2010 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 14, 2010, after the 2009–10 NHL regular season.[1] The Finals ended on June 9, 2010, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to win their fourth championship and their first since 1961. Blackhawks center and team captain Jonathan Toews was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 14–June 9, 2010 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Runner-up | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | Daniel Briere (Flyers) (30 points) |
| MVP | Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks) |
← 2009 2011 → | |
The Washington Capitals made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. The Detroit Red Wings increased their postseason appearance streak to nineteen seasons, the longest active streak at the time.
This NHL post-season was noted for the unexpected playoff successes of two teams: the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens, who were the seventh and eighth seeds in their conference and were tied for points. The Flyers became the third NHL team to win a seven-game series after being down 3–0 (the others being the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders).[2] The Flyers went on to play in the Stanley Cup Final, losing to Chicago. Meanwhile, the Canadiens became the first eighth-seeded team in NHL history to win a series against the first-seeded team after being down 3–1 in a series, when they beat the Washington Capitals in the first round.[3] After upsetting the defending Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round, the Canadiens became the first eighth-seeded team to compete in the Eastern Conference Final since the current playoff format was implemented in 1994.[4]
Previously, only the eighth-seeded 2006 Edmonton Oilers had accomplished a similar feat, winning the 2006 Western Conference Final. As a result of the Canadiens having the eighth seed, the Flyers became the first seventh-seed to have home-ice advantage in the conference finals since the current playoff format was instituted. During the 2010 playoffs, 18 games went to overtime.[5]
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.
Eastern Conference
- Washington Capitals, Southeast Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, President's Trophy winners – 121 points
- New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions – 103 points
- Buffalo Sabres, Northeast Division champions – 100 points
- Pittsburgh Penguins – 101 points
- Ottawa Senators – 94 points
- Boston Bruins – 91 points
- Philadelphia Flyers – 88 points (41 wins)
- Montreal Canadiens – 88 points (39 wins)
Western Conference
- San Jose Sharks, Pacific Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 113 points
- Chicago Blackhawks, Central Division champions – 112 points
- Vancouver Canucks, Northwest Division champions – 103 points
- Phoenix Coyotes – 107 points
- Detroit Red Wings – 102 points
- Los Angeles Kings – 101 points
- Nashville Predators – 100 points
- Colorado Avalanche – 95 points
Playoff bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice was awarded to the team with the better regular season record. Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team played at home for games one and two (plus five and seven if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was at home for games three and four (and if necessary, game six).
| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | New Jersey | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Buffalo | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Ottawa | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Colorado | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Nashville | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Jose | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Los Angeles | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Vancouver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Phoenix | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Conference Quarterfinals
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winner, earning the NHL's best regular season record with 121 points. The Montreal Canadiens qualified for the playoffs as the eighth seed with 88 points, losing the tiebreaker over Philadelphia on total wins (41 to 39). This was the first and to date only playoff meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
Montreal's point difference in the series was the fifth largest point differential (33 points) for a lower-seeded team beating a higher-seeded team in playoff history. It was also the first time an eighth-seeded team came back against a number one seed after being down 3–1 in the series.[3] Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 45 saves and Tomas Plekanec won game one for the Canadiens with his goal 13:19 into the first overtime period. Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom scored the overtime winner in game two and completed a hat-trick with his goal 31 seconds into the first overtime period to give Washington a 6–5 win; Andrei Kostitsyn also scored a hat-trick during this game in a losing effort for the Canadiens. After a scoreless opening period in game three, the Capitals scored four times in the second period as they earned a 5–1 victory. Washington forward Alexander Ovechkin recorded three points as the Capitals won game four 6–3. Jaroslav Halak returned in game five for Montreal after sitting out the previous game and posted 37 saves as the Canadiens avoided elimination with a 2–1 win. Michael Cammalleri scored twice in the opening period of game six for Montreal and Jaroslav Halak made 53 saves as the Canadiens forced a seventh-game with a 4–1 victory. Montreal forward Dominic Moore scored the series-clinching goal late in the third period of game seven as the Canadiens hung on to a 2–1 decision.
| April 15 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | OT | Washington Capitals | Verizon Center | Recap | ||
| Michael Cammalleri (1) – pp – 12:36 | First period | 15:33 – Joe Corvo (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Gomez (1) – 07:34 | Third period | 00:47 – Nicklas Backstrom (1) | ||||||
| Tomas Plekanec (1) – 13:19 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 45 saves / 47 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 35 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| April 17 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–6 | OT | Washington Capitals | Verizon Center | Recap | ||
| Brian Gionta (1) – 01:00 Andrei Kostitsyn (1) – 07:58 | First period | 10:21 – Eric Fehr (1) | ||||||
| Andrei Kostitsyn (2) – 11:06 Andrei Kostitsyn (3) – pp – 17:44 | Second period | 18:23 – Nicklas Backstrom (2) | ||||||
| Tomas Plekanec (2) – 14:54 | Third period | 02:56 – Alexander Ovechkin (1) 09:47 – Nicklas Backstrom (3) 18:39 – John Carlson (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 00:31 – Nicklas Backstrom (4) | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 31 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 0 saves / 2 shots Semyon Varlamov 19 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Washington Capitals | 5–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Boyd Gordon (1) – sh – 01:06 Brooks Laich (1) – 04:42 Eric Fehr (2) – 08:33 Alexander Ovechkin (2) – 13:50 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Matt Bradley (1) – 19:15 | Third period | 02:25 – pp – Tomas Plekanec (3) | ||||||
| Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 10 saves / 13 shots Carey Price 21 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Washington Capitals | 6–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Alexander Ovechkin (3) – pp – 08:10 | First period | 09:12 – Michael Cammalleri (2) | ||||||
| Mike Knuble (1) – sh – 19:53 | Second period | 15:42 – pp – Brian Gionta (2) | ||||||
| Alexander Ovechkin (4) – 11:09 Jason Chimera (1) – 12:01 Mike Knuble (2) – en – 17:33 Nicklas Backstrom (5) – en – 19:49 | Third period | 18:42 – Dominic Moore (1) | ||||||
| Semyon Varlamov 36 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Carey Price 32 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | Washington Capitals | Verizon Center | Recap | |||
| Michael Cammalleri (3) – 01:30 Travis Moen (1) – 07:01 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:52 – Alexander Ovechkin (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 37 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Washington Capitals | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:30 – pp – Michael Cammalleri (4) 09:09 – Michael Cammalleri (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eric Fehr (3) – 15:10 | Third period | 04:17 – Maxim Lapierre (1) 19:03 – en – Tomas Plekanec (4) | ||||||
| Semyon Varlamov 18 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 53 saves / 54 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | Washington Capitals | Verizon Center | Recap | |||
| Marc-Andre Bergeron (1) – pp – 19:30 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dominic Moore (2) – 16:24 | Third period | 17:44 – Brooks Laich (2) | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 41 saves / 42 shots | Goalie stats | Semyon Varlamov 14 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–3 | |
(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
The New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the second overall seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 103 points. The Philadelphia Flyers qualified as the seventh seed with 88 points, winning the tiebreaker over Montreal on total wins (41 to 39). This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the teams splitting the four previous series. They last met in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Philadelphia won in five games. Philadelphia won five of the six games during this year's regular season series.
