The Stanley Cup is the trophy won by the NHL team who wins the whole playoff series. At the end of the regular season, the 8 best teams (2 from each conference) move on to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they play in a best-of-7 series to see who advances to the next round. Once a team wins 4 games against their opponent, they move on.
Some teams only need 4 games to move on, which is known as a sweep. Others battle it out until the seventh game. The Stanley Cup is the most anticipated part of the season. From October to April each team plays 82 games in hopes of having the best record to advance into the playoffs.
The Stanley Cup originates from Lord Stanley of Preston who, at the time, “planned to present to the ‘the champion hockey team in the Dominion of Canada’. It was to be a reminder of his time as Canada’s governor general”(Roarke)1. 125 years later, the Stanley Cup still exists and 31 teams battle each year for victory.
Follow this link here to see the list of every NHL team who has won the Stanley Cup since 1918!
Credit: Bruins-Flickr
Hall of Fame-Flickr
1 https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-has-incredible-125-years-of-history/c-287633638
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