2007 Stanley Cup playoffs
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Tournament details | |
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Dates | April 11–June 6, 2007 |
Teams | 16 |
Defending champions | Carolina Hurricanes (did not qualify) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Anaheim Ducks |
Runner-up | Ottawa Senators |
Tournament statistics | |
Scoring leader(s) | Daniel Alfredsson (Senators) (22 points) |
MVP | Scott Niedermayer (Ducks) |
The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 11, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The series ended on June 6 with the Anaheim Ducks defeating the Ottawa Senators in five games to win their first ever championship.
For the first time in NHL history, neither of the two teams that played in the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals (the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers) qualified for the playoffs. For the first time since 1994, all four former WHA teams; Carolina (formerly the Hartford Whalers), Colorado (formerly the Quebec Nordiques), Edmonton, and Phoenix (formerly the Winnipeg Jets) missed the playoffs in the same year, this would not happen again until 2013. Also for the first time since 1994, the Philadelphia Flyers missed the playoffs. This was the only time that the Atlanta Thrashers qualified for the playoffs in their twelve years in Georgia (they became the new Winnipeg Jets in 2011). This was also the last time all three New York metropolitan area teams (the Devils, Islanders and Rangers) made the playoffs in the same year until 2023.[1]
Playoff seeds
The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top three seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the five remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
Eastern Conference
- Buffalo Sabres, Northeast Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 113 points (53 wins)
- New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions – 107 points
- Atlanta Thrashers, Southeast Division champions – 97 points
- Ottawa Senators – 105 points (48 wins)
- Pittsburgh Penguins – 105 points (47 wins)
- New York Rangers – 94 points
- Tampa Bay Lightning – 93 points
- New York Islanders – 92 points
Western Conference
- Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 113 points (50 wins)
- Anaheim Ducks, Pacific Division champions – 110 points
- Vancouver Canucks, Northwest Division champions – 105 points
- Nashville Predators – 110 points
- San Jose Sharks – 107 points (51 wins)
- Dallas Stars – 107 points (50 wins)
- Minnesota Wild – 104 points
- Calgary Flames – 96 points
Playoff bracket
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winners seeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.
The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Buffalo | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | NY Islanders | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Buffalo | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | NY Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Tampa Bay | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Buffalo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Ottawa | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Atlanta | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | New Jersey | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Ottawa | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Ottawa | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Pittsburgh | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E4 | Ottawa | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Anaheim | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Calgary | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | San Jose | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Anaheim | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Anaheim | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Dallas | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Anaheim | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Vancouver | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Nashville | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | San Jose | 4 |
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference quarterfinals
(1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (8) New York Islanders
The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners (winning the tie-breaker with Detroit in total wins), the Eastern Conference regular season and Northeast Division champions with 113 points. The Islanders qualified as the eighth seed earning 92 points during the regular season. This was the fourth and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with New York winning all three of the previous series. They last met in the 1980 Stanley Cup Semifinals where New York won in six games. Buffalo won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Sabres defeated the Islanders in five games. Brian Campbell and Chris Drury each scored twice for the Sabres in game one as they took the opening game 4–1. Marc-Andre Bergeron's power play goal at 8:37 of the third period gave the Islanders the lead in game two as they evened the series with a 3–2 victory. Sabres forward Daniel Briere scored the game-winning goal with a two-man advantage in the second period of game three giving Buffalo a 3–2 win. Chris Drury scored two goals in a game for the second time in this series as the Sabres won game four by a final score of 4–2. Buffalo held off a late charge by the Islanders in game five as they eliminated New York with a 4–3 win.
April 12 | New York Islanders | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 09:30 – Brian Campbell (1) | ||||||
Arron Asham (1) – 06:58 | Second period | 11:13 – pp – Chris Drury (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 01:08 – Chris Drury (2) 16:35 – pp – Brian Campbell (2) | ||||||
Wade Dubielewicz 31 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 20 saves / 21 shots |
April 14 | New York Islanders | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
Trent Hunter (1) – 03:07 Bruno Gervais (1) – 11:03 |
First period | 18:58 – Toni Lydman (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Marc-Andre Bergeron (1) – pp – 08:37 | Third period | 02:12 – Dmitri Kalinin (1) | ||||||
Rick DiPietro 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 29 saves / 32 shots |
April 16 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–2 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Adam Mair (1) – 05:17 Thomas Vanek (1) – 08:38 Daniel Briere (1) – pp – 12:56 |
Second period | 09:52 – Trent Hunter (2) 19:52 – Ryan Smyth (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ryan Miller 20 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Rick DiPietro 32 saves / 35 shots |
April 18 | Buffalo Sabres | 4–2 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | |||
Thomas Vanek (2) – 11:17 Chris Drury (3) – 13:05 |
First period | 06:24 – Jason Blake (1) 19:44 – pp – Mike Sillinger (1) | ||||||
Chris Drury (4) – pp – 00:39 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Jason Pominville (1) – 18:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ryan Miller 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Rick DiPietro 27 saves / 31 shots |
April 20 | New York Islanders | 3–4 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 15:04 – Drew Stafford (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 00:39 – Jason Pominville (2) 11:29 – Derek Roy (1) | ||||||
Miroslav Satan (1) – 04:22 Trent Hunter (3) – 09:43 Chris Campoli (1) – 13:07 |
Third period | 06:38 – Maxim Afinogenov (1) | ||||||
Rick DiPietro 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 30 saves / 33 shots |
Buffalo won series 4–1 | |
(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Tampa Bay Lightning
The New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the Atlantic Division champions, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference with 107 points. Tampa Bay qualified as the seventh seed, earning 93 points during the regular season. This was the second meeting between these two teams, with New Jersey winning the only previous series in the 2003 Eastern Conference semifinals in five games. Tampa Bay won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Devils defeated the Lightning in six games. New Jersey forward Zach Parise scored twice as New Jersey took game one 5–3. Johan Holmqvist made 34 saves for the Lightning and Vincent Lecavalier scored the game-winning goal early in the third period of game two as Tampa Bay evened the series with a 3–2 victory. The teams traded goals early in the third period of game three before Vaclav Prospal broke the tie with 6:29 remaining in regulation time as the Lightning won again by a score of 3–2. Devils centre Scott Gomez scored the overtime winner at 12:54 in game four to tie the series. New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur made 31 saves in his 22nd career playoff shutout as the Devils won game five 3–0. Devils forward Brian Gionta scored the series-winning goal in game six as New Jersey took the series four games to two with a 3–2 win.