The Flyers upset the Devils in five games. Philadelphia goaltender Brian Boucher made 23 saves in game one as the Flyers took the opening game 2–1. Devils forward Dainius Zubrus broke the tie in game two with just over four minutes remaining in the game as New Jersey evened the series with 5–3 victory. Daniel Carcillo scored the overtime winner for the Flyers in a 3–2 win in game three. Brian Boucher made 30 saves and Jeff Carter added two goals in game four as the Flyers pushed New Jersey to the brink of elimination with a 4–1 triumph. Philadelphia ended the series in game five with a 3–0 shutout; Boucher made 28 saves in the victory.
| April 14 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–1 | New Jersey Devils | Prudential Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Pronger (1) – pp – 09:25 Mike Richards (1) – 16:27 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:17 – Travis Zajac (1) | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 12 saves / 14 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–5 | New Jersey Devils | Prudential Center | Recap | |||
| Arron Asham (1) – 09:33 Claude Giroux (1) – pp – 15:30 | First period | 02:45 – sh – Zach Parise (1) | ||||||
| Chris Pronger (2) – pp – 18:48 | Second period | 03:44 – Colin White (1) 13:25 – pp – Andy Greene (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:56 – Dainius Zubrus (1) 19:27 – en – Ilya Kovalchuk (1) | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | New Jersey Devils | 2–3 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Brian Rolston (1) – pp – 07:15 | First period | 08:49 – pp – Claude Giroux (2) | ||||||
| Brian Rolston (2) – pp – 16:38 | Second period | 01:15 – Mike Richards (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 03:35 – Daniel Carcillo (1) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 31 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 17 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | New Jersey Devils | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Ilya Kovalchuk (2) – pp – 12:24 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:08 – pp – Jeff Carter (1) 17:27 – Daniel Briere (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:10 – Daniel Carcillo (2) 09:28 – Jeff Carter (2) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–0 | New Jersey Devils | Prudential Center | Recap | |||
| Daniel Briere (2) – 03:16 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Claude Giroux (3) – 11:48 Claude Giroux (4) – pp – 13:47 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 28 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
(3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Boston Bruins
The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the third overall seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Northeast Division title with 100 points. The Boston Bruins qualified as the sixth seed with 91 points. This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Boston winning five of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1999 Eastern Conference Semifinals where Buffalo won in six games. Boston won four of the six games during this year's regular season series.
The Bruins eliminated the Sabres in six games. Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller made 38 saves as the Sabres took the opening game of the series. Michael Ryder and Zdeno Chara each scored twice in game two as the Bruins overcame a one-goal deficit entering the third period, taking the game 5–3. Boston broke the tie in game three with a goal from Patrice Bergeron with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation time. Buffalo squandered a two-goal lead in third period of game four as the Bruins forced overtime; at 7:41 of the second overtime period Miroslav Satan scored the game-winning goal for Boston, giving them a 3–1 series lead. The Sabres extended the series in game five with a 4–1 victory; at the end of the game, five players were assessed penalties after an altercation including Boston captain Zdeno Chara who was given an instigator penalty.[6] As the penalty occurred in the final five minutes of the game Chara should have been suspended for game six, but the league rescinded the instigator penalty after the game, allowing Chara to avoid suspension.[7] Miroslav Satan scored the series-winning goal in game six as Boston held on to a 4–3 win.
| April 15 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:52 –Thomas Vanek (1) | ||||||
| Mark Recchi (1) – pp – 09:30 | Second period | 14:10 – Craig Rivet (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 38 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 17 | Boston Bruins | 5–3 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:55 – Tyler Myers (1) 12:00 – Matt Ellis (1) | ||||||
| Michael Ryder (1) – 02:35 Zdeno Chara (1) – 09:54 | Second period | 16:41 – Jason Pominville (1) | ||||||
| Michael Ryder (2) – 05:23 Zdeno Chara (2) – 07:23 Mark Recchi (2) – en – 19:40 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 26 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| Mike Grier (1) – 06:57 | First period | 15:17 – Dennis Wideman (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:57 – Patrice Bergeron (1) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 32 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–3 | 2OT | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | ||
| Tim Kennedy (1) – 02:12 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Montador (1) – 06:59 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:07 – pp – David Krejci (1) 06:40 – Patrice Bergeron (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 07:41 – pp – Miroslav Satan (1) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 36 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 35 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Boston Bruins | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:54 – Adam Mair (1) 18:54 – Jason Pominville (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:22 – Mike Grier (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Boychuk (1) – pp – 19:30 | Third period | 18:17 – en – Tyler Ennis (1) | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 29 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 34 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–4 | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:39 – David Krejci (2) | ||||||
| Patrick Kaleta (1) – 06:34 | Second period | 01:01 – pp – Mark Recchi (3) | ||||||
| Nathan Gerbe (1) – 07:40 Thomas Vanek (2) – 18:47 | Third period | 07:18 – David Krejci (3) 14:49 – Miroslav Satan (2) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–2 | |
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 101 points. The Ottawa Senators qualified as the fifth seed with 94 points. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Pittsburgh won in four games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
The Penguins defeated the Senators in six games. Ottawa forward Jarkko Ruutu scored the game-winning goal in game one as the Senators took the opening game 5–4. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist as Pittsburgh evened the series with a 2–1 win. Evgeni Malkin broke the tie for the Penguins early in the second period of game three as they took the series lead with a 4–2 victory. Ottawa goaltender Brian Elliott was pulled in the second period of game four after allowing four goals; the Penguins won the game 7–4. Ottawa avoided elimination in game five thanks to a 56 save effort by Pascal Leclaire; Matt Carkner scored the game-winning goal at 7:06 of the third overtime period. Pittsburgh overcame a three-goal deficit in game six to force overtime, where Pascal Dupuis ended the series at 9:56 of the first overtime as the Penguins advanced past the opening round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
| April 14 | Ottawa Senators | 5–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Peter Regin (1) – 08:45 Chris Neil (1) – 14:08 | First period | 03:03 – pp – Evgeni Malkin (1) | ||||||
| Chris Kelly (1) – pp – 01:20 Erik Karlsson (1) – pp – 13:14 | Second period | 10:22 – pp – Evgeni Malkin (2) | ||||||
| Jarkko Ruutu (1) – 09:40 | Third period | 05:16 – Craig Adams (1) 17:36 – Alex Goligoski (1) | ||||||
