DBWI: Could Montreal have won the 1993 Stanley Cup?

In 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the LA Kings in OT Game 7, winning the Stanley Cup. Many people say that they got lucky however, and that Montreal was pretty strong at the time, and still could've taken the cup. Is this true? Could the Habs have beaten the Leafs and gone on to the finals?
 
In 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the LA Kings in OT Game 7, winning the Stanley Cup. Many people say that they got lucky however, and that Montreal was pretty strong at the time, and still could've taken the cup. Is this true? Could the Habs have beaten the Leafs and gone on to the finals?

Everyone knows the Laughs got lucky in '93. (Their record since then sort of speaks for itself...:D*) The Game 7 OT winner that got them into the final shouldn't have counted, but since it happened in the days before goal line cameras and instant video review (and it stands as the reason why the NHL has had both since the '94-'95 season) it became the winner. The question isn't whether the Habs could have beaten Toronto, given that of the six games in the series, three went to OT and of the other three, the Habs won two. That series was on a razor's edge all the way through. The real question is, could the 1992/93 Montreal Canadiens have beaten the 1992/93 LA Kings?

And another question: Had the Habs won the Cup in '93*, would the infamous 1993 Montreal Stanley Cup riot have been avoided? Just think about it: The Toronto Maple Leafs, arch-rivals to the Montreal Canadiens, clinched the series by winning Game Six in Montreal. Is anyone really surprised that all hell broke loose that night?

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*Five playoff appearances, five first round exits. The most recent was in 2003 against... Montreal. (Gotta love the '95 reorganization. Never again will Montreal play Toronto for the Stanley Cup. Both teams are now in the same division...) The Habs went on to win the cup that year.
**Or at least forced a Game 7 before losing the series as that game would have been in Toronto and the Habs fans would all have been at home watching it on TV...
 
In 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the LA Kings in OT Game 7, winning the Stanley Cup. Many people say that they got lucky however, and that Montreal was pretty strong at the time, and still could've taken the cup. Is this true? Could the Habs have beaten the Leafs and gone on to the finals?

OOC: Okay, so I've got to ask. As a non-hockey fan, I had never heard the Montreal Canadiens referred to as "the Habs" until last week. But now I've ran across the nickname three times. What exactly does it mean?
 
Duuh. Of course they could! The Habs are the greatest team ever!

OOC: ok, they probably are, but that doesnt mean they can win every year. Not that a diehard habs fan would admit it.
 
Duuh. Of course they could! The Habs are the greatest team ever!

Well, they won the cup 23 times*, so going by that standard, they are the greatest. IIRC the longest the Canadiens went without winning the Stanley Cup was 17 years, from '86 to '03.

Still, they've nothing on the mid-'80s Edmonton Oilers. Best team ever to take to the ice. (Gretzky, Messier, Kurri...) And then that fucker (Pocklington) traded all of them away.

OOC: ok, they probably are, but that doesnt mean they can win every year. Not that a diehard habs fan would admit it.

*OOC: Incidentally this is the same total as OTL...
 
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