In 1993 Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to win their 24th Stanley Cup Championship. An entertaining victory at the time, but the country of Canada hasn't witnessed a champion from their country ever since.

This 22-year championship drought is by far the longest in Canada's history. Over the course of this near quarter-century drought, Canadian-based teams have appeared in five Stanley Cups, and lost all five of them. Those championship losing teams include the 1994 Vancouver Canucks, 2004 Calgary Flames, 2006 Edmonton Oilers, 2007 Ottawa Senators and the 2011 Canucks.

This year will be one of Canada's best opportunities to end the drought. Five of the seven Canadian based teams successfully qualified for the postseason this year. Those five teams include the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. Only the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers missed the playoffs of Canada-based teams.

So five Canadian teams are in the 2015 NHL playoffs. Realistically speaking, what are the odds the drought finally ends this year?

Well, five teams is great, but that number will soon automatically be reduced to three. The reason for this is because the Canadiens and Senators are playing each other, and the Canucks and Flames are facing one another in the first round as well. The Jets are presently down 0-3 in their series against the Anaheim Ducks, so unless a miracle takes place, it looks like just two Canadian teams will be playing in the second round of the playoffs.

The Canadiens, who hold a 3-0 series lead over the Senators, look like the most powerful team based in Canada. P.K. Subban is playing outstanding with hard hits, although sometimes illegal, and Max Pacioretty is capable of scoring at any time. Some fans believe this drought, or curse, began when the team trading Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy in 1995.

One of the biggest reasons this drought has increased so long for Canada is because of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups, the second most in NHL history ahead of the Detroit Red Wings. The only problem for Maple Leafs fans is, their team hasn't even appeared in the big contest since 1967.

Over in the Western Conference, the Flames are burning the Canucks, 3-1 in that series. In all likelihood, the Flames will advance to the second round and face the Ducks. The Flames haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1989 thanks to Lanny McDonald and Al MacInnis. Johnny Gaudreau and Jiri Hudler are playing great, but questions still remain with goalie Jonas Hiller.

Most likely, we will see the Flames and Canadiens advance to the second round of the playoffs with just eight teams remaining. Two teams is something, but the odds are still heavily stacked against Canada going forward. The Flames and Canadiens play in separate conferences, so there is a possibility they could play each other in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, thus automatically ending the drought.

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