| Brian Elliott 17 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Ottawa Senators | 1–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Peter Regin (2) – 00:18 | First period | 08:45 – Sidney Crosby (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:48 – Kris Letang (1) | ||||||
| Brian Elliott 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 19 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–2 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| Alexei Ponikarovsky (1) – 01:17 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Malkin (3) – 05:57 Sidney Crosby (2) – pp – 19:15 | Second period | 01:53 – pp – Mike Fisher (1) | ||||||
| Bill Guerin (1) – 04:27 | Third period | 12:58 – pp – Matt Cullen (1) | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 20 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Elliott 20 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 7–4 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| Evgeni Malkin (4) – pp – 11:50 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sidney Crosby (3) – 03:47 Matt Cooke (1) – 03:59 Sidney Crosby (4) –06:12 Maxime Talbot (1) – sh – 12:38 Chris Kunitz (1) – 18:11 | Second period | 07:06 – Chris Neil (2) 10:59 – Daniel Alfredsson (1) 13:19 – pp – Matt Cullen (2) | ||||||
| Jordan Staal (1) – pp – 12:27 | Third period | 07:37 – Jason Spezza (1) | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Elliott 15 saves / 19 shots Pascal Leclaire 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Ottawa Senators | 4–3 | 3OT | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | ||
| Mike Fisher (2) – pp – 10:25 Jarkko Ruutu (2) – 11:33 | First period | 18:05 – pp – Kris Letang (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:34 – Chris Kunitz (2) | ||||||
| Peter Regin (3) – 10:24 | Third period | 09:01 – Sidney Crosby (5) | ||||||
| Matt Carkner (1) – 07:06 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pascal Leclaire 56 saves / 59 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 40 saves / 44 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–3 | OT | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 05:19 – Matt Cullen (3) | ||||||
| Matt Cooke (2) – 10:56 | Second period | 01:51 – Chris Neil (3) 09:48 – Daniel Alfredsson (2) | ||||||
| Bill Guerin (2) – pp – 07:03 Matt Cooke (3) – 12:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pascal Dupuis (1) – 09:56 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 28 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Pascal Leclaire 39 saves / 43 shots | ||||||
| Pittsburgh won series 4–2 | |
Western Conference Quarterfinals
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions with 113 points. The Colorado Avalanche qualified as the eighth seed with 95 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Colorado winning two of the previous three series. They last met in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals where San Jose won in six games. San Jose won this year's four-game regular season series earning five of eight points.
The Sharks eliminated the Avalanche in six games. Chris Stewart scored for the Avalanche in the final minute of game one as they took the opening game 2–1. Sharks forward Joe Pavelski tied game two in the final minute of regulation time before Devin Setoguchi scored the game-winner on the power-play 5:22 into the first overtime period; evening the series at one game each. Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson made 51 saves and Ryan O'Reilly was credited with scoring the overtime winner after San Jose defenceman Dan Boyle scored on his own goal as the Avalanche won game three 1–0. For the third consecutive time in the series overtime was required to solve game four as Joe Pavelski won the game for the Sharks with his goal 10:24 into the first overtime period. Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves to earn a shutout as the Sharks easily won game five 5–0. After falling behind early in the third period of game six San Jose scored four unanswered goals to close out the series with a 5–2 victory.
| April 14 | Colorado Avalanche | 2–1 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| John-Michael Liles (1) – pp – 12:38 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Stewart (1) – 19:10 | Third period | 07:59 – Ryane Clowe (1) | ||||||
| Craig Anderson 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 28 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Colorado Avalanche | 5–6 | OT | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | ||
| Kyle Cumiskey (1) – 01:10 | First period | 19:18 – pp – Manny Malhotra (1) | ||||||
| Chris Stewart (2) – 00:24 Milan Hejduk (1) – 04:08 Brandon Yip (1) – 17:30 | Second period | 03:43 – Rob Blake (1) 07:10 – Devin Setoguchi (1) 19:45 – Scott Nichol (1) | ||||||
| Chris Stewart (3) – 05:34 | Third period | 19:28 – Joe Pavelski (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:22 – pp – Devin Setoguchi (2) | ||||||
| Craig Anderson 46 saves / 52 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 17 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | San Jose Sharks | 0–1 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 00:51 – Ryan O'Reilly (1) | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 16 saves / 17 shots | Goalie stats | Craig Anderson 51 saves / 51 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | San Jose Sharks | 2–1 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | ||
| Dan Boyle (1) – pp – 01:12 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:27 – pp – Paul Stastny (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Pavelski (2) – 10:24 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 33 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Craig Anderson 43 saves / 45 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Colorado Avalanche | 0–5 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:25 – Logan Couture (1) 10:21 – pp – Joe Pavelski (3) 15:30 – Dwight Helminen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:37 – Logan Couture (2) 13:24 – pp – Patrick Marleau (1) | ||||||
| Craig Anderson 29 saves / 33 shots Peter Budaj 3 saves / 4 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 28 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | San Jose Sharks | 5–2 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| Joe Pavelski (4) – 00:47 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:14 – Marek Svatos (1) | ||||||
| Dan Boyle (2) – 07:33 Joe Pavelski (5) – 09:02 Devin Setoguchi (3) – en – 19:08 Douglas Murray (1) – en – 19:29 | Third period | 04:51 – Brandon Yip (2) | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 16 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Craig Anderson 29 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| San Jose won series 4–2 | |
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators
The Chicago Blackhawks entered the playoffs as the second overall seed in the Western Conference after winning the Central Division title with 112 points. The Nashville Predators qualified as the seventh seed with 100 points. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Chicago won four of the six games during this year's regular season series.
The Blackhawks defeated the Predators in six games. Nashville scored four times in the third period of game one to earn their franchise's first-ever road playoff victory; they had lost all of their ten previous playoff road games. Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi made 23 saves in a 2–0 shutout in game two, as Chicago evened the series. After trading goals in the opening period of game three, the Predators struck three times in the final 40 minutes including a penalty shot goal by Martin Erat. Antti Niemi earned his second shutout of the series in game four as Chicago took the game 3–0. The Blackhawks tied game five late in the third period on a short-handed goal by Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa ended the game 4:07 into overtime, ten seconds after he finished serving a major penalty for boarding. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews capped the scoring in the first period of game six; that saw the teams exchange seven goals. The Blackhawks held on to win the series-clinching game 5–3.