April 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3–5 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
Martin St. Louis (1) – pp – 15:55 | First period | 07:43 – Zach Parise (1) 12:31 – pp – Patrik Elias (1) | ||||||
Vincent Lecavalier (1) – 11:46 | Second period | 03:36 – pp – Brian Rafalski (1) | ||||||
Vincent Lecavalier (2) – 02:51 | Third period | 03:54 – Zach Parise (2) 18:38 – Brian Gionta (1) | ||||||
Johan Holmqvist 19 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 23 saves / 26 shots |
April 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3–2 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
Filip Kuba (1) – sh – 09:02 | First period | 18:11 – pp – Zach Parise (3) | ||||||
Martin St. Louis (2) – 19:11 | Second period | 16:19 – pp – Jamie Langenbrunner (1) | ||||||
Vincent Lecavalier (3) – 01:42 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Johan Holmqvist 34 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 20 shots |
April 16 | New Jersey Devils | 2–3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | St. Pete Times Forum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 09:06 – pp – Vincent Lecavalier (4) | ||||||
John Madden (1) – 17:27 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Zach Parise (4) – 04:46 | Third period | 01:09 – Brad Richards (1) 13:31 – Vaclav Prospal (1) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Johan Holmqvist 30 saves / 32 shots |
April 18 | New Jersey Devils | 4–3 | OT | Tampa Bay Lightning | St. Pete Times Forum | Recap | ||
Brian Gionta (2) – 06:04 Zach Parise (5) – 14:20 |
First period | 12:08 – Eric Perrin (1) | ||||||
Zach Parise (6) – pp – 09:42 | Second period | 11:39 – Martin St. Louis (3) 15:20 – Vincent Lecavalier (5) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Scott Gomez (1) – 12:54 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Johan Holmqvist 33 saves / 37 shots |
April 20 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 0–3 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 12:46 – Andy Greene (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:59 – Brian Gionta (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 18:13 – en – Scott Gomez (2) | ||||||
Johan Holmqvist 11 saves / 13 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 31 saves / 31 shots |
April 22 | New Jersey Devils | 3–2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | St. Pete Times Forum | Recap | |||
Brian Gionta (4) – pp – 14:29 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Brian Rafalski (2) – pp – 01:21 Brian Gionta (5) – 05:49 |
Second period | 05:10 – pp – Brad Richards (2) 10:46 – pp – Brad Richards (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Johan Holmqvist 23 saves / 26 shots |
New Jersey won series 4–2 | |
(3) Atlanta Thrashers vs. (6) New York Rangers
The Atlanta Thrashers entered the playoffs as the Southeast Division champions, earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference with 97 points. The Rangers qualified as the sixth seed earning 94 points during the regular season. This was the first and to this date only playoff meeting between these two teams. This series also marked the first appearance of a team representing Atlanta in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 27 years. The most recent team to represent Atlanta prior to this was the Atlanta Flames who lost in the Preliminary Round in 1980. The Thrashers made their first playoff appearance since entering the league in the 1999–2000 season; this was the only playoff appearance that Atlanta made before the franchise relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. Atlanta won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Rangers swept Atlanta in four games. New York entered the third period of game one with a two-goal lead and hung on to win by a score of 4–3. Ranger forward Brendan Shanahan scored the game-winner with four minutes remaining in game two as New York earned a 2–1 victory. The Rangers dominated Atlanta in game three winning 7–0, Michael Nylander scored a hat trick in the victory. Matt Cullen scored the series-clinching goal in game four and Jaromir Jagr added an empty-net goal in the dying minutes as New York completed the sweep of the Thrashers with a 4–2 win.
April 12 | New York Rangers | 4–3 | Atlanta Thrashers | Philips Arena | Recap | |||
Jaromir Jagr (1) – 12:50 Michal Rozsival (1) – pp – 16:47 |
First period | 19:01 – pp – Eric Belanger (1) | ||||||
Marcel Hossa (1) – 10:52 Michael Nylander (1) – 16:56 |
Second period | 12:19 – Shane Hnidy (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 05:50 – Pascal Dupuis (1) | ||||||
Henrik Lundqvist 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Kari Lehtonen 34 saves / 38 shots |
April 14 | New York Rangers | 2–1 | Atlanta Thrashers | Philips Arena | Recap | |||
Sean Avery (1) – 08:08 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Brendan Shanahan (1) – 15:59 | Third period | 05:35 – Ilya Kovalchuk (1) | ||||||
Henrik Lundqvist 27 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Johan Hedberg 37 saves / 39 shots |
April 17 | Atlanta Thrashers | 0–7 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 00:32 – Michael Nylander (2) 09:45 – Michael Nylander (3) 12:26 – Marek Malik (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 06:27 – Ryan Callahan (1) 17:21 – pp – Ryan Callahan (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 08:58 – pp – Brendan Shanahan (2) 15:54 – pp – Michael Nylander (4) | ||||||
Kari Lehtonen 28 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 21 saves / 21 shots |
April 18 | Atlanta Thrashers | 2–4 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
Keith Tkachuk (1) – 06:38 | First period | 07:57 – pp – Michal Rozsival (2) | ||||||
Greg De Vries (1) – 12:26 | Second period | 18:18 – Brendan Shanahan (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 02:06 – Matt Cullen (1) 18:27 – en – Jaromir Jagr (2) | ||||||
Johan Hedberg 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 24 saves / 26 shots |
New York won series 4–0 | |
(4) Ottawa Senators vs. (5) Pittsburgh Penguins
Both the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs tied with 105 points, but the Senators were awarded the fourth seed by winning the total wins tiebreaker (48–47). This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Pittsburgh won this year's four-game regular season series earning six of eight points.
The Senators defeated the Penguins in five games. Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled in game one after allowing six goals to the Senators in a 6–3 loss. The Penguins scored three times in the third period as they overcame a one-goal deficit to defeat Ottawa 4–3 in game two and tie the series. Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson scored the game-winner and added an insurance goal in game three as Ottawa regained home-ice advantage with a 4–2 win. Just over nine minutes into the third period of game four Anton Volchenkov broke the tie for the Senators giving his team a 2–1 victory. After a scoreless opening period in game five, the Senators struck three times in the second period and goaltender Ray Emery posted a 20-save shutout to eliminate the Penguins with a 3–0 win.
