Schedule and 2004 Results
Regular Season Records: Tampa Bay 46-22-8-6=106pts, Calgary 42-30-7-3=94pts
Game 1 on Tuesday, 25 May: Calgary wins at Tampa Bay, 4-goals-1
Game 2 on Thursday, 27 May: Calgary loses at Tampa Bay, 4-goals-1
Game 3 on Saturday, 29 May: Tampa Bay loses at Calgary, 3-goals-nil
Game 4 on Monday, 31 May: Tampa Bay wins at Calgary, 1-goal-nil
Game 5 on Thursday, 03 Jun: Calgary wins at Tampa Bay, 3-goals-2 (OT)
Game 6 on Saturday, 05 Jun: Tampa Bay wins at Calgary, 3-goals-2 (2OT)
Game 7 on Monday, 07 Jun: Calgary loses at Tampa Bay, 2-goals-1

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 7: The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted and defeated the Calgary Flames 2-goals-1 in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920 Game 7 to win the 2004 NHL Stanley Cup Championship. Series 920 thus follows a LWLWLWW win order, becoming the first NHL Finals series, the seventh NHL series (all rounds), and the fifteenth MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to do so. With the series victory, Tampa Bay improves its best-of-7 series records to 5-2 (all rounds) and 1-0 (Finals round). With the series loss, Calgary sees its best-of-7 series records fall to 11-13 (all rounds) and 1-2 (Finals round).

After Game 6: Scoring 33 seconds into the second overtime period, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Flames in Calgary 3-goals-2 to win best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920 Game 6 and tie series 920 at 3-games-all. In NHL playoff series, the Calgary Flames have a 5-4 Game 7 record with a current three-game winning streak, while the Tampa Bay Lightning have a 1-0 record (courtesy of their series 918 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2004 NHL Semifinals [Eastern Conference Finals]). In the history of completed best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2004 NHL Semifinals, home teams have a Game 7 record (all rounds) of 72-43 (.626) and a Game 7 record (Finals round) of 10-2 (.833) with an active four-series winning streak. In NHL Finals Game 7 play, the last favorable precedent set for the Calgary Flames - in terms of the road team winning - was by the 1971 Montreal Canadiens, in series 238 vs. the Blackhawks in Chicago. That series 920 Game 6 was tied after the second, third, and fourth periods could not have been comforting in a historical sense for the host Calgary Flames: In the history of Game 6 of the NHL Finals from 1939 through 2003, home teams tied after those three periods had game records of 2-7, 1-6, and 0-2.

After Game 5: With best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920 Game 5 in south Florida, the host Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Calgary Flames 3-goals-2 on a goal by Calgary 14:40 into the first overtime period. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the Calgary Flames have an 8-2 series record (with an active 3-series winning streak) and a 3-7 Game 6 record (with an active two-Game 6 winning streak). When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a 0-1 series record and a 0-1 Game 6 record. Calgary led series 920 Game 5 by one goal after two periods: In best-of-7 NHL Finals Game 5 history from 1939 through 2003, road teams leading by one goal after two periods had a 4-0 game record (which is 5-0 after 2004).

After Game 4: The Tampa Bay Lightning visited and defeated the Calgary Flames 1-goal-nil in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920 Game 4. Series 920 is now tied 2-games-all. When tied 2-games-all in best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Calgary Flames have a 7-2 series record (with an active three-series winning streak) and an 8-1 Game 5 record (with an active four-Game 5 winning streak), while the Tampa Bay Lightning have a 2-1 series record and a 2-1 Game 5 record. In the history of best-of-7 NHL Finals series from 1939 through 2003, when a team is tied 2-games-all at a site order of HHVV (as Tampa Bay is through four games of series 920), its series record is 14-2 (with the only two series losses sustained by the 1967 Montreal Canadiens [to the Toronto Maple Leafs] and the 1971 Chicago Blackhawks [to the Montreal Canadiens]). Thus, the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1971 Montreal Canadiens set favorable precedents for the 2004 Calgary Flames. Through four games of series 920, the win/site order is LWLW @ HHVV for the team with home-ice advantage: Only once before in a best-of-7 NHL Finals series was the win/site order LWLW @ HHVV through four games - in 1991, the Pittsburgh Penguins went LWLW @ HHVV against the Minnesota North Stars through the first four games; those 1991 Penguins 1) won Games 5-6 to win the 1991 NHL Finals, and 2) thus set a favorable precedent for the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning.

After Game 3: In the first NHL Finals game on Canadian ice in ten years, the Calgary Flames hosted and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-goals-nil to win best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920 Game 3. Calgary thus takes a 2-games-1 series 920 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Calgary Flames have a series record of 8-2 and a Game 4 record of 4-6. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a series record of 1-1 and a Game 4 record of 1-1. Each of the three games in series 920 has ended with a three-goal victory margin; series 920 is the sixth best-of-7 NHL playoff series in which this has happened. Only once in best-of-7 NHL playoff history has a team posted a win order of LWL through three games but won an NHL Finals series: In series 590 (the 1991 NHL Finals), the Pittsburgh Penguins did so against the Minnesota North Stars, but won Games 4-6 to win the 1991 Stanley Cup Championship. Since Pittsburgh in series 590 also had home-ice advantage, those 1991 Penguins in series 590 offer a favorable precedent for the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning in series 920.

After Game 2: Perfectly reversing the outcome from Game 1 of best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920, the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted and defeated the Calgary Flames 4-goals-1 in series 920 Game 2. Series 920 is thus tied at 1-game-all. When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a 2-1 series record and a 3-0 Game 3 record, while the Calgary Flames have an 8-7 series record and an 8-7 Game 3 record. Series 920 is the fourth best-of-7 NHL Finals series in which the participating teams split Games 1-2 by identical final scores; the previous such NHL Finals series were in 1951, 1954, and 1974. In best-of-7 NHL Finals series, teams splitting Games 1-2 on home ice (as Tampa Bay has done in 2004) are on an active eight-series winning streak. The team that started this series-winning streak: the 1989 Calgary Flames; the last team to split Games 1-2 at home in the NHL Finals and lose the series: the 1986 Calgary Flames.

After Game 1: The Calgary Flames visited and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-goals-1 in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 920 Game 1. Calgary thus takes a 1-game-nil in series 920 - the 2004 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. When leading an NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1-game-nil, the Calgary Flames have a 7-1 series record (with an active six-series winning streak) and a 3-5 Game 2 record. When trailing an NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1-game-nil, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a 1-2 series record and a 1-2 Game 2 record. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2004 NHL Semifinals, when a team wins 4-goals-1 in Game 1 on the road, its series record is 8-4; one of those eight winners was the Calgary Flames in series 462 (a 1986 NHL Quarterfinals WLWLWLW victory over the Edmonton Oilers).

Pre-series assessment: In the 2003-04 regular season, Tampa Bay finished 12 points ahead of Calgary. From 1939 through the 2004 NHL Semifinals, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by 12 regular-season points, they have posted a 7-9 (.438) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 920 is the 24th best-of-7 playoff series for Calgary, and the seventh for Tampa Bay. In best-of-7 playoff series, Calgary has a 11-12 series record, a 1-1 Finals-round series record, and an 8-15 Game 1 record, while Tampa Bay has a 4-2 series record, a 0-0 Finals-round record, and a 3-3 Game 1 record with an active 3-Game 1 winning streak. Series 920 is the first best-of-7 meeting between Calgary and Tampa Bay.