| April 16 | Nashville Predators | 4–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:43 – Patrick Kane (1) | ||||||
| J.P. Dumont (1) – 01:31 J.P. Dumont (2) – 10:31 Jerred Smithson (1) – en – 19:12 Martin Erat (1) – en – 19:46 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pekka Rinne 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 22 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Nashville Predators | 0–2 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:44 – pp – Dave Bolland (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:18 – Patrick Kane (2) | ||||||
| Pekka Rinne 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 23 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–4 | Nashville Predators | Bridgestone Arena | Recap | |||
| Tomas Kopecky (1) – pp – 17:35 | First period | 13:00 – Joel Ward (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:00 – David Legwand (1) 09:52 – Shea Weber (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:25 – ps – Martin Erat (2) | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 31 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Pekka Rinne 26 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–0 | Nashville Predators | Bridgestone Arena | Recap | |||
| Patrick Sharp (1) – pp – 10:57 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jonathan Toews (1) – 12:55 Patrick Sharp (2) – 16:17 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 33 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Nashville Predators | 4–5 | OT | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | ||
| David Legwand (2) – 06:23 | First period | 09:57 – Andrew Ladd (1) 14:53 – Niklas Hjalmarsson (1) | ||||||
| Joel Ward (2) – sh – 17:31 | Second period | 16:24 – Tomas Kopecky (2) | ||||||
| Martin Erat (3) – 01:34 Martin Erat (4) – 11:39 | Third period | 19:46 – sh – Patrick Kane (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 04:07 – Marian Hossa (1) | ||||||
| Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 17 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Chicago Blackhawks | 5–3 | Nashville Predators | Bridgestone Arena | Recap | |||
| Duncan Keith (1) – 06:38 Patrick Kane (4) – 09:54 Patrick Sharp (3) – 12:03 Jonathan Toews (2) – pp – 19:29 | First period | 08:50 – Shea Weber (2) 15:44 – pp – Jason Arnott (1) 19:05 – Jason Arnott (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Madden (1) – en – 19:52 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the third overall seed in the Western Conference after winning the Northwest Division title with 103 points. The Los Angeles Kings qualified as the sixth seed with 101 points, earning their first playoff berth since 2002. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Los Angeles winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 1993 Smythe Division Finals where Los Angeles won in six games. Vancouver won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Canucks eliminated the Kings in six games. Mikael Samuelsson scored twice for the Canucks in game one including the overtime winner 8:52 into the first overtime period as Vancouver took the opening game 3–2. The Kings evened the series in game two when Anze Kopitar scored the game-winning goal in the first overtime period at 7:28. Los Angeles chased Vancouver starter Roberto Luongo from game three after he allowed four goals against on sixteen shots, the Kings held on to win 5–3. Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin broke the tie in game four with 2:52 remaining in regulation time as the Canucks evened the series with a 6–4 victory. Mikael Samuelsson extended his goal scoring streak to five games as the Canucks easily won game five 7–2. Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo made 30 saves in game six and Daniel Sedin scored the series-winner for Vancouver late in the third period of a 4–2 win.
| April 15 | Los Angeles Kings | 2–3 | OT | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jarret Stoll (1) – pp – 00:54 Fredrik Modin (1) – pp – 13:06 | Second period | 03:09 – pp – Mikael Samuelsson (1) 08:31 – Daniel Sedin (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 08:52 – Mikael Samuelsson (2) | ||||||
| Jonathan Quick 41 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 17 | Los Angeles Kings | 3–2 | OT | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 07:33 – pp – Steve Bernier (1) 09:49 – Mikael Samuelsson (3) | ||||||
| Fredrik Modin (2) – pp – 10:58 Wayne Simmonds (1) – 11:33 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Anze Kopitar (1) – pp – 07:28 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jonathan Quick 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 29 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Vancouver Canucks | 3–5 | Los Angeles Kings | Staples Center | Recap | |||
| Mason Raymond (1) – 02:09 | First period | 11:00 – pp – Drew Doughty (1) | ||||||
| Mikael Samuelsson (4) – 14:53 | Second period | 04:06 – pp – Michal Handzus (1) 12:18 – pp – Michal Handzus (2) 13:21 – Brad Richardson (1) | ||||||
| Daniel Sedin (2) – 04:18 | Third period | 09:21 – Ryan Smyth (1) | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 12 saves / 16 shots Andrew Raycroft 6 saves / 7 shots | Goalie stats | Jonathan Quick 25 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Vancouver Canucks | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings | Staples Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:26 – pp – Drew Doughty (2) | ||||||
| Christian Ehrhoff (1) – pp – 03:36 Pavol Demitra (1) – 15:35 | Second period | 05:56 – pp – Dustin Brown (1) 17:09 – Anze Kopitar (2) | ||||||
| Mikael Samuelsson (5) – 07:29 Sami Salo (1) – pp – 12:16 Henrik Sedin (1) – 17:08 Ryan Kesler (1) – en – 19:43 | Third period | 13:18 – Wayne Simmonds (2) | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Jonathan Quick 31 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Los Angeles Kings | 2–7 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Michal Handzus (3) – pp – 14:24 | First period | 08:50 – Steve Bernier (2) 17:32 – Alexander Edler (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:26 – Daniel Sedin (3) 13:31 – Mikael Samuelsson (6) | ||||||
| Fredrik Modin (3) – 05:02 | Third period | 04:38 – Pavol Demitra (2) 06:31 – pp – Mikael Samuelsson (7) 09:50 – Steve Bernier (3) | ||||||
| Jonathan Quick 21 saves / 26 shots Erik Ersberg 2 saves / 4 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Vancouver Canucks | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings | Staples Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 10:08 – Alexander Frolov (1) | ||||||
| Steve Bernier (4) – pp – 08:38 | Second period | 15:57 – Drew Doughty (3) | ||||||
| Kevin Bieksa (1) – 01:57 Daniel Sedin (4) – 17:57 Alexandre Burrows (1) – en – 18:53 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Jonathan Quick 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| Vancouver won series 4–2 | |
(4) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
The Phoenix Coyotes entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 107 points. The Detroit Red Wings qualified as the fifth seed with 102 points. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with Detroit winning both previous series. They last met in the 1998 Western Conference Quarterfinals where Detroit won in six games. Detroit won this year's four-game regular season series earning six of eight points.