April 11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–6 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 01:37 – Andrej Meszaros (1) 06:38 – Chris Kelly (1) | ||||||
Jordan Staal (1) – 16:58 | Second period | 14:38 – pp – Tom Preissing (1) | ||||||
Sergei Gonchar (1) – pp – 12:42 Sidney Crosby (1) – pp – 19:11 |
Third period | 00:09 – pp – Dany Heatley (1) 05:39 – Chris Neil (1) 08:22 – Mike Comrie (1) | ||||||
Marc-Andre Fleury 30 saves / 36 shots Jocelyn Thibault 1 save / 1 shot |
Goalie stats | Ray Emery 23 saves / 26 shots |
April 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–3 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
Ryan Whitney (1) – pp – 03:01 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 08:28 – Jason Spezza (1) 16:44 – pp – Daniel Alfredsson (1) | ||||||
Gary Roberts (1) – pp – 02:04 Jordan Staal (2) – 09:34 Sidney Crosby (2) – 11:44 |
Third period | 06:18 – Chris Kelly (2) | ||||||
Marc-Andre Fleury 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 17 saves / 21 shots |
April 15 | Ottawa Senators | 4–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
Dean McAmmond (1) – 18:04 | First period | 00:52 – Gary Roberts (2) | ||||||
Mike Comrie (2) – 02:13 Daniel Alfredsson (2) – pp – 07:20 Daniel Alfredsson (3) – 17:12 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 14:40 – Sidney Crosby (3) | ||||||
Ray Emery 17 saves / 19 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 25 shots |
April 17 | Ottawa Senators | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
Jason Spezza (2) – pp – 03:25 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 08:08 – Jordan Staal (3) | ||||||
Anton Volchenkov (1) – 09:12 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ray Emery 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 24 saves / 26 shots |
April 19 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0–3 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 01:08 – pp – Dany Heatley (2) 06:20 – Antoine Vermette (1) 17:55 – Chris Kelly (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Marc-Andre Fleury 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 20 saves / 20 shots |
Ottawa won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference quarterfinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Calgary Flames
The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season and Central Division champions (losing the tie-breaker with Buffalo in total wins for the Presidents' Trophy) with 113 points. Calgary qualified as the eighth seed earning 96 points during the regular season. This was the third and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 2004 Western Conference semifinals where Calgary won in six games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
The Red Wings eliminated the Flames in six games. In game one the Red Wings dominated the Flames in a 4–1 victory. Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 48 saves in game two as his team lost 3–1 and the Red Wings took a 2–0 series lead. Jarome Iginla scored the game-winning goal in game three as the Flames won by a score of 3–2. Calgary centre Daymond Langkow scored twice on the power play in game four as the Flames evened the series with a 3–2 win. After allowing five goals against in game five Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled in favour of backup Jamie McLennan. Kiprusoff was forced back into the game just 18 seconds later as Jamie McLennan was assessed a match penalty and game misconduct for slashing Red Wings forward Johan Franzen in the stomach. McLennan was later suspended for five games; the Flames organization and Head Coach Jim Playfair were also fined after a 5–1 loss. Johan Franzen scored the series-winner in double overtime in game six as the Red Wings eliminated the Flames with a 2–1 victory.
April 12 | Calgary Flames | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 04:51 – Valtteri Filppula (1) 08:36 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 06:56 – Pavel Datsyuk (1) 09:57 – Mathieu Schneider (1) | ||||||
Alex Tanguay (1) – pp – 14:55 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Miikka Kiprusoff 42 saves / 46 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 19 saves / 20 shots |
April 15 | Calgary Flames | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 01:02 – Pavel Datsyuk (2) 03:50 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (2) | ||||||
Dion Phaneuf (1) – pp – 02:42 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 06:05 – Valtteri Filppula (2) | ||||||
Miikka Kiprusoff 48 saves / 51 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 14 saves / 15 shots |
April 17 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Kris Draper (1) – 11:30 | Second period | 09:20 – pp – Matthew Lombardi (1) | ||||||
Kris Draper (2) – 00:39 | Third period | 04:43 – pp – Mark Giordano (1) 09:21 – Jarome Iginla (1) | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 28 saves / 30 shots |
April 19 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | |||
Todd Bertuzzi (1) – 11:07 Johan Franzen (1) – 15:37 |
First period | 08:29 – pp – Daymond Langkow (1) 13:33 – Craig Conroy (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 08:19 – pp – Daymond Langkow (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 18 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 33 saves / 35 shots |
April 21 | Calgary Flames | 1–5 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 03:32 – sh-ps – Daniel Cleary (1) 08:50 – pp – Henrik Zetterberg (1) 10:54 – sh – Chris Chelios (1) | ||||||
Andrei Zyuzin (1) – sh – 10:03 | Third period | 05:12 – pp – Henrik Zetterberg (2) 15:42 – pp – Pavel Datsyuk (3) | ||||||
Miikka Kiprusoff 33 saves / 38 shots Jamie McLennan 0 saves / 0 shots |
Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 23 saves / 24 shots |
April 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–1 | 2OT | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Robert Lang (1) – 16:53 | Second period | 03:09 – Jarome Iginla (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Johan Franzen (2) – 04:23 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 20 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 53 saves / 55 shots |
Detroit won series 4–2 | |
(2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (7) Minnesota Wild
The Anaheim Ducks entered the playoffs as the Pacific Division champions, earning the second seed in the Western Conference with 110 points. Minnesota qualified as the seventh seed earning 104 points during the regular season. This was the second and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with Anaheim winning the only previous series. They last met in the 2003 Western Conference Final where Anaheim won in four games. Anaheim won this year's four-game regular season series earning five of eight points.
The Ducks eliminated the Wild in five games. Ducks forward Dustin Penner scored the game-winner late in the third period as Anaheim took game one 2–1. In game two Francois Beauchemin scored twice on the power-play for the Ducks as they took a 2–0 series lead with a 3–2 win. The Ducks earned a tight win in game three with a 2–1 victory. The Wild avoided elimination with a three-goal third period in game four, earning a 4–1 win. Jean-Sebastien Giguere started game five for the Ducks and Ryan Getzlaf scored the series-winning goal late in the second period as Anaheim ended the series with a 4–1 victory.
