5 Highest-Scoring NHL Playoff Games in Stanley Cup History

This year's Stanley Cup matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightening and Colorado Avalanche has been a torrid affair with goals being scored left and right. It's unusual because, like in most other sports, players are usually gassed by the end of the postseason and the best defenses usually rise to the occasion. That is true in the larger sense; the NHL postseason is not prone to big scoring games because everybody on the ice is going 100 percent at all times and goals are tough to come by.

That doesn't mean such games disappear completely. Here are the highest-scoring NHL playoff games in Stanley Cup history.

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1982-- Los Angeles Kings 10, Edmonton Oilers 8

An absolute barnburner between these two franchises took place during the 1982 playoffs. Wayne Gretzky totaled four points for the Oilers while Daryl Evans and Dave Taylor had four each for Los Angeles. Only one of the 18 total goals was scored with an empty net, so it was just a waterfall of scoring for both sides.

1989-- Pittsburgh Penguins 10, Philadelphia Flyers 7

The Penguins took a pivotal Game 5 against the Flyers in the 1989 Patrick Division Finals thanks to a truly absurd performance by Mario Lemieux, who totaled five goals and three assists. The Flyers hung in there with four points coming from Tim Kerr, but it wasn't enough against an all-time great.

1987-- Edmonton Oilers 13, Los Angeles Kings 3

Yikes. This looks like the score of a sleepy 1pm divisional NFL matchup in Week 15 instead of an NHL playoff game. But it did, in fact, happen. Wayne Gretzky starred once again, notching six assists and one goal in a beatdown of epic proportions.

1990-- Los Angeles Kings 12, Calgary Flames 4

The Kings are on here a lot. Interesting. Anyway, they whooped Calgary back in 1990 with a true team effort. Tony Granato, Wayne Gretzky (not at all surprising he's featured heavily on a list like this) and Tomas Sandström totaled five points each.

1973-- Chicago Blackhawks 8, Montreal Canadiens 7

Another tight contest despite the high scoring numbers, this one came in a big moment. It was Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Chicago was down 3-1 in the series and managed to survive due to a four-point night from Stan Mikita. The Canadiens would go on to win the Cup in Game 6, but the Blackhawks made them work for it.

2022-- Calgary Flames 9, Edmonton Oilers 6

A modern entry! In Game 1 of the second round of this past playoffs, the Flames and Oilers either played great offense or awful defense, depending on your point of view. Superstar Connor McDavid had four points for Edmonton and four Flames players had three points each. Tremendous entertainment.