The Red Wings defeated the Coyotes in seven games. Phoenix went three for four on the power-play in game one as they took the opening game by a final score of 3–2. Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg scored a hat trick in game two as Detroit evened the series with a 7–4 win. Petr Prucha scored the game-winning goal for the Coyotes in game three as Phoenix took the game with a 4–2 victory. Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard made 29 saves to shut out the Coyotes in game four as the Red Wings tied the series with a 3–0 win. The Red Wings broke the tie in game five just past the midway mark of the third period with two goals scored 70 seconds apart and held on to win 4–1. Phoenix forced a seventh game with a dominant special teams performance in game six recording three power-play goals in the victory. After a scoreless first period in game seven, the Red Wings scored four times in the second period en route to a 6–1 win.
| April 14 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Phoenix Coyotes | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| Tomas Holmstrom (1) – 12:17 Nicklas Lidstrom (1) – pp – 16:27 | First period | 14:13 – pp – Keith Yandle (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:15 – pp – Wojtek Wolski (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:19 – pp – Derek Morris (1) | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 38 saves / 40 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Detroit Red Wings | 7–4 | Phoenix Coyotes | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 10:23 – Keith Yandle (2) | ||||||
| Henrik Zetterberg (1) – pp – 06:27 Pavel Datsyuk (1) – 08:20 Valtteri Filppula (1) – 10:25 | Second period | 07:05 – Wojtek Wolski (2) 09:09 – Matthew Lombardi (1) | ||||||
| Justin Abdelkader (1) – 02:32 Henrik Zetterberg (2) – 13:54 Valtteri Filppula (2) – pp – 17:54 Henrik Zetterberg (3) – en – 19:12 | Third period | 09:24 – Shane Doan (1) | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 27 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 32 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Phoenix Coyotes | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Sami Lepisto (1) – pp – 00:29 | First period | 14:42 – Valtteri Filppula (3) | ||||||
| Wojtek Wolski (3) – 19:28 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Petr Prucha (1) – 08:16 Radim Vrbata (1) – 11:38 | Third period | 09:59 – Johan Franzen (1) | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 29 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Phoenix Coyotes | 0–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:33 – pp – Henrik Zetterberg (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:53 – Pavel Datsyuk (2) 16:18 – Henrik Zetterberg (5) | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 29 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–1 | Phoenix Coyotes | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| Drew Miller (1) – 17:04 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:45 – Ed Jovanovski (1) | ||||||
| Tomas Holmstrom (2) – 11:09 Pavel Datsyuk (3) – 12:19 Henrik Zetterberg (6) – en – 19:04 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 30 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 25 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Phoenix Coyotes | 5–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Lauri Korpikoski (1) – sh – 04:10 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mathieu Schneider (1) – pp – 02:27 Radim Vrbata (2) – pp – 10:09 Wojtek Wolski (4) – 14:01 | Second period | 02:51 – Brad Stuart (1) | ||||||
| Taylor Pyatt (1) – pp – 05:25 | Third period | 16:29 – Darren Helm (1) | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 24 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Detroit Red Wings | 6–1 | Phoenix Coyotes | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pavel Datsyuk (4) – pp – 02:01 Pavel Datsyuk (5) – 03:42 Nicklas Lidstrom (2) – pp – 13:52 Brad Stuart (2) – 19:55 | Second period | 08:23 – Vernon Fiddler (1) | ||||||
| Todd Bertuzzi (1) – 06:35 Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – pp – 12:14 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 44 saves / 50 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–3 | |
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference Semifinals
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with Montreal winning the previous series. They last met in the 1998 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Montreal won in six games. Pittsburgh won three of the four games during this year's four-game regular season series.
The Canadiens defeated the Penguins in seven games. Pittsburgh scored four times on the power-play in game one as they took the opening game 6–3. Michael Cammalleri scored twice for Montreal in game two and Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves as the Canadiens evened the series with a 3–1 win. Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin's fifth goal of the playoffs broke a scoreless tie in the third period of game three as the Penguins earned a 2–0 victory; Marc-Andre Fleury made 18 saves to shut-out the Canadiens. Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves for Montreal in game four as Montreal won the game 3–2. In game five, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves in a 2–1 victory. Montreal forward Maxim Lapierre scored the game-winning goal in game six as the Canadiens won their fourth consecutive elimination game of the playoffs. Montreal's Brian Gionta scored twice on the power-play in game seven as the Canadiens eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champions with a 5–2 win. Game seven was the last game ever to be played at Mellon Arena, the Penguins' home rink since the start of the franchise. Incidentally, the Canadiens were the winners of the first game played against the Penguins at Mellon Arena in 1967.[8] The Penguins moved into the Consol Energy Center starting the next season.
| April 30 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| P. K. Subban (1) – 04:30 | First period | 08:38 – pp – Sergei Gonchar (1) 13:27 – pp – Jordan Staal (2) | ||||||
| Michael Cammalleri (6) – 15:27 | Second period | 02:34 – pp – Kris Letang (3) 18:36 – Craig Adams (2) | ||||||
| Brian Gionta (3) – pp – 12:29 | Third period | 02:59 – pp – Alex Goligoski (2) 19:11 – en – Bill Guerin (3) | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 15 saves / 20 shots Carey Price 3 saves / 3 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 28 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Brian Gionta (4) – 15:48 | First period | 04:38 – Matt Cooke (4) | ||||||
| Michael Cammalleri (7) – pp – 07:29 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Cammalleri (8) – 17:06 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 38 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Malkin (5) – pp – 01:16 Pascal Dupuis (2) – en – 19:45 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 18 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 23 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Maxime Talbot (2) – 03:27 Chris Kunitz (3) – pp – 05:18 | First period | 02:34 – Tom Pyatt (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:07 – Maxim Lapierre (2) 03:40 – Brian Gionta (5) | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 33 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 18:18 – pp – Kris Letang (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:50 – Sergei Gonchar (2) | ||||||
| Michael Cammalleri (9) – pp – 19:29 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 23 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 32 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Sidney Crosby (6) – 07:22 | First period | 01:13 – Michael Cammalleri (10) | ||||||
| Kris Letang (5) – pp – 05:21 | Second period | 10:45 – Michael Cammalleri (11) 13:15 – Jaroslav Spacek (1) | ||||||
| Bill Guerin (4) – 18:36 | Third period | 11:03 – Maxim Lapierre (3) | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 34 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Brian Gionta (6) – pp – 00:32 Dominic Moore (3) – 14:23 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Cammalleri (12) – 03:32 Travis Moen (2) – sh – 05:14 | Second period | 08:36 – Chris Kunitz (4) 16:30 – Jordan Staal (3) | ||||||
| Brian Gionta (7) – pp – 10:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 37 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 9 saves / 13 shots Brent Johnson 6 saves / 7 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–3 | |
(6) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the teams splitting the four previous series. They last met in the 1978 Stanley Cup Semifinals where Boston won in five games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series, including a 2–1 overtime win by Boston at the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park on New Year's Day.