April 11 | Minnesota Wild | 1–2 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Pavol Demitra (1) – 06:01 | Second period | 09:52 – Teemu Selanne (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 14:40 – Dustin Penner (1) | ||||||
Niklas Backstrom 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 24 saves / 25 shots |
April 13 | Minnesota Wild | 2–3 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 13:19 – pp – Francois Beauchemin (1) | ||||||
Marian Gaborik (1) – 03:33 | Second period | 16:17 – pp – Francois Beauchemin (2) 18:43 – sh – Ryan Getzlaf (1) | ||||||
Mikko Koivu (1) – 15:04 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Niklas Backstrom 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 30 saves / 32 shots |
April 15 | Anaheim Ducks | 2–1 | Minnesota Wild | Xcel Energy Center | Recap | |||
Andy McDonald (1) – pp – 16:05 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Rob Niedermayer (1) – 09:43 | Third period | 19:21 – pp – Petteri Nummelin (1) | ||||||
Ilya Bryzgalov 19 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Niklas Backstrom 17 saves / 19 shots |
April 17 | Anaheim Ducks | 1–4 | Minnesota Wild | Xcel Energy Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Chris Pronger (1) – pp – 06:08 | Second period | 18:03 – Pierre-Marc Bouchard (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 03:23 – pp – Marian Gaborik (2) 09:27 – Brian Rolston (1) 10:44 – Mark Parrish (1) | ||||||
Ilya Bryzgalov 32 saves / 36 shots Jean-Sebastien Giguere 4 saves / 4 shots |
Goalie stats | Niklas Backstrom 28 saves / 29 shots |
April 19 | Minnesota Wild | 1–4 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 01:02 – Chris Pronger (2) | ||||||
Marian Gaborik (3) – sh – 15:42 | Second period | 16:29 – pp – Ryan Getzlaf (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 10:29 – Corey Perry (1) 19:03 – en – Travis Moen (1) | ||||||
Niklas Backstrom 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 26 saves / 27 shots |
Anaheim won series 4–1 | |
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Dallas Stars
The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the Northwest Division champions, earning the third seed in the Western Conference with 105 points. Dallas qualified as the sixth seed earning 107 points (losing the tie-breaker with San Jose in total wins) during the regular season. This was the second and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams with Vancouver winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1994 Western Conference semifinals where Vancouver won in five games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
Vancouver hung on to defeat the Stars in seven games. Dallas overcame a two-goal deficit in game one to force overtime, however, they came up short as Henrik Sedin won the game for Vancouver when he scored at 18:06 of the fourth overtime; this is the eighth-longest playoff game in NHL history. Roberto Luongo made 72 saves in the 5–4 Canucks victory. The Stars opened game two with a goal just 24 seconds in and the Canucks were not able to recover as Dallas goaltender Marty Turco posted a 35 save shutout in a 2–0 win. Canucks forward Taylor Pyatt scored the game-winner at 7:47 of the first overtime for a 2–1 win in game three. The Canucks pulled out another 2–1 victory in game four as Mattias Ohlund and Trevor Linden scored for Vancouver. In game five both Roberto Luongo and Marty Turco pushed aside every shot in regulation and Stars captain Brenden Morrow scored the only goal of the game 6:22 into the first overtime for a 1–0 Dallas victory. Marty Turco shutout Vancouver in game six for the second consecutive game and the third time overall in the series as the Stars forced a seventh game with a 2–0 win. After allowing the opening goal in game seven the Canucks scored four unanswered goals and took the deciding game of the series 4–1.
April 11 | Dallas Stars | 4–5 | 4OT | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
Brenden Morrow (1) – pp – 05:28 | First period | 04:20 – Daniel Sedin (1) | ||||||
Trevor Daley (1) – 10:00 | Second period | 06:26 – pp – Mattias Ohlund (1) 13:47 – Markus Naslund (1) | ||||||
Antti Miettinen (1) – 08:31 Ladislav Nagy (1) – 13:46 |
Third period | 07:36 – Bryan Smolinski (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Fourth overtime period | 18:06 – Henrik Sedin (1) | ||||||
Marty Turco 51 saves / 56 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 72 saves / 76 shots |
April 13 | Dallas Stars | 2–0 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
Jeff Halpern (1) – 00:24 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Joel Lundqvist (1) – 00:45 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Marty Turco 35 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 25 saves / 27 shots |
April 15 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–1 | OT | Dallas Stars | American Airlines Center | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 13:09 – pp – Stu Barnes (1) | ||||||
Jan Bulis (1) – 05:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Taylor Pyatt (1) – 07:47 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Roberto Luongo 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Marty Turco 35 saves / 37 shots |
April 17 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–1 | Dallas Stars | American Airlines Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Mattias Ohlund (2) – 09:46 Trevor Linden (1) – 14:29 |
Third period | 12:29 – Darryl Sydor (1) | ||||||
Roberto Luongo 26 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Marty Turco 27 saves / 29 shots |
April 19 | Dallas Stars | 1–0 | OT | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Brenden Morrow (2) – pp – 06:22 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Marty Turco 21 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 29 saves / 30 shots |
April 21 | Vancouver Canucks | 0–2 | Dallas Stars | American Airlines Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:05 – pp – Mike Modano (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 07:22 – Jeff Halpern (2) | ||||||
Roberto Luongo 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Marty Turco 21 saves / 21 shots |
April 23 | Dallas Stars | 1–4 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
Joel Lundqvist (2) – 16:32 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 15:12 – pp – Henrik Sedin (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 07:00 – pp – Trevor Linden (2) 18:57 – en – Taylor Pyatt (2) 19:13 – en – Bryan Smolinski (1) | ||||||
Marty Turco 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 19 saves / 20 shots |
Vancouver won series 4–3 | |
(4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) San Jose Sharks
The Nashville Predators entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 110 points. San Jose qualified as the fifth seed earning 107 points (winning the tie-breaker with Dallas in total wins) during the regular season. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams with San Jose winning the only previous series. They last met in the previous year's Western Conference quarterfinals where San Jose won in five games. Nashville won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
For the second consecutive year, the Sharks eliminated Nashville in five games. Patrick Rissmiller scored the overtime winner for San Jose at 8:14 of the second overtime period as the Sharks won a high-scoring game one 5–4. Predator forwards Jean-Pierre Dumont and Peter Forsberg scored twice in game two as Nashville evened the series with a 5–2 win. Nashville goaltender Tomas Vokoun made 38 saves in a losing effort in game three as the Sharks won the game 3–1. Milan Michalek's second goal of the game gave the Sharks an insurmountable lead in game four as San Jose took a 3–2 victory. The teams were tied late into the third period of game five before Sharks captain Patrick Marleau scored the series-winning goal to eliminate the Predators by a final score of 3–2.
