When a team wins the first four games of a playoff series they are said to have swept the series and their opponent. When the victor does so NEVER trailing in any of the four games, they have completed the rare feat of a PERFECT sweep.Of the 756 best-of-seven NHL Stanley Cup playoff series played through 2023, 128 (17%) have resulted in a sweep. Only 19 of those 756 series (2.5%), however, ended in a perfect sweep or annihilation.
The chart below describes every such perfect sweep (or annihilation, if you prefer), showing the playoff year, matchup and round of the rarity.
| Year | Matchup | Round |
| 1946 | Montreal over Chicago | Semifinal |
| 1952 | Detroit over Montreal | Final |
| 1954 | Montreal over Boston | Semifinal |
| 1960 | Montreal over Chicago | Semifinal |
| Montreal over Toronto | Final | |
| 1969 | Boston over Toronto | Quarterfinal |
| St. Louis over Philadelphia | Quarterfinal | |
| 1977 | Montreal over St. Louis | Quarterfinal |
| 1978 | Montreal over Toronto | Semifinal |
| 1979 | New York* over Chicago | Quarterfinal |
| 1987 | Detroit over Chicago | Preliminary |
| 1989 | Pittsburgh over New York** | Preliminary |
| 1992 | Chicago over Detroit | Quarterfinal |
| 1995 | Detroit over San Jose | Quarterfinal |
| 2000 | Detroit over Los Angeles | Preliminary |
| 2009 | Detroit over Columbus | Preliminary |
| 2013 | Boston over Pittsburgh | Semifinal |
| 2015 | Chicago over Minnesota | Quarterfinal |
| 2021 | Montreal over Winnipeg | Quarterfinal |
* New York Islanders
** New York Rangers
The Montreal Canadiens lead the league with seven perfect sweeps and are the only team to do it twice in a single postseason. That happened in 1960 when Montreal annihilated both the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs en route to their fifth straight Stanley Cup championship. Chicago, on the other hand, owns the honor of being on the losing end of a perfect sweep four times, leading all teams in this category.
Breaking it down by round, the most annihilations have happened in the Quarterfinal (8), followed by the Semifinal (5), Preliminary (4) and Final (2). The last team to be so swept in the Cup Final was the Toronto Maple Leafs 63 years ago, adding to their dreary postseason history.
The sole sweep of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs saw the Carolina Hurricanes twice lead the Florida Panthers in a tightly contested series resulting in 5 overtime frames, thus avoiding this historic list.
Beware of the brooms. But avoid annihilation at all costs.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Sweeps.
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