Philadelphia became the third NHL team to come back from a 3–0 deficit to win a series, joining the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders as the only teams to accomplish this feat (the 2014 Los Angeles Kings became the fourth team to do this in 2014).[2] Bruins forward Marc Savard ended game one with his goal 13:52 into the first overtime period, giving Boston a 5–4 victory. Milan Lucic broke the tie late in the third period of game two to give the Bruins a 3–2 win. Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask made 34 saves in a 4–1 Bruins win during game three. In game four, Bruins forward Mark Recchi tied the game in the final minute of the third period, however the Bruins came up short in overtime as Simon Gagne extended the series with a goal 14:40 into the first overtime period in a 5–4 Flyers victory. Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton made 23 saves in a 4–0 split shutout for the Flyers in game five; Boucher was injured in the second period and did not return to the game. The Flyers forced a seventh game with a 2–1 victory in game six. In game seven, Philadelphia came back from a 3–0 goal deficit to win by a score of 4–3.[9]
| May 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–5 | OT | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 02:39 – Steve Begin (1) 12:54 – Patrice Bergeron (3) | ||||||
| Ryan Parent (1) – 07:38 Chris Pronger (3) – pp – 15:48 | Second period | 11:43 – pp – Miroslav Satan (3) | ||||||
| Mike Richards (3) – pp – 12:37 Daniel Briere (3) – 16:38 | Third period | 07:25 – David Krejci (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 13:52 – Marc Savard (1) | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 41 saves / 46 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 32 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| May 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–3 | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| Mike Richards (4) – 17:06 | First period | 05:12 – Johnny Boychuk (2) | ||||||
| Daniel Briere (4) – 19:35 | Second period | 09:31 – Miroslav Satan (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:03 – Milan Lucic (1) | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 24 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | Boston Bruins | 4–1 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Blake Wheeler (1) – 04:11 Miroslav Satan (5) – 05:45 | First period | 02:32 – Arron Asham (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mark Recchi (4) – pp – 02:30 Patrice Bergeron (4) – en – 18:08 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 34 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 16 saves / 19 shots Johan Backlund 0 saves / 0 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Boston Bruins | 4–5 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Mark Recchi (5) – 15:37 | First period | 19:06 – Daniel Briere (5) | ||||||
| Michael Ryder (3) – 10:56 | Second period | 04:28 – Chris Pronger (4) 08:35 – Claude Giroux (5) | ||||||
| Milan Lucic (2) – pp – 03:49 Mark Recchi (6) – 19:28 | Third period | 14:20 – Ville Leino (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 14:40 – Simon Gagne (1) | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 29 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 33 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–0 | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| Ville Leino (2) – 06:41 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Hartnell (1) – 11:16 Simon Gagne (2) – pp – 17:53 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Gagne (3) – 06:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 9 saves / 9 shots Michael Leighton 14 saves / 14 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 27 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:58 – Mike Richards (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:20 – pp – Daniel Briere (6) | ||||||
| Milan Lucic (3) – 19:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–3 | Boston Bruins | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| James van Riemsdyk (1) – 17:12 | First period | 05:27 – pp – Michael Ryder (4) 09:02 – pp – Milan Lucic (4) 14:10 – Milan Lucic (5) | ||||||
| Scott Hartnell (2) – 02:49 Daniel Briere (7) – 08:39 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Gagne (4) – pp – 12:52 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–3 | |
Western Conference Semifinals
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Detroit winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals where Detroit won in six games. Detroit won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Sharks eliminated the Red Wings in five games. San Jose scored three times in less than 90 seconds in the first period of game one, as they held on late to a 4–3 victory. After trading goals in the first period of game two, Detroit took the lead in the second period before San Jose came back in the third period, getting the game-winning goal from Joe Thornton at 12:37. The Sharks forced overtime in game three after coming back from a two-goal deficit in the third period, Patrick Marleau scored the overtime-winner for San Jose at 7:07 of the first overtime period. Detroit forward Johan Franzen scored a natural hat trick in the first period of game four and he scored again in the third period to cap off a four goal, six point night as the Red Wings extended the series with a 7–1 victory. No other player would score four times in a playoff game again until Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored four goals for the Ottawa Senators in a 6–5 overtime victory in game two of the 2017 Eastern Conference Second Round series against the New York Rangers. San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves in the series-clinching win during game five.
| April 29 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Daniel Cleary (1) – 11:40 | First period | 09:05 – pp – Joe Pavelski (5) 10:01 – Dany Heatley (1) 10:24 – Devin Setoguchi (4) | ||||||
| Johan Franzen (2) – 04:45 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Rafalski (1) – 02:57 | Third period | 00:50 – pp – Joe Pavelski (6) | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Pavel Datsyuk (6) – 06:51 Tomas Holmstrom (3) – pp – 13:17 | First period | 09:01 – pp – Joe Pavelski (8) 10:32 – Ryane Clowe (2) | ||||||
| Nicklas Lidstrom (4) – 02:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:40 – pp – Joe Pavelski (9) 12:37 – Joe Thornton (1) | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 41 saves / 45 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 28 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | San Jose Sharks | 4–3 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| Devin Setoguchi (5) – 19:56 | First period | 13:33 – Tomas Holmstrom (4) 18:37 – Daniel Cleary (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:42 – Henrik Zetterberg (7) | ||||||
| Joe Thornton (2) – 06:42 Logan Couture (3) – 13:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau (2) – 07:07 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 29 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | San Jose Sharks | 1–7 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:40 – pp – Todd Bertuzzi (2) 07:50 – Johan Franzen (3) 10:43 – Johan Franzen (4) 11:16 – Johan Franzen (5) 18:50 – Valtteri Filppula (4) | ||||||
| Dany Heatley (2) – pp – 19:11 | Second period | 03:05 – pp – Brian Rafalski (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 07:33 – pp – Johan Franzen (6) | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 4 saves / 9 shots Thomas Greiss 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 28 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–2 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Rafalski (3) – 02:40 | Second period | 04:54 – pp – Joe Thornton (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:59 – Patrick Marleau (3) | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 33 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| San Jose won series 4–1 | |
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Vancouver Canucks
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Chicago winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the previous year's Western Conference Semifinals where Chicago won in six games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
The Blackhawks defeated the Canucks in six games for the second consecutive year in the second round. Five different Vancouver players scored in game one and Roberto Luongo made 36 saves in the opening game victory. Kris Versteeg's first goal of the playoffs broke the tie in game two with 1:30 remaining in regulation time as the Blackhawks evened the series with a 4–2 win. Chicago forward Dustin Byfuglien scored a hat trick in game three as the Blackhawks won 5–2. In game four Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews recorded a hat trick of his own (scoring all three goals on the power-play) as Chicago broke the game open in the second period and won by a final score of 7–4. Kevin Bieksa scored twice for the Canucks in game five as Vancouver avoided elimination with a 4–1 victory. After a scoreless opening period in game six the Blackhawks struck three times in the second period and held on to win the game 5–1, earning their second consecutive trip to the Western Conference Final.