April 11 | San Jose Sharks | 5–4 | 2OT | Nashville Predators | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Recap | ||
Matt Carle (1) – 07:18 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Grier (1) – 05:31 Craig Rivet (1) – pp – 12:57 Milan Michalek (1) – 15:52 |
Second period | 02:35 – Alexander Radulov (1) 03:56 – Jean-Pierre Dumont (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 13:05 – Alexander Radulov (2) 19:09 – Jean-Pierre Dumont (2) | ||||||
Patrick Rissmiller (1) – 08:14 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Evgeni Nabokov 39 saves / 43 shots | Goalie stats | Tomas Vokoun 33 saves / 38 shots |
April 13 | San Jose Sharks | 2–5 | Nashville Predators | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Recap | |||
Craig Rivet (2) – 04:37 | First period | 06:54 – Alexander Radulov (3) 15:56 – Peter Forsberg (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 10:26 – sh – Jean-Pierre Dumont (3) 12:56 – pp – Jean-Pierre Dumont (4) | ||||||
Ryan Clowe (1) – 09:52 | Third period | 18:55 – en – Peter Forsberg (2) | ||||||
Evgeni Nabokov 17 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Tomas Vokoun 22 saves / 24 shots |
April 16 | Nashville Predators | 1–3 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
Ryan Suter (1) – 11:53 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 08:38 – Milan Michalek (2) 12:18 – Ryan Clowe (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 15:34 – Patrick Marleau (1) | ||||||
Tomas Vokoun 38 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 19 saves / 20 shots |
April 18 | Nashville Predators | 2–3 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:29 – Milan Michalek (3) | ||||||
Jason Arnott (1) – 02:32 | Second period | 01:06 – Joe Pavelski (1) 12:53 – Milan Michalek (4) | ||||||
Scott Hartnell (1) – pp – 17:08 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Tomas Vokoun 20 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 23 saves / 25 shots |
April 20 | San Jose Sharks | 3–2 | Nashville Predators | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Recap | |||
Ryan Clowe (3) – 08:21 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Patrick Marleau (2) – pp – 17:46 | Second period | 03:47 – pp – Jason Arnott (2) 04:26 – Vernon Fiddler (1) | ||||||
Patrick Marleau (3) – 15:39 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Evgeni Nabokov 22 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Tomas Vokoun 34 saves / 37 shots |
San Jose won series 4–1 | |
Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) New York Rangers
This was the second and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams with Buffalo winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1978 Preliminary Round where Buffalo won in three games. Buffalo won all four games during this year's regular season series.
Buffalo eliminated the Rangers in six games. Sabres forward Thomas Vanek scored twice including the game-winner as Buffalo took game one 5–2. Chris Drury and Thomas Vanek each scored their fifth goal of the playoffs for the Sabres in the third period of game two as Buffalo overcame a goal deficit, winning by a score of 3–2. In game three Michal Rozsival gave the Rangers a 2–1 win in double overtime by scoring at 16:43. The Rangers scored twice on the power-play in game four as they evened the series with a 2–1 victory. Sabres co-captain Chris Drury scored the tying goal with less than eight seconds remaining and Maxim Afinogenov ended the game 4:39 into the first overtime on the power-play as Buffalo won game five 2–1. Jochen Hecht's second goal of the playoffs was the series-clinching goal as the Sabres ended New York's season with 5–4 victory in game six.
This is the last time the Sabres won a playoff series, and with the Toronto Maple Leafs winning their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023, the Sabres now hold the longest active playoff series win drought.[2]
April 25 | New York Rangers | 2–5 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 14:19 – pp – Thomas Vanek (3) 16:19 – Ales Kotalik (1) 18:24 – Thomas Vanek (4) | ||||||
Marcel Hossa (2) – 10:44 Brendan Shanahan (4) – pp – 19:12 |
Third period | 13:47 – Jason Pominville (3) 19:44 – en – Drew Stafford (2) | ||||||
Henrik Lundqvist 32 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 32 saves / 34 shots |
April 27 | New York Rangers | 2–3 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
Martin Straka (1) – pp – 10:08 | First period | 10:58 – pp – Brian Campbell (3) | ||||||
Paul Mara (1) – pp – 18:40 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 00:24 – Chris Drury (5) 10:11 – Thomas Vanek (5) | ||||||
Henrik Lundqvist 15 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 31 saves / 33 shots |
April 29 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–2 | 2OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 00:33 – Jaromir Jagr (3) | ||||||
Daniel Briere (2) – pp – 12:14 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second overtime period | 16:43 – Michal Rozsival (3) | ||||||
Ryan Miller 44 saves / 46 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 38 saves / 39 shots |
May 1 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 00:45 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (4) | ||||||
Ales Kotalik (2) – 09:04 | Third period | 08:31 – pp – Brendan Shanahan (5) | ||||||
Ryan Miller 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 29 saves / 30 shots |
May 4 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | OT | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Martin Straka (2) – 16:41 | Third period | 19:52 – Chris Drury (6) | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 04:39 – pp – Maxim Afinogenov (2) | ||||||
Henrik Lundqvist 38 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 22 saves / 23 shots |
May 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 5–4 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 17:10 – Michael Nylander (5) | ||||||
Dmitri Kalinin (2) – 01:29 Jason Pominville (4) – 02:53 Jochen Hecht (1) – 07:41 Chris Drury (7) – pp – 11:15 |
Second period | 04:40 – pp – Paul Mara (2) | ||||||
Jochen Hecht (2) – 14:50 | Third period | 05:08 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (5) 17:09 – pp – Michael Nylander (6) | ||||||
Ryan Miller 32 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 24 saves / 29 shots |
Buffalo won series 4–2 | |
(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (4) Ottawa Senators
This was the third and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 2003 Eastern Conference Final where New Jersey won in seven games. New Jersey won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
Ottawa defeated the Devils in five games. The Senators scored four times in the opening period of game one and hung on to win the game 5–4. The Senators tied game two late in the third period, but Jamie Langenbrunner scored the winning goal for the Devils 1:55 into the second overtime. Game three remained scoreless into the third period before Tom Preissing put the Senators on the board, Ray Emery made 25 saves for his second playoff shutout in a 2–0 Ottawa win. New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur made 33 saves in a losing effort in game four as the Senators won 3–2. Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson scored the series-winning goal late in the second period of game five as the Senators ended New Jersey's season with a 3–2 win. Game five was also the final game played at Continental Airlines Arena as the Devils began playing at the Prudential Center the following year.
