Panthers Blowout Oilers: What are the Most One-Sided Stanley Cup Finals Victories in Recent History?

Fri, Jun 13, 2025
by CapperTek


The 2025 NHL season has reached its business end, and the Stanley Cup Finals have taken center stage. This year, fans were treated to a showpiece series rematch as the Florida Panthers met the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year. And just like in 2024, it's the Cats that have seized the initiative.

 

Last year, the Panthers raced into a 3-0 series lead before being clawed back to three games all. They held their nerve to eventually triumph in seven, but if Game 3 of this year's series is anything to go by, the 2025 spectacle could be a far more one-sided showdown. The two teams headed back to Amarent Bank Arena with the series tied at 1-1 after two consecutive games at Rogers Place, but on home turf, Florida flexed its muscles and proved exactly why it is the reigning champion.

Panthers Take Control of the Finals

In front of a raucous home crowd in Sunrise, the champs dismantled Connor McDavid and Co. in a one-sided 6-1 thrashing to take control of the Stanley Cup finals. Brad Marchand proved that he is still elite, even at the age of 37, becoming the oldest player in history to score in the first three games of the finals series. Sam Bennett also added to his postseason aura, bagging a league-leading 14th playoff goal to help his side to a dominant victory.

 

 

For the Oilers, Game 3 was an absolute nightmare. Netminder Stuart Skinner was pulled after allowing five goals in 23 shots, and his disastrous evening epitomized his side's woes. Edmonton accrued a whopping 85 penalty minutes in a disjointed display, including a late-game brawl that laid bare their frustration. Now, they are tasked with somehow finding a way to turn the series around if they wish to remain competitive, not just this year but next year too.

 

Online NHL betting sites now make the 2024 champs the odds-on favorites to successfully defend their crown. But not only that, those same online NHL betting odds providers have slashed odds on Florida winning the title next year down to +700, narrowly behind the +650 priced Oilers.

 

Much of that price shortening has come from their resounding drubbing in Game 3 of this year's Finals, but lopsided Stanley Cup games aren't a new thing. Here are the most resounding victories from recent years.

Colorado Avalanche 7-0 Tampa Bay Lightning 

Three years ago, the Colorado Avalanche were offensive behemoths, but they were still the underdogs. They were up against a Tampa Bay Lightning side that had romped to Stanley Cup glory in each of the two previous campaigns and was on the hunt to complete the first threepeat in almost four decades. Their hopes were dashed somewhat in Game 1 as they were beaten in Denver after an overtime thriller, but it was Game 2 that showed just how difficult their trifecta bid would be.

 

Despite onlookers anticipating another close contest, the Avalanche blitzed the defending back-to-back champions with a relentless attack to secure a dominating 7-0 victory. Their triumph was the joint-second biggest finals margin of victory of all time and the biggest since the Pittsburgh Penguins triumphed 8-0 over the Minnesota North Stars back in 1991.

 

Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar were the stars of the show, both helping them to braces in a brutal display that the Lightning simply had no answer for. Defensively, Colorado smothered the reigning champions, allowing just 16 shots on goal as opposed to their 30. And the result set the tone for the rest of the series, with the Avalanche securing a 4-2 series victory to end the Lightning's reign and claim the Stanley Cup for the first time in 26 years.

Boston Bruins 8-1 Vancouver Canucks 

Back in 2011, the Boston Bruins were huge underdogs to secure the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972 as they came up against the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks. And it looked as though the betting odds were bang on the money as the Canadian outfit raced into a 2-0 series lead with back-to-back victories on home turf. However, Game 3 would change everything.

 

With the Beantown side knowing they needed a win if they were to make the Finals competitive, the hosts absolutely ransacked the Presidents' Trophy winners in a fiery display. Current Panthers man Brad Marchand led the Bruins' offensive explosion with a goal and two assists, while David Krejci helped himself to a further two points. But unlike previous one-sided games, Boston wouldn't have it all their own way, with netminder Tim Thomas stopping 40 of 41 shots to help his side to a thumping 8-1 victory.

 

The result galvanized the Bruins while Vancouver never recovered. They managed to tie things up at two games apiece, and while the Canucks did manage to win Game Five, the TD Garden outfit won Games 6 and 7 to claim the title and ensure that the President's Trophy curse continued.