| May 1 | Vancouver Canucks | 5–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Christian Ehrhoff (2) – 13:51 Mason Raymond (2) – 19:49 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Henrik Sedin (2) – 00:32 Kyle Wellwood (1) – pp – 10:59 Michael Grabner (1) – 16:21 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:07 – pp – Patrick Kane (5) | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 36 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 20 saves / 25 shots Cristobal Huet 3 saves / 3 shots | ||||||
| May 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Mason Raymond (3) – 01:22 Mikael Samuelsson (8) – pp – 05:02 | First period | 07:40 – Brent Seabrook (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:49 – sh – Patrick Sharp (4) 18:30 – Kris Versteeg (1) 19:12 – en – Patrick Kane (6) | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | Chicago Blackhawks | 5–2 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Kris Versteeg (2) – 05:19 Dustin Byfuglien (1) – pp – 16:47 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dustin Byfuglien (2) – pp – 11:24 | Second period | 09:07 – Jannik Hansen (1) 19:06 – Alexandre Burrows (2) | ||||||
| Marian Hossa (2) – 07:45 Dustin Byfuglien (3) – 13:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Chicago Blackhawks | 7–4 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Brent Seabrook (2) – 00:18 Jonathan Toews (3) – pp – 09:23 | First period | 01:34 – Kyle Wellwood (2) 14:36 – pp — Daniel Sedin (5) | ||||||
| Jonathan Toews (4) – pp – 00:27 Patrick Sharp (5) – pp – 12:47 Jonathan Toews (5) – pp – 15:22 | Second period | 18:16 – pp – Alexander Edler (2) | ||||||
| Tomas Kopecky (3) – 06:59 Dave Bolland (2) – en – 19:23 | Third period | 14:37 – Henrik Sedin (3) | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 27 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 4–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Christian Ehrhoff (3) – 00:59 Kevin Bieksa (2) – 14:24 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Kevin Bieksa (3) – pp – 13:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alexandre Burrows (3) – en – 19:15 | Third period | 12:51 – Jonathan Toews (6) | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Chicago Blackhawks | 5–1 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Troy Brouwer (1) – 02:00 Kris Versteeg (3) – 02:36 Dave Bolland (3) – sh – 19:15 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Kane (7) – 08:17 Dustin Byfuglien (4) – 08:42 | Third period | 03:44 – Shane O'Brien (1) | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference Final
(7) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning three of the five previous series. They last met in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals which Philadelphia won in five games. This was Philadelphia's ninth appearance in the Conference Finals. They last went to the Conference Finals in 2008, which they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. This was Montreal's sixth Conference Finals appearance. They last went to the Conference Finals in 1993; which they won in five games over the New York Islanders. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series. Since adopting a conference based playoff seeding format in the 1993–94 NHL season this was the first Conference Final contested by the seventh and eighth seeds.
The Flyers defeated the Canadiens in five games. Michael Leighton made 28 saves in game one to earn a shutout as Philadelphia took the opener 6–0. The Flyers scored twice on the power-play in game two and Leighton shutout the Canadiens again in a 3–0 win. After being shutout in the first two games of the series Montreal scored five times in game three to earn a victory. In game four, Michael Leighton earned his third shutout of the series as the Flyers took a 3–1 series lead with another 3–0 win. Flyers forward Jeff Carter scored the series-winning goal in the second period of game five and added an empty net goal in the third period to seal the game as Philadelphia advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1997.
| May 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–6 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:55 – pp – Braydon Coburn (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 00:30 – James van Riemsdyk (2) 04:23 – Daniel Briere (8) 09:53 – pp – Simon Gagne (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:13 – Scott Hartnell (3) 13:26 – Claude Giroux (6) | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 10 saves / 14 shots Carey Price 9 saves / 11 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 28 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:16 – pp – Daniel Briere (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:49 – pp – Simon Gagne (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:24 – Ville Leino (3) | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 20 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 30 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 20 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:05 – Michael Cammalleri (13) 16:52 – Tom Pyatt (2) | ||||||
| Simon Gagne (7) – 08:22 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:00 – Brian Gionta (8) 11:33 – Dominic Moore (4) 19:29 – pp – Marc-Andre Bergeron (2) | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 33 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 22 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Claude Giroux (7) – 05:41 Ville Leino (4) – 14:53 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Claude Giroux (8) – en – 18:47 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 17 saves / 17 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 22 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Brian Gionta (9) – 00:59 | First period | 04:25 – sh – Mike Richards (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:07 – Arron Asham (3) 04:31 – Jeff Carter (3) | ||||||
| Scott Gomez (2) – 06:53 | Third period | 19:37 – en – Jeff Carter (4) | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference Final
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (2) Chicago Blackhawks
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was San Jose's second appearance in the Conference Finals. They last went to the Conference Finals in 2004, which they lost to the Calgary Flames in six games. This was Chicago's ninth Conference Finals appearance. They last went to the Conference Finals in the previous year; which they lost in five games to the Detroit Red Wings. Chicago won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Blackhawks swept the Sharks in four games. Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi made 44 saves in game one as Chicago took the opening game 2–1. Chicago had a three-goal lead halfway through the second period of game two and held on to win the game by a final score of 4–2. The Sharks came back to tie the game in the third period of game three thanks to Patrick Marleau’s second goal of the game, however San Jose came up short in overtime as Dustin Byfuglien ended the game at 12:24 of the first overtime period, giving Chicago a 3–0 series lead. Chicago trailed by two goals near the halfway mark of the second period before scoring four unanswered goals to complete the sweep in game four and they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in eighteen years.
| May 16 | Chicago Blackhawks | 2–1 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:19 – pp – Jason Demers (1) | ||||||
| Patrick Sharp (6) – 07:44 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dustin Byfuglien (5) – 13:15 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 44 saves / 45 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 38 saves / 40 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | Chicago Blackhawks | 4–2 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Andrew Ladd (2) – 12:48 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dustin Byfuglien (6) – 06:59 Jonathan Toews (7) – pp – 08:29 | Second period | 11:08 – pp – Patrick Marleau (4) | ||||||
| Troy Brouwer (2) – 06:18 | Third period | 15:32 – Patrick Marleau (5) | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 20 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 21 | San Jose Sharks | 2–3 | OT | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau (6) – pp – 03:58 | Second period | 06:59 – pp – Patrick Sharp (7) | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau (7) – 15:37 | Third period | 13:05 – Dave Bolland (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 12:24 – Dustin Byfuglien (7) | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 44 saves / 46 shots | ||||||
| May 23 | San Jose Sharks | 2–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Logan Couture (4) – 11:08 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau (8) – sh – 07:35 | Second period | 13:15 – Brent Seabrook (3) 18:38 – Dave Bolland (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:05 – pp – Dustin Byfuglien (8) 19:18 – en – Kris Versteeg (4) | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 16 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–0 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
This was the second playoff series between these two teams and the first since 1971 when the Blackhawks swept the Flyers in four games in the Stanley Cup quarterfinals. Philadelphia won the only meeting between these teams in the regular season. Prior to the 2010 Finals, both teams had previously lost in their last five consecutive Finals appearances (Chicago in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, and 1992; and Philadelphia in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, and 1997). Having lost in the 2010 Finals, the Flyers became the third team in NHL history to lose in six consecutive Finals appearances, after the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings. It also was the first time since the Flyers themselves lost in 1987 that a team in the city of Philadelphia lost a championship in a non-presidential inauguration year (Phillies in 1993 and 2009 World Series, Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Flyers in 1997, and 76ers in 2001 NBA Finals).[10] This was the first Stanley Cup won in overtime since the New Jersey Devils in 2000.