April 26 | Ottawa Senators | 5–4 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
Jason Spezza (3) – 01:30 Joe Corvo (1) – pp – 06:49 Dean McAmmond (2) – sh – 14:43 Dany Heatley (3) – 16:39 |
First period | 17:38 – Travis Zajac (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 02:20 – Brian Gionta (6) 04:57 – Andy Greene (2) | ||||||
Wade Redden (1) – pp – 00:43 | Third period | 19:30 – Zach Parise (7) | ||||||
Ray Emery 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 26 shots |
April 28 | Ottawa Senators | 2–3 | 2OT | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 01:43 – pp – Brian Gionta (7) 19:59 – pp – Sergei Brylin (1) | ||||||
Daniel Alfredsson (4) – pp – 04:23 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Dany Heatley (4) – 19:33 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second overtime period | 01:55 – Jamie Langenbrunner (2) | ||||||
Ray Emery 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 43 saves / 45 shots |
April 30 | New Jersey Devils | 0–2 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 04:46 – Tom Preissing (2) 19:04 – en – Jason Spezza (4) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 25 saves / 25 shots |
May 2 | New Jersey Devils | 2–3 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 04:34 – Daniel Alfredsson (5) | ||||||
Brian Gionta (8) – pp – 04:17 | Second period | 14:44 – Dany Heatley (5) | ||||||
Jay Pandolfo (1) – 09:36 | Third period | 03:58 – Mike Fisher (1) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 33 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 29 saves / 31 shots |
May 5 | Ottawa Senators | 3–2 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 06:59 – Scott Gomez (3) | ||||||
Antoine Vermette (2) – 05:19 Jason Spezza (5) – pp – 12:06 Daniel Alfredsson (6) – 17:28 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 19:20 – Scott Gomez (4) | ||||||
Ray Emery 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 24 shots |
Ottawa won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) San Jose Sharks
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 1995 Western Conference semifinals where Detroit won in four games. San Jose won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Red Wings won three consecutive games to eliminate San Jose in six games. Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made 34 saves as San Jose shutout the Red Wings in game one by a score of 2–0. Pavel Datsyuk gave the Red Wings the lead with just 1:24 remaining in the third period, taking a 3–2 victory. San Jose forward Jonathan Cheechoo scored the game-winner on the power play in game three as the Sharks won the game 2–1. Detroit came back from a two-goal deficit in game four by scoring in the final minute of both the second and third periods and Mathieu Schneider scored the overtime winner on the power-play for the Red Wings in a 3–2 win. After allowing the opening goal in game five the Red Wings scored four unanswered goals winning the game 4–1. Two goals from Detroit winger Mikael Samuelsson and a shutout by Dominik Hasek in game six ended the series in a 2–0 Red Wings victory.
April 26 | San Jose Sharks | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
Matt Carle (2) – pp – 09:45 Mike Grier (2) – 10:09 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Evgeni Nabokov 34 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 17 saves / 19 shots |
April 28 | San Jose Sharks | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
Jonathan Cheechoo (1) – 00:36 Joe Thornton (1) – 04:17 |
First period | 17:30 – Henrik Zetterberg (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 01:23 – sh – Daniel Cleary (2) 18:36 – Pavel Datsyuk (4) | ||||||
Evgeni Nabokov 19 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 17 saves / 19 shots |
April 30 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–2 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – pp – 11:13 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 12:43 – Ryane Clowe (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 13:19 – pp – Jonathan Cheechoo (2) | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 29 saves / 30 shots |
May 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | OT | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 17:52 – Jonathan Cheechoo (3) | ||||||
Tomas Holmstrom (1) – pp – 19:55 | Second period | 08:07 – Marcel Goc (1) | ||||||
Robert Lang (2) – 19:26 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mathieu Schneider (2) – pp – 16:04 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 46 saves / 49 shots |
May 5 | San Jose Sharks | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
Marcel Goc (2) – 04:53 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 03:10 – Henrik Zetterberg (4) 16:13 – Pavel Datsyuk (5) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 03:46 – pp – Mikael Samuelsson (1) 06:14 – pp – Tomas Holmstrom (2) | ||||||
Evgeni Nabokov 29 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 23 saves / 24 shots |
May 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–0 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
Mikael Samuelsson (2) – 15:26 Mikael Samuelsson (3) – 19:52 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 28 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 20 saves / 22 shots |
Detroit won series 4–2 | |
(2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (3) Vancouver Canucks
This was the first and to date only playoff meeting between these two teams. Anaheim won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Ducks eliminated Vancouver in five games. After allowing the opening goal in game one Anaheim responded with five unanswered goals and won by a final score of 5–1, Ducks forward Andy McDonald recorded a hat trick in the contest. The teams traded a goal apiece during regulation time and Jeff Cowan ended the game 7:49 into double overtime as Vancouver tied the series with a 2–1 victory. Anaheim's special teams made the difference in game three as the Ducks successfully killed off seven penalties and scored twice on the power-play as Anaheim won the game 3–2. The Ducks came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period of game four to force overtime and won the game 3–2 on a goal scored by Travis Moen at 2:07 of the first overtime period. After Vancouver forced overtime in game five goaltender Roberto Luongo was unavailable to his team at the start of the first overtime period as he was suffering from an illness, backup Dany Sabourin stopped five Anaheim shots before Luongo returned to action 3:34 into the period.[3] Shortly into the second overtime period Scott Niedermayer fired a wrist shot that found the back of the net giving the Ducks a 2–1 win that clinched the series and moved them on to the Western Conference Final.
April 25 | Vancouver Canucks | 1–5 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
Jeff Cowan (1) – 07:07 | First period | 09:24 – pp – Andy McDonald (2) 14:56 – Teemu Selanne (2) 19:11 – Andy McDonald (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 09:05 – Ryan Getzlaf (3) 19:08 – pp – Andy McDonald (4) | ||||||
Roberto Luongo 27 saves / 31 shots Dany Sabourin 5 saves / 6 shots |
Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 26 saves / 27 shots |
April 27 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–1 | 2OT | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Markus Naslund (2) – 06:30 | Second period | 11:01 – Travis Moen (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Jeff Cowan (2) – 07:49 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Roberto Luongo 43 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 47 saves / 49 shots |
April 29 | Anaheim Ducks | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
Dustin Penner (2) – 03:08 | First period | 19:12 – pp – Markus Naslund (3) | ||||||
Francois Beauchemin (3) – pp – 09:45 | Second period | 14:31 – Daniel Sedin (2) | ||||||
Corey Perry (2) – pp – 07:51 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 21 saves / 24 shots |
May 1 | Anaheim Ducks | 3–2 | OT | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 12:55 – Markus Naslund (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 17:31 – Brendan Morrison (1) | ||||||
Chris Pronger (3) – 03:58 Teemu Selanne (3) – 14:18 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Travis Moen (3) – 02:07 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 27 saves / 30 shots |
May 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 1–2 | 2OT | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 00:14 – Samuel Pahlsson (1) | ||||||
Alexandre Burrows (1) – 11:03 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second overtime period | 04:30 – Scott Niedermayer (1) | ||||||
Roberto Luongo 56 saves / 58 shots Dany Sabourin 5 saves / 5 shots |
Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 26 saves / 27 shots |
Anaheim won series 4–1 | |
Conference finals
Eastern Conference final
(1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (4) Ottawa Senators
This was the fourth and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with Buffalo winning all three previous series. They last met in the previous year's Eastern Conference semifinals where Buffalo won in five games. This was Buffalo's second consecutive Conference finals appearance, and their fourth overall; they lost to Carolina in seven games in the previous year. Ottawa most recently made it to the conference finals in 2003 where they lost to New Jersey in seven games. Ottawa won five of the eight games during this year's regular season series.
