The Countdown: Each NHL Franchise's Best Offensive Playoff Performances

By Jared Clinton, features writer

Playing an eternal second fiddle in the franchise record books is a fate suffered by most players who suit up for the Edmonton Oilers. Such is life when skating in the seismic shadow of Wayne Gretzky.

Take Connor McDavid’s Conn Smythe-winning 42-point performance in the 2024 post-season, for instance. For this generation, it stands as the most remarkable feat of post-season output. But, statistically, it doesn’t match The Great One and his NHL record 47-point post-season in 1985.

But McDavid isn’t the only player whose modern spring heroics are eclipsed by a superstar from bygone days. Evgeni Malkin, too, understands the futility of chasing his particular franchise’s lore.

‘Geno’ has seen his highest highs fall short of those authored by Mario Lemieux. To wit, Malkin’s 36-point playoff in 2009 was then the seventh-best all-time and made him the first player in the post-lockout era to break 35 points in one post-season. Yet, like McDavid, you won’t find Malkin on our Countdown of best offensive playoff performances by franchise, as it fell well short of Lemieux’s mondo 44-point effort in 1991.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, our Countdown isn’t dominated by stars from yesteryear. Nearly half of NHL outfits have seen franchise-best playoff marks set in the past 20 years.

1. Edmonton Oilers

Wayne Gretzky (47 PTS, 1984-85)

In the most dominant playoff ever, Gretzky had more four-plus-point games (six) than games with one point or fewer.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins

Mario Lemieux (44 PTS, 1990-91)

He missed Game 3 of the final, but Lemieux had goals in his last 10 appearances, guiding Pens to their first Cup.

3. Los Angeles Kings

Wayne Gretzky (40 PTS, 1992-93)

No. 99 dashed the Cup hopes of three Canadian clubs before Montreal exacted revenge for its compatriots in the final.

4. New York Islanders

Mike Bossy (35 PTS, 1980-81)

Bryan Trottier had three consecutive 29-point playoffs. But Bossy’s 17-goal, 35-point output hasn’t been matched.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

Doug Gilmour (35 PTS, 1992-93)

Despite falling short of the final, Gilmour had a playoff-best 25 assists and finished 15 points clear of any teammate.

6. Colorado Avalanche

Joe Sakic (34 PTS, 1995-96)

His 18-goal, 34-point marks in 1996 are bests, but Sakic also led 2001 Cup-winning Avs in goals and points.

7. New York Rangers

Brian Leetch (34 PTS, 1993-94)

At the time, Leetch’s 11 goals made him only second ‘D’ with single-playoff double-digit tally total in NHL history.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning

Nikita Kucherov (34 PTS, 2019-20)

Does a healthy Brayden Point usurp Kucherov? Point finished one point back in two fewer games during ’20 Cup run.

9. Boston Bruins

Rick Middleton (33 PTS, 1982-83)

Middleton posted 100 career playoff points. His 1983 performance accounts for nearly one-third of that production.

10. Washington Capitals

Evgeny Kuznetsov (32 PTS, 2017-18)

Kuznetsov led all Caps scorers by five points and had playoff-topping output, but he lost Smythe to Alex Ovechkin.

11. Calgary Flames

Al Macinnis (31 PTS, 1988-89)

Four of MacInnis’ seven goals were winners for champion Flames, including deciders in Games 4 and 5 of final.

12. Vancouver Canucks

Pavel Bure (31 PTS, 1993-94)

Bure didn’t get a chance at an encore, really. He played only 15 playoff games across his final nine NHL seasons.

13. Philadelphia Flyers

Daniel Briere (30 PTS, 2009-10)

Briere leads a class of bridesmaids, as Philly’s top four single-playoff offensive performers each lost in the Cup final.

14. San Jose Sharks

Logan Couture (30 PTS, 2015-16)

Couture deserves credit for his post-season production. He led the 2016, 2018 and 2019 Sharks outfits in scoring.

