Daily Faceoff is a news site with no direct affiliation to the NHL, or NHLPA

Ranking Vegas’ win over Colorado among the most shocking NHL series sweeps ever

Mike Gould
Mike Gould
May 28, 2026, 15:14 EDTUpdated: May 28, 2026, 15:26 EDT
Ranking Vegas’ win over Colorado among the most shocking NHL series sweeps ever
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Vegas Golden Knights stunned the hockey world on Tuesday by closing out the Colorado Avalanche in the minimum of four games to advance to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

The shocking sweep sent the overwhelming Cup favorites packing in a manner that absolutely nobody expected. The Avalanche were the near-unanimous pick among hockey fans and media, both at Daily Faceoff and elsewhere, to win the Western Conference. Most folks had them winning it all.

The Avs also seemed to have a ton of momentum entering the West Final, which made their unceremonious exit all the more astounding. They swept the L.A. Kings in Round 1, as everyone expected, before taking just five games to vanquish a very good Minnesota Wild team … only to lose to Vegas in four straight.

None of this is to diminish what Vegas has accomplished this season. They won the Pacific Division, “pillow fight” and all, and their late-season coaching change seems to have galvanized them in these playoffs. The Avs might be the best team on paper, but they’d also been dealing with injuries to Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, and it’d be difficult for anyone to go up against a team with as many players riding thermonuclear-level hot streaks as Vegas has. And it’s certainly not as though Vegas is the same ragtag group of Golden Misfits that battled its way to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 — after all, they now have Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone.

Still, it’s a major upset, and it’ll be fascinating to see if Vegas can ride this wave all the way to a second Stanley Cup championship this spring. Until then, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the other shocking upsets in the last quarter-century of NHL history to see how they compare to Vegas’ big win, and if there’s anything they can teach us about the Golden Knights’ chances against the Carolina Hurricanes or Montreal Canadiens. Along the way, we’ll be handing out Shock Ratings for each series, starting with the one we just witnessed.

Vegas over Colorado, 2026 Western Conference Final

The skinny: After beating the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks in six games in the first two rounds, Vegas went up against a Colorado team that required just nine total games to win its first two series. As we’ve established, nobody really expected this series to go Vegas’ way — if anything, most people wouldn’t have been surprised to see Colorado win in a sweep.

The result: Vegas won in a sweep. Surprise!

What happens next: We’ll see! The Knights will go up against Montreal or Carolina for the Cup. In all likelihood, it’ll end up being the Hurricanes, who currently lead Montreal three games to one in the Eastern Conference Final.

Shock Rating: 8.5/10. This one was really something. Even factoring in the injuries to MacKinnon and Makar, nobody really expected to see Vegas win in this decisive a fashion. And considering the way the Avalanche lost, it’s starting to feel like big changes might be on the horizon for this group. Is coach Jared Bednar’s job safe? Will Makar leave as a free agent next summer? These questions would not be as prominent as they now are if Colorado had put up more of a fight.

OK, there’s the template. Now, let’s apply it to some of the most memorable sweeps of the 21st century, starting with a major upset from three springs ago.

Florida over Carolina, 2023 Eastern Conference Final

The skinny: The Florida Panthers‘ run in 2023 needs to be contextualized — a lot — because it’s easy to forget how crazy it was at the time now that they’ve won a pair of championships in the years since. The Panthers had just pulled off the Matthew Tkachuk trade the previous summer, but they’d stumbled out of the gate and looked to be at risk of missing the playoffs entirely before goaltender Alex Lyon led them on a late-season surge to the second Wildcard spot. Then, they shocked the 135-point Boston Bruins in Round 1, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to win a classic Game 7 in overtime. After that, they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2 — much less shocking — to set up a meeting with the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

The result: The Hurricanes had made quick work of the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils in the first two rounds, but this was back when they were downright allergic to winning games in the Conference Finals (an affliction they only just now seem to have shaken). The Panthers beat them in quadruple-OT in Game 1 and never looked back from there.

What happened next: Florida advanced to face Vegas, which proved to be just too much for the Panthers to handle. The Golden Knights took a stranglehold on the series by winning the first two games at home and ultimately prevailed in five.

Shock Rating: 6.5/10. Everything about Florida’s 2022-23 season was shocking, and their win over Boston might’ve been a 10/10. But by the time they made it to the Carolina, they’d already cultivated a reputation as giant-killers, and it’d become clear that Tkachuk’s arrival made them a different kind of force to be reckoned with, as we saw over their next two playoff runs. And it also goes to show what a new coach can do for a team: this was Paul Maurice’s first year behind the bench in Florida.

Nashville over Chicago, 2017 Round 1

The skinny: The Chicago Blackhawks finished a full 15 points ahead of the Nashville Predators in the 2016-17 Central Division standings, with Nashville finishing just behind the Calgary Flames for the second Wildcard spot. The Flames went up against the Pacific-winning Ducks, who rolled them over in just four games. Meanwhile, the Predators’ reward for making the playoffs for the 9th time in 12 seasons was to face Chicago, which had just won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015, including wins over Nashville in the first round in two of those championship runs.

The result: This was the series that prompted the immortal Reddit post, “Should the NHL have the Hawks and Preds redo their series in case it was a big fluke?” Pekka Rinne pitched back-to-back shutouts at the United Center to start the series; he made 30 saves and even scored a pair of assists in Nashville’s 5-0 win in Game 2. Then, after an overtime win in Game 3, Roman Josi scored twice in Game 4 as the Preds completed the sweep.

What happened next: Nashville went on its first and only run to the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the St. Louis Blues in Round 2 and the Ducks in the West Final before falling to old friend Patric Hornqvist and his Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the championship series.

