Only One Series Tied at 2-2 in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs saw seven first round series go either 3-1 or 4-0 through the first four games, with only the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights tied at two. Three of the seven series had one team go up 3-0, whereas four series had one team up 2-1, with the leading team winning game four to go up 3-1. This rarely occurs, as it is usually expected that approximately half of the series in the opening round will be tied after four games.

Current state of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as of April 29, 2024

Since the first round expanded to a best-of-seven series in 1987, this is only the third time that one out of eight series is tied 2-2 after the fourth game, as we are still yet to see a playoff round where there are no series tied after game four. The other occurrences of only one even series after four games were in 2000 and 2018. In the 2000 post-season, the first round saw two sweeps and five series at 3-1, with one series resulting in a comeback win. In 2018, there were also two sweeps and five series at 3-1, however, there were no comeback series wins.

Number of series that are either 4-0, 3-1, or 2-2 after four games since the 2000 post-season. An average first round will see one sweep, four at 3-1, and three tied after four games.

With the Capitals and Lightning eliminated, and the Stars and Knights tied up, there are four elimination game fives tomorrow on Tuesday, April 30th. Although it is unlikely for any series leads to be blown, it wouldn’t surprise me if there is at least one series comeback.

If you enjoyed this article and are interested in more series length discussions, be sure to check out this recent article discussing the chances teams have to come back after being down 2-0, as well as this article that looks at the history of 3-0 series comebacks.