952 and the Montreal Canadiens in 1960 both started 8-0, but their streaks came to an end because, at the time, that was enough to earn them a championship. The St. Louis Blues also started 8-0 in the 1969 playoffs before being swept by Montreal in the Stanley Cup Final.
What's the longest winning streak in the NHL playoffs?
The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins both won a record 11 straight games during the 1992 playoffs. The two clubs met in the Stanley Cup Final, where Pittsburgh swept Chicago. The Canadiens also ripped off 11 straight playoff victories in 1993 during their title run.
The 1970 Cup-winning Boston Bruins are the only other team with a winning streak of at least 10 games in a single postseason.
The longest playoff winning streak overall, meanwhile, is owned by the Penguins, who won 14 straight postseason contests from 1992 to 1993.
What's the best NHL playoff record?
The Oilers own the best single-postseason record in modern NHL history. Wayne Gretzky and Co. captured the 1988 Cup in just 18 postseason games, with their 16-2 record being tops among champions since 1987. Edmonton's two losses came against the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round and the Red Wings in the conference final.
The Colorado Avalanche in 2022 became the fifth Cup winner to go 16-4 in a single postseason, joining the Canadiens in 1993, New Jersey Devils in 1995, Red Wings in 1997 and Los Angeles Kings in 2012. Those five champions are tied for the second-best postseason record since 1987 behind Edmonton.