Shock Rating: 8/10. This was definitely a surprise, although there was a decent case to be made at the time that the Blackhawks weren’t as good as their record suggested. Meanwhile, the Preds had been something of a sexy underdog pick entering those playoffs, and for good reason — they had stars and depth at every position, as well as a red-hot future Vezina Trophy winner between the pipes. But really, more than anything, the Hawks just seemed to be caught flat-footed. What made Vegas’ win over Colorado such a shock was that the Avs had already had two rounds to generate a ton of momentum. But in 2017, Chicago started things on the wrong foot and simply never recovered.

Anaheim over Detroit, 2003 Round 1

The skinny: You’ve undoubtedly heard plenty of stories about the Detroit Red Wings of the late 1990s and early 2000s, what with their countless Hall of Famers on and off the ice. After a shocking sweep at the hands of New Jersey in the 1995 Final they won the Stanley Cup with sweeps of their own in 1997 and 1998, and captured a third championship in 2002 that served as the final hurrah for Scotty Bowman as an NHL head coach. But even with Dave Lewis behind the bench in 2002-03, the Red Wings put together a 110-point season and seemed primed to make more even noise in the playoffs. Their first obstacle: a Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team led by another first-year head coach named Mike Babcock.

The result: Well, you’ve probably also heard a few stories about J-S Giguere’s playoff heroics in 2003. It all started in Detroit, where he kicked things off with a 63-save, triple-overtime win in Game 1. The Red Wings scored just six times in the four games against Anaheim, with Giguere holding the likes of Brett Hull, Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios, and Igor Larionov to a combined total of zero goals. Detroit became only the second defending champion to be swept in the first round the following year, following — you guessed it — the Maple Leafs in 1952.

What happened next: Giguere remained hotter than hot for the rest of the playoffs, helping the Ducks get past the Dallas Stars in Round 2 before orchestrating another sweep in the West Final, allowing just one goal in four games against the Minnesota Wild. In the end, the Ducks fell just short of ultimate glory in the Stanley Cup Final, losing to New Jersey in seven games — but not before Paul Kariya’s immortal “off the floor, on the board” moment.

Shock Rating: 9/10. Much like the 2017 Blackhawks, the 2003 Red Wings never managed to get into gear against the Ducks. But while that Chicago team was already on the cusp of a major decline, the Red Wings were still very much in their prime. Just five years later, with Babcock on their bench, they won another championship. But Anaheim wasn’t just a one-year wonder; in 2007, the no-longer-“Mighty” Ducks, without Kariya but still with Giguere, won their first and only Stanley Cup to date.

Los Angeles over St. Louis, 2012 Round 2

The skinny: The 2012 Kings just barely made the playoffs, but they certainly looked like a different team after GM Dean Lombardi pulled the trigger on a coaching change midway through the season. In came Darryl Sutter to replace Terry Murray, and the Kings put together a 10-4-1 March to surpass the Flames and Stars for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. From there, they pulled off a crazy upset over the Presidents’ Trophy winners and defending Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks, eliminating them in just five games, setting the stage for a meeting with the Central Division champion St. Louis Blues in the second round.

The result: The Blues, backstopped by Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott, had won the William M. Jennings Trophy by allowing a league-low 165 goals during the regular season, but the Kings, led by Jonathan Quick, beat them at their own game in the playoffs. L.A. outscored the Blues 15-6 over four games to win via a series sweep for the first time in franchise history.

What happened next: The Kings proceeded to the West Final, where they beat the Phoenix Coyotes in five games. In the process, they became only the second team in the NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final after beating the first, second, and third seeds in their conference, with the first being the 2004 Flames — also coached by Sutter. After that, the Kings beat the Devils in six games for L.A.’s first-ever championship.

Shock Rating: 8/10. Everybody recognized that the Kings had the core pieces they needed to become a juggernaut: Anze Kopitar at center, Drew Doughty on defense and Quick in goal. Still, until Sutter arrived, they didn’t look to be anywhere close to putting it all together. Something about those midseason coaching changes, eh?

Columbus over Tampa Bay, 2019 Round 1

The skinny: After deciding to keep pending UFAs Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky at the 2019 Trade Deadline, the Columbus Blue Jackets made the playoffs by just two points. They’d never won a playoff series in their history, although they’d reached the postseason the previous two years under a veteran head coach by the name of John Tortorella. In both 2017 and 2018, Columbus had lost in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, and it seemed like that might be their destiny once again in 2019 when it became clear they’d be going up against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning.

The result: Four games, four Columbus wins, and this tweet:

What happened next: Led by GM Jarmo Kekalainen, the Blue Jackets had decided to go all-in around Panarin and Bobrovsky, even knowing that they might leave for nothing that summer. They pulled off trades for Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel at the deadline with the belief that it was their year to make some noise. But the win over Tampa Bay was all the noise they made; Boston beat Columbus in six games in Round 2.

Shock Rating: 10/10. The Bolts were right there. It was supposed to be their year, and instead, they didn’t win a single playoff game. Sure, like the 2017 Blackhawks, maybe the 2019 Lightning just got caught flat-footed — but to lose in that fashion against Columbus? To this day, this sweep remains the only playoff series win in Blue Jackets history (not counting their win in the 2020 COVID qualifiers over Toronto). Meanwhile, the Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, and if not for those pesky Blue Jackets, they might’ve had a chance at the only three-peat in the salary cap era. We’ll never know. Thanks, Torts!

_____

POST SPONSORED BY bet365

_____

Recently by Mike Gould

MORE FACEOFF.IN YOUR INBOX.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER