List of NHL franchise post-season appearance streaks

These are lists of active and all-time National Hockey League (NHL) franchise post-season appearance, post-season series win, Stanley Cup Final and Stanley Cup streaks up to and including the 2017–18 NHL season and subsequent 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. These lists do not include the canceled 2004–05 NHL season.

Longest active streaks

Post-season appearance streaks

A post-season appearance streak is continued by making the NHL playoffs in consecutive years after the regular season. Since the first round of the playoffs consists of 8 series, there will always be 16 teams in this list (of the 31 teams in the NHL). 

 Team Post-season streak Last missed post-season Stanley Cup Championships during streak Pittsburgh Penguins  0 13 seasons  2005–06  3 : 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17 Nashville Predators  5 seasons  2013–14  Washington Capitals  5 seasons  2013–14  1 : 2017–18 San Jose Sharks  4 seasons  2014–15  Boston Bruins  3 seasons  2015–16  Columbus Blue Jackets  3 seasons  2015–16  Toronto Maple Leafs  3 seasons  2015–16  Colorado Avalanche  2 seasons  2016–17  Tampa Bay Lightning  2 seasons  2016–17  Vegas Golden Knights  2 seasons  never (inception of franchise in 2017–18)  Winnipeg Jets  2 seasons  2016–17  Calgary Flames  1 season  2017–18  Carolina Hurricanes  1 season  2017–18  Dallas Stars  1 season  2017–18  New York Islanders  1 season  2017–18  St. Louis Blues  1 season  2017–18  1 : 2018–19

Post-season series win streaks

This is a list of teams that have active post-season series win streaks. A post-season series win streak is continued by making the post-season and winning at least the first round series of the playoffs. Since the first round of the playoffs consists of 16 teams in 8 series, there will always be 8 teams in this list, the winners of those series.

 Team Post-season series win streak Boston Bruins  2 seasons San Jose Sharks  2 seasons Carolina Hurricanes  1 season Colorado Avalanche  1 season Columbus Blue Jackets  1 season Dallas Stars  1 season New York Islanders  1 season St. Louis Blues  1 season

Longest all-time streaks

Post-season appearance streaks

This section has been updated to include teams who appeared in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.

 Team Post-season streak Consecutive post-season appearances Stanley Cup Championships during streak Boston Bruins  29 seasons1  1967–68 through to 1995–96  2 : 1969–70, 1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks2  28 seasons  1969–70 through to 1996–97  none St. Louis Blues  25 seasons 1979–80 through to 2003–04  none Detroit Red Wings  25 seasons7  1990–91 through to 2015–16  4 : 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08 Montreal Canadiens  24 seasons3  1970–71 through to 1993–94  8 : 1970–71, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1992–93 Montreal Canadiens  21 seasons3  1948–49 through to 1968–69  10 : 1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69 Detroit Red Wings  20 seasons  1938–39 through to 1957–58  5 : 1942–43, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55 Philadelphia Flyers  17 seasons  1972–73 through to 1988–89  2 : 1973–74, 1974–75 Atlanta Flames/Calgary Flames  16 seasons4  1975–76 through to 1990–91  1 : 1988–89 Toronto Maple Leafs  15 seasons  1930–31 through to 1944–45  3 : 1931–32, 1941–42, 1944–45 New York Islanders  14 seasons  1974–75 through to 1987–88  4 : 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83 Washington Capitals  14 seasons  1982–83 through to 1995–96  none Edmonton Oilers  13 seasons  1979–805 through to 1991–92  5 : 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90 New Jersey Devils  13 seasons7  1996–97 through to 2009–10  2 : 1999–2000, 2002–03 Pittsburgh Penguins  12 seasons  2006–07 to present  3 : 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016-17  Buffalo Sabres  11 seasons  1974–75 through to 1984–85  none Pittsburgh Penguins  11 seasons  1990–91 through to 2000–01  2 : 1990–91, 1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers  11 seasons7  1994–95 through to 2005–06  none Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche  11 seasons6, 7  1994–95 through to 2005–06  2 : 1995–96, 2000–01 Ottawa Senators  11 seasons7  1996–97 through to 2007–08  none Chicago Black Hawks  10 seasons  1958–59 through to 1967–68  1 : 1960–61 New York Rangers  10 seasons  1977–78 through to 1986–87  none San Jose Sharks  10 seasons7  2003–04 through to 2013–14  none
1 The Bruins' 29 consecutive is the second longest post-season streak in North American major professional sports history, and the longest of the "Big 4".  This compares to the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos 34 consecutive, the NBA's Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers 22 consecutive, the MLB's Atlanta Braves 14 consecutive, the MLS' LA Galaxy 10 consecutive, and the NFL's 9 consecutive shared by two teams.
2 The nickname of the Chicago team was the "Black Hawks" for the majority of the streak – 17 of the 28 seasons. They were renamed the "Blackhawks" in 1986.
3 The Montreal Canadiens only missed the playoffs once – by a tie-breaker – in the 46 seasons from 1948–49 to 1993–94. In the 1969–70 season, they tied for fourth and last playoff spot with the New York Rangers, but were eliminated on total goals scored tiebreak (they scored 244 goals to New York's 246).
4 Includes 5 seasons as the Atlanta Flames (1975–76 through 1979–80), and 11 seasons as the Calgary Flames (1980–81 through 1990–91)
5 The Edmonton Oilers streak is the longest run from the NHL debut of a franchise, starting from the first year they were in the NHL (1979–80); although they aren't included in the NHL streak, they also made the WHA playoffs the preceding 4 seasons (1975–76 through 1978–79), for a streak of 17 consecutive playoff appearances in major professional hockey.
6 Includes 1 season as the Quebec Nordiques (1994–95), and 10 seasons as the Colorado Avalanche (1995–96 through 2005–06)
7 No post season occurred in 2005 due to the season long NHL lockout.

Post-season series win streaks
Consecutive seasons with at least one series victory.

 Team Post-season win streak Consecutive post-season wins Stanley Cup Championships during streak Montreal Canadiens  10 seasons  1950–51 through to 1959–60  6 : 1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens  10 seasons  1983–84 through to 1992–93  2 : 1985–86, 1992–93 Philadelphia Flyers  09 seasons  1972–73 through to 1980–81  2 : 1973–74, 1974–75 New York Islanders  07 seasons  1978–79 through to 1984–85  4 : 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83 Chicago Black Hawks  06 seasons  1969–70 through to 1974–75  none Montreal Canadiens  06 seasons  1974–75 through to 1979–80  4 : 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79 Edmonton Oilers  06 seasons  1982–83 through to 1987–88  4 : 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88 Detroit Red Wings  06 seasons  1994–95 through to 1999–2000  2 : 1996–97, 1997–98 Montreal Canadiens  05 seasons  1964–65 through to 1968–69  4 : 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs  05 seasons  1974–75 through to 1978–79  none Boston Bruins  05 seasons  1975–76 through to 1979–80  none New York Rangers  05 seasons  1978–79 through to 1982–83  none Boston Bruins  05 seasons  1987–88 through to 1991–92  none Detroit Red Wings  05 seasons  2006–07 through to 2010–11   1 : 2007–08

Stanley Cup Final appearance streaks

 Team Stanley Cup Final appearance streak Consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances Stanley Cup Championships during streak Montreal Canadiens  10 seasons  1950–51 through to 1959–60  6 : 1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens  05 seasons  1964–65 through to 1968–69  4 : 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69 New York Islanders  05 seasons  1979–80 through to 1983–84  4 : 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83 Montreal Canadiens  04 seasons  1975–76 through to 1978–79  4 : 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs  03 seasons  1937–38 through to 1939–40  none Detroit Red Wings  03 seasons  1940–41 through to 1942–43  1 : 1942–43 Toronto Maple Leafs  03 seasons  1946–47 through to 1948–49  3 : 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49 Detroit Red Wings  03 seasons  1947–48 through to 1949–50  1 : 1949–50 Detroit Red Wings  03 seasons  1953–54 through to 1955–56  2 : 1953–54, 1954–55 Toronto Maple Leafs  03 seasons  1961–62 through to 1963–64  3 : 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64 St. Louis Blues  03 seasons 1967–68 through to 1969–70  none Philadelphia Flyers  03 seasons  1973–74 through to 1975–76  2 : 1973–74, 1974–75 Edmonton Oilers  03 seasons  1982–83 through to 1984–85  2 : 1983–84, 1984–85

Stanley Cup win streaks

 Team Stanley Cupwin streak Consecutive Stanley Cup wins Montreal Canadiens  5 seasons  1955–56 through to 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens  4 seasons  1975–76 through to 1978–79 New York Islanders  4 seasons  1979–80 through to 1982–83 Toronto Maple Leafs  3 seasons  1946–47 through to 1948–49 Toronto Maple Leafs  3 seasons  1961–62 through to 1963–64 Ottawa Senators1  2 seasons  1919–20, 1920–21 Montreal Canadiens  2 seasons  1929–30, 1930–31 Detroit Red Wings  2 seasons  1935–36, 1936–37 Detroit Red Wings  2 seasons  1953–54, 1954–55 Montreal Canadiens  2 seasons  1964–65, 1965–66 Montreal Canadiens  2 seasons  1967–68, 1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers  2 seasons  1973–74, 1974–75 Edmonton Oilers  2 seasons  1983–84, 1984–85 Edmonton Oilers  2 seasons  1986–87, 1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins  2 seasons  1990–91, 1991–92 Detroit Red Wings  2 seasons  1996–97, 1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins  2 seasons  2015–16, 2016-17

1 Not the current Ottawa franchise. This franchise, an original member of the NHL, folded following the 1934–35 NHL season after playing one year as the St. Louis Eagles.

References

Franchise post-season appearance streaks