The Senators advanced to their first Stanley Cup Finals by eliminating the Sabres in five games. The Senators took control of game one in the third period and scored three goals to win 5–2. Buffalo forward Daniel Briere scored with only six seconds left in game two to force overtime. Joe Corvo scored the game-winning goal for Ottawa at 4:58 of double overtime in a 4–3 victory. Ray Emery made 15 saves and Daniel Alfredsson scored the only goal in game three as Ottawa shut out the Sabres 1–0. The Sabres took a three-goal lead just before the halfway point of game four and hung on to force a fifth game with a 3–2 win. Overtime was needed in game five as the teams traded goals through regulation time, Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson ended the series with his goal at 9:32 of the first overtime as the Senators won by a final score of 3–2.
May 10 | Ottawa Senators | 5–2 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
Mike Fisher (2) – sh – 04:32 Daniel Alfredsson (7) – pp – 07:54 |
First period | 10:55 – Maxim Afinogenov (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 08:45 – Toni Lydman (2) | ||||||
Oleg Saprykin (1) – 07:41 Jason Spezza (6) – pp – 15:48 Dean McAmmond (3) – en – 19:47 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ray Emery 18 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 29 saves / 33 shots |
May 12 | Ottawa Senators | 4–3 | 2OT | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | ||
Daniel Alfredsson (8) – 14:22 | First period | 03:41 – Thomas Vanek (6) 06:13 – Jochen Hecht (3) | ||||||
Mike Fisher (3) – pp – 06:08 Wade Redden (2) – pp – 19:44 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 19:54 – Daniel Briere (3) | ||||||
Joe Corvo (2) – 04:58 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Ray Emery 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 28 saves / 32 shots |
May 14 | Buffalo Sabres | 0–1 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 13:40 – Daniel Alfredsson (9) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ryan Miller 31 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 15 saves / 15 shots |
May 16 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–2 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
Derek Roy (2) – 00:09 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Maxim Afinogenov (4) – pp – 04:32 Chris Drury (8) – 08:06 |
Second period | 14:55 – Dean McAmmond (4) 16:41 – Peter Schaefer (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ryan Miller 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 19 saves / 22 shots |
May 19 | Ottawa Senators | 3–2 | OT | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Dany Heatley (6) – 15:41 Jason Spezza (7) – 19:21 |
Second period | 04:30 – Jochen Hecht (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 10:58 – pp – Maxim Afinogenov (5) | ||||||
Daniel Alfredsson (10) – 09:32 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Ray Emery 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 22 saves / 25 shots |
Ottawa won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference final
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (2) Anaheim Ducks
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Detroit winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals where Anaheim won in four games. Detroit most recently made it to the conference finals in 2002 where they defeated Colorado in seven games, while Anaheim most recently made it to the conference finals in the previous year where they lost in five games to Edmonton. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
Anaheim defeated the Red Wings in six games. Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek made 31 saves as the Red Wings took game one with a 2–1 victory. Scott Niedermayer ended game two at 14:17 of the first overtime as the Ducks tied the series with a 4–3 win. The Red Wings chased Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere from game three after he allowed three goals on thirteen shots, Detroit scored two more times and won the game 5–0. After the game Chris Pronger was suspended for one game by the NHL; his suspension was the result of a simultaneous hit on Tomas Holmstrom that Scott Niedermayer was penalized for. While Pronger received no penalty on the play for the hit during the game he was later suspended after NHL officials reviewed the replays, which showed Holmstrom being boarded from behind as a result of a Pronger elbow. The Ducks broke a tie in the third period of game four when Ryan Getzlaf scored on the power-play, they went on to add an empty net goal from Rob Niedermayer that gave Anaheim a 5–3 win that tied the series at two games. Scott Niedermayer forced overtime in game five as he scored on the power-play with 47.3 seconds remaining in the game; Teemu Selanne completed the comeback for Anaheim at 11:57 of the first overtime period as the Ducks took a 2–1 victory. The Red Wings mounted a late comeback attempt in game six before coming up short in a 4–3 loss than ended the series and sent Anaheim to the second Stanley Cup Finals in their history.