| May 29 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–6 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Ville Leino (5) – 06:38 Scott Hartnell (4) – pp – 16:37 Daniel Briere (10) – 19:33 | First period | 07:46 – Troy Brouwer (3) 11:50 – sh – Dave Bolland (6) | ||||||
| Blair Betts (1) – 07:20 Arron Asham (4) – 18:49 | Second period | 01:11 – Patrick Sharp (8) 09:31 – Kris Versteeg (5) 15:18 – Troy Brouwer (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:25 – Tomas Kopecky (4) | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 15 saves / 20 shots Brian Boucher 11 saves / 12 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 27 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| May 31 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–2 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 17:09 – Marian Hossa (3) 17:37 – Ben Eager (1) | ||||||
| Simon Gagne (8) – pp – 05:20 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 32 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| June 2 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–4 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 14:58 – pp – Daniel Briere (11) | ||||||
| Duncan Keith (2) – 02:49 Brent Sopel (1) – 17:52 | Second period | 09:55 – pp – Scott Hartnell (5) | ||||||
| Patrick Kane (8) – 02:50 | Third period | 03:10 – Ville Leino (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:59 – Claude Giroux (9) | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 24 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| June 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Patrick Sharp (9) – 18:32 | First period | 04:35 – pp – Mike Richards (7) 14:48 – Matt Carle (1) 19:23 – Claude Giroux (10) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dave Bolland (7) – pp – 12:01 Brian Campbell (1) – 15:50 | Third period | 06:43 – Ville Leino (7) 19:35 – en – Jeff Carter (5) | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 31 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| June 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–7 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 12:17 – pp – Brent Seabrook (4) 15:26 – Dave Bolland (8) 18:15 – Kris Versteeg (6) | ||||||
| Scott Hartnell (6) – 00:32 Kimmo Timonen (1) – 04:38 | Second period | 03:13 – Patrick Kane (9) 15:45 – pp – Dustin Byfuglien (9) | ||||||
| James van Riemsdyk (3) – 06:36 Simon Gagne (9) – 17:24 | Third period | 16:08 – Patrick Sharp (10) 17:55 – en – Dustin Byfuglien (10) | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 10 saves / 13 shots Brian Boucher 11 saves / 14 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| June 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 4–3 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Dustin Byfuglien (11) – pp – 16:49 | First period | 19:33 – pp – Scott Hartnell (7) | ||||||
| Patrick Sharp (11) – 09:58 Andrew Ladd (3) – 17:43 | Second period | 08:00 – Daniel Briere (12) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 16:01 – Scott Hartnell (8) | ||||||
| Patrick Kane (10) – 04:06 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 37 saves / 41 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
Player statistics
Skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points. If the list exceeds ten skaters because of a tie in points, goals take precedence.[11]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Briere | Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 12 | 18 | 30 | +9 |
| Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 7 | 22 | 29 | -1 |
| Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 10 | 18 | 28 | -2 |
| Mike Richards | Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 7 | 16 | 23 | -1 |
| Patrick Sharp | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 11 | 11 | 22 | +10 |
| Claude Giroux | Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 10 | 11 | 21 | +7 |
| Ville Leino | Philadelphia Flyers | 19 | 7 | 14 | 21 | +10 |
| Michael Cammalleri | Montreal Canadiens | 19 | 13 | 6 | 19 | -6 |
| Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 13 | 6 | 13 | 19 | +6 |
| Johan Franzen | Detroit Red Wings | 12 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +8 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus
Goaltending
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.[12][13]
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Leighton | Philadelphia Flyers | 13 | 8 | 3 | 371 | 31 | 2.46 | .916 | 3 | 757:13 |
| Brian Boucher | Philadelphia Flyers | 12 | 6 | 6 | 298 | 27 | 2.47 | .909 | 1 | 655:37 |
| Jaroslav Halak | Montreal Canadiens | 18 | 9 | 9 | 562 | 43 | 2.55 | .923 | 0 | 1,013:24 |
| Evgeni Nabokov | San Jose Sharks | 15 | 8 | 7 | 407 | 38 | 2.56 | .907 | 1 | 889:51 |
| Tuukka Rask | Boston Bruins | 13 | 7 | 6 | 409 | 36 | 2.61 | .912 | 0 | 829:03 |
| Antti Niemi | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 16 | 6 | 645 | 58 | 2.63 | .910 | 2 | 1,321:51 |
| Jimmy Howard | Detroit Red Wings | 12 | 5 | 7 | 387 | 33 | 2.75 | .915 | 1 | 720:26 |
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds)
Television
National Canadian English-language coverage of the first three rounds of the playoffs were split between CBC and TSN. CBC held exclusive rights to the Stanley Cup Finals. French-language telecasts were broadcast on RDS and RDS2.
In the United States, national coverage was split between NBC and Versus. During the first and second round, excluding games exclusively broadcast on NBC, the regional rights holders of each participating U.S. team produced local telecasts of their respective games. Not all first and second round games were nationally televised, while the Conference Finals were exclusively broadcast on either NBC or Versus. NBC then aired the first two and final two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, while Versus broadcast games three and four.
References
- ^ "2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Quarterfinals Schedule". National Hockey League. April 11, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ a b Compton, Brian (May 14, 2010). "Double comeback: Flyers rally in Game 7 to advance". Boston: National Hockey League. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ a b "Questions galore for Capitals after quick exit". Washington, D.C.: National Hockey League. Associated Press. April 29, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ "Canadiens stun Penguins 5-2 in Game 7". National Hockey League. May 13, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ Carchidi, Sam (June 10, 2010). "Sudden Death; Flyers' unforgettable run ends as Hawks win Cup". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1.
- ^ "Sabres score early, often to force Game 6 against Bruins". April 24, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ "Bruins' Chara avoids suspension for Game 6". April 24, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Penguins 1967-68 Game Log and Scores". Nhlreference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ^ Ulman, Howard (May 14, 2010). "Flyers complete shocking comeback". Toronto Star. Boston. Associated Press. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- ^ Warren, Ken (June 2, 2010). "Two cities that could use a CUP". Ottawa Citizen. p. B3.
- ^ . NHL.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "2009–2010 - Playoffs - Goalie - Summary - Goals against average". NHL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- ^ "2009–2010 - Playoffs - Goalie - Summary - Save percentage". NHL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2010.