15. Chicago Blackhawks

Denis Savard (29 PTS, 1984-85)

He was stopped by the Gretzky-led Oilers, but Savard was exceptional in 1985, scoring nearly two points per game.

16. Dallas Stars

Steve Payne (29 PTS, 1980-81)

Only three players in NHL history have more goals in one playoff than Payne, who stunned with 17 tallies in 1981.

17. Carolina Hurricanes

Eric Staal (28 PTS, 2005-06)

Staal’s sophomore season was his best. He paced Canes to Cup, led playoff scoring and finished fourth in Hart race.

18. Detroit Red Wings

Henrik Zetterberg (27 PTS, 2007-08)

Zetterberg put a point on his Conn Smythe-winning total with the game-winner that handed Wings the ’08 Cup.

19. Montreal Canadiens

Frank Mahovlich (27 PTS, 1970-71)

Forget passing ‘The Big M.’ No Canadien in past three decades cracks the top 15 on Habs’ single-year scoring list.

20. Vegas Golden Knights

Jack Eichel (26 PTS, 2022-23)

Small sample, but Eichel has plenty of competition. Five Knights have scored 20-plus points in one playoff campaign.

21. Florida Panthers

Matthew Tkachuk (24 PTS, 2022-23)

In 2023, Tkachuk tied then-record for OT goals in one playoff (three), including winner that saved Cats in Round 1.

22. New Jersey Devils

Patrik Elias (23 PTS, 2000-01)

Only fitting that Devils’ all-time leading scorer, Elias, has the franchise’s best single-season post-season output.

23. St. Louis Blues

Ryan O’Reilly (23 PTS, 2018-19)

Jordan Binnington’s emergence grabbed headlines, but Blues don’t win 2019 Cup without 200-foot dynamo O’Reilly.

24. Ottawa Senators

Daniel Alfredsson (22 PTS, 2006-07)

Alfredsson’s 14 goals during 2007 playoffs are most by any player 34 or older in one post-season in league history.

25. Buffalo Sabres

Gilbert Perreault (21 PTS, 1979-80)

The first truly great Sabre, Perreault pairs a franchise-leading point total with unmatched single-playoff heroics.

26. Winnipeg Jets

Blake Wheeler (21 PTS, 2017-18)

Wheeler is one of seven forwards in NHL history to notch 20-plus points in one playoff with three or fewer goals.

27. Anaheim Ducks

Ryan Getzlaf (20 PTS, 2014-15)

Getzlaf held or tied for scoring lead in nine of 11 post-seasons with Ducks, including 17 points in 2007 Cup run.

28. Minnesota Wild

Marian Gaborik (17 PTS, 2002-03)

In his – and Minnesota’s – first post-season, Gaborik powered the Cinderella Wild to the Western Conference final.

29. Nashville Predators

Filip Forsberg (16 PTS, 2017-18)

Forsberg hit 16 points in consecutive playoffs. In 2017, he did so in 22 games. In 2018, he reached the total in 13 games.

30. Seattle Kraken

Yanni Gourde (13 PTS, 2022-23)

Of Gourde’s 13 points, none was bigger than the OT-winner that gave Seattle a Game 1 victory in the second round.

31. Columbus Blue Jackets

Artemi Panarin (11 PTS, 2018-19)

Panarin helped power the biggest playoff upset ever, as the Jackets swept the Lightning in the opening round.

32. Utah Mammoth

N/A

Utah left Jets/Coyotes history behind in the move. Apologies to Dale Hawerchuk and his 13-point 1987 playoff.

This article appeared in our 2025 Champions issue. Our cover story focuses on the 2025 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, specifically the elite play of defenseman Seth Jones, along with a recap of each game of the Cup final. We also include features on Sharks center Will Smith and Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans. In addition, we give our list of the top 10 moments from the 2024-25 NHL season.

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