May 11 | Anaheim Ducks | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:44 – pp – Henrik Zetterberg (5) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Chris Kunitz (1) – 01:34 | Third period | 15:06 – Tomas Holmstrom (3) | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 17 saves / 19 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 31 saves / 32 shots |
May 13 | Anaheim Ducks | 4–3 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
Rob Niedermayer (2) – 17:04 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Andy McDonald (5) – 11:40 | Second period | 10:34 – sh – Kirk Maltby (1) 16:07 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (4) | ||||||
Travis Moen (4) – 05:06 | Third period | 01:03 – pp – Pavel Datsyuk (6) | ||||||
Scott Niedermayer (2) – 14:17 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 24 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 29 saves / 33 shots |
May 15 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–0 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
Johan Franzen (3) – 11:09 Tomas Holmstrom (4) – pp – 19:17 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Todd Bertuzzi (2) – 03:17 Tomas Holmstrom (5) – 03:34 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Valtteri Filppula (3) – 10:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 29 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 10 saves / 13 shots Ilya Bryzgalov 13 saves / 15 shots |
May 17 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–5 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
Daniel Cleary (3) – 03:29 | First period | 01:37 – Corey Perry (3) 11:46 – pp – Ric Jackman (1) 18:31 – Teemu Selanne (4) | ||||||
Todd Bertuzzi (3) – pp – 07:48 Daniel Cleary (4) – pp – 15:36 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 05:24 – pp – Ryan Getzlaf (4) 18:52 – en – Rob Niedermayer (3) | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 18 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 36 saves / 39 shots |
May 20 | Anaheim Ducks | 2–1 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 06:13 – Andreas Lilja (1) | ||||||
Scott Niedermayer (3) – pp – 19:12 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Teemu Selanne (5) – 11:57 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 36 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 24 saves / 26 shots |
May 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:51 – sh – Rob Niedermayer (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:52 – Corey Perry (4) 18:33 – pp – Ryan Getzlaf (5) | ||||||
Henrik Zetterberg (6) – 03:15 Pavel Datsyuk (7) – pp – 10:08 Pavel Datsyuk (8) – pp – 16:56 |
Third period | 05:54 – Samuel Pahlsson (2) | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 26 saves / 29 shots |
Anaheim won series 4–2 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
This was the first and to date only playoff meeting between these two teams. Anaheim most recently made it to the Finals in 2003 where they were defeated by New Jersey in seven games, while Ottawa made their first Finals appearance in their fifteenth season. This was the first Finals series to be played in Ottawa since the original Ottawa Senators won the Stanley Cup in 1927. For the first time since 1999, neither of the two Stanley Cup finalists had previously won the Stanley Cup. The teams did not play each other during this year's regular season.
Anaheim became the first team based in the Pacific Time zone in the NHL's modern era to win the Stanley Cup; they also became the first west coast team to win the Stanley Cup since the Victoria Cougars in 1925, as well as the first team from California to win the Cup. The Senators became first NHL team from Ontario to reach the Finals since the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967.
May 28 | Ottawa Senators | 2–3 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
Mike Fisher (4) – pp – 01:38 | First period | 10:55 – Andy McDonald (6) | ||||||
Wade Redden (3) – pp – 04:36 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 05:44 – Ryan Getzlaf (6) 17:09 – Travis Moen (5) | ||||||
Ray Emery 29 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 18 saves / 20 shots |
May 30 | Ottawa Senators | 0–1 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 14:16 – Samuel Pahlsson (3) | ||||||
Ray Emery 30 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 16 saves / 16 shots |
June 2 | Anaheim Ducks | 3–5 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
Andy McDonald (7) – pp – 05:39 | First period | 16:10 – Chris Neil (2) | ||||||
Corey Perry (5) – 05:20 Ryan Getzlaf (7) – 07:38 |
Second period | 05:47 – Mike Fisher (5) 16:14 – pp – Daniel Alfredsson (11) 18:34 – Dean McAmmond (5) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 08:22 – Anton Volchenkov (2) | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 24 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 19 saves / 22 shots |
June 4 | Anaheim Ducks | 3–2 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 19:59 – pp – Daniel Alfredsson (12) | ||||||
Andy McDonald (8) – 10:06 Andy McDonald (9) – 11:06 |
Second period | 18:00 – Dany Heatley (7) | ||||||
Dustin Penner (3) – 04:07 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 21 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 18 saves / 21 shots |
June 6 | Ottawa Senators | 2–6 | Anaheim Ducks | Honda Center | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:41 – pp – Andy McDonald (10) 17:41 – Rob Niedermayer (5) | ||||||
Daniel Alfredsson (13) – 11:27 Daniel Alfredsson (14) – sh – 17:38 |
Second period | 15:44 – Travis Moen (6) 18:28 – pp – Francois Beauchemin (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 04:01 – Travis Moen (7) 17:00 – Corey Perry (6) | ||||||
Ray Emery 12 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 11 saves / 13 shots |
Anaheim won series 4–1 | |
Player statistics
Skaters
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daniel Alfredsson | Ottawa Senators | 20 | 14 | 8 | 22 | +4 | 10 |
Jason Spezza | Ottawa Senators | 20 | 7 | 15 | 22 | +5 | 10 |
Dany Heatley | Ottawa Senators | 20 | 7 | 15 | 22 | +4 | 14 |
Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 18 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 0 | 6 |
Ryan Getzlaf | Anaheim Ducks | 21 | 7 | 10 | 17 | +1 | 32 |
Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit Red Wings | 18 | 8 | 8 | 16 | +2 | 8 |
Corey Perry | Anaheim Ducks | 21 | 6 | 9 | 15 | +5 | 37 |
Teemu Selanne | Anaheim Ducks | 21 | 5 | 10 | 15 | +1 | 10 |
Chris Pronger | Anaheim Ducks | 19 | 3 | 12 | 15 | +10 | 26 |
Daniel Briere | Buffalo Sabres | 16 | 3 | 12 | 15 | +3 | 16 |
Goaltending
These are the top five goaltenders based on either goals against average or save percentage with at least four games played.
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts
Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | TOI | Sv% | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marty Turco | Dallas Stars | 7 | 3 | 4 | 229 | 11 | 1.30 | 509:13 | .952 | 3 |
Roberto Luongo | Vancouver Canucks | 12 | 5 | 7 | 427 | 25 | 1.77 | 847:26 | .941 | 0 |
Miikka Kiprusoff | Calgary Flames | 6 | 2 | 4 | 255 | 18 | 2.81 | 383:35 | .929 | 0 |
Henrik Lundqvist | New York Rangers | 10 | 6 | 4 | 291 | 22 | 2.07 | 637:25 | .924 | 1 |
Niklas Backstrom | Minnesota Wild | 5 | 1 | 4 | 145 | 11 | 2.22 | 296:39 | .924 | 0 |
Dominik Hasek | Detroit Red Wings | 18 | 10 | 8 | 444 | 34 | 1.79 | 1,139:49 | .923 | 2 |
Jean-Sebastien Giguere | Anaheim Ducks | 18 | 13 | 4 | 451 | 35 | 1.97 | 1,067:04 | .922 | 1 |
Events and milestones
Detroit Red Wings defenceman Chris Chelios made his 22nd post-season appearance, breaking the record for most post-season appearances. The New York Rangers set a new post-season franchise record that year by defeating the Atlanta Thrashers 7–0 on April 17.
See also
References
- ^ Sears, Ethan (April 12, 2023). "Islanders whip Canadiens to clinch playoff spot". NYPost.com. NYP Holdings, Inc. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ Harrington, Mike (April 30, 2023). "Series victory by Leafs adds new drought to Sabres' postseason resume". Buffalo News. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "MIA Lou reveals he was ... in the loo". May 7, 2007. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2015.