2006 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, seeded one through eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series with re-seeding after the Conference Quarterfinals. The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.
The finals concluded on June 19 with the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the final series four games to three. Carolina goaltender Cam Ward was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.
While the 2005–06 season introduced a shootout to break ties after five minutes of four-on-four overtime, the Stanley Cup playoffs retained their traditional format of unlimited 20-minute periods of five-on-five sudden-death overtime to break ties.
The Western Conference made history in the first round when all four series were won by the lower-seeded teams (conversely, all four series in the Eastern Conference were won by the higher-seeded teams). The eighth- and lowest-seeded Oilers proceeded to win the Western Conference and participate in the Stanley Cup Finals. Four Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs this year, this total was not equaled again until 2013.
Playoff seeds
Eastern Conference
- Ottawa Senators, Northeast Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 113 points
- Carolina Hurricanes, Southeast Division champions – 112 points
- New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions – 101 points (46 wins)
- Buffalo Sabres – 110 points
- Philadelphia Flyers – 101 points (45 wins)
- New York Rangers – 100 points
- Montreal Canadiens – 93 points
- Tampa Bay Lightning – 92 points
Western Conference
- Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 124 points
- Dallas Stars, Pacific Division champions – 112 points
- Calgary Flames, Northwest Division champions – 103 points
- Nashville Predators – 106 points
- San Jose Sharks – 99 points
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – 98 points
- Colorado Avalanche – 95 points (43 wins)
- Edmonton Oilers – 95 points (41 wins)
Playoff bracket
Conference Quarterfinals
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
(1) Ottawa Senators vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning
The Ottawa Senators entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season and Northeast Division champions with 113 points. Tampa Bay qualified as the eighth seed earning 92 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Ottawa won all four games during this year's regular season series.
The Senators defeated the Lightning in five games. The Senators used a two-man advantage in third period of Game one to gain the lead as they took the game by a score of 4–1. In Game two the Lightning came back from a one-goal deficit by scoring two goals 55 seconds apart as they evened the series with a 4–3 victory. Six Ottawa skaters scored a goal in Game three as the Senators won 8–4. Ottawa scored three times in the second-period of Game four as they earned a 5–2 win. Martin Havlat scored the series-winning goal for the Senators at 15:02 of the second period as Ottawa closed out the series with a 3–2 victory.
| April 21 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1–4 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| Vincent Lecavalier (1) – pp – 19:00 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:06 – pp – Martin Havlat (1) 06:13 – pp – Jason Spezza (1) 09:37 – sh – Mike Fisher (1) 18:58 – en – Daniel Alfredsson (1) | ||||||
| John Grahame 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 35 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4–3 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| Martin St. Louis (1) – 14:36 | First period | 04:51 – Bryan Smolinski (1) | ||||||
| Brad Richards (1) – 07:39 | Second period | 17:12 – pp – Martin Havlat (2) | ||||||
| Dan Boyle (1) – 05:24 Martin St. Louis (2) – 06:19 |
Third period | 03:21 – Peter Schaefer (1) | ||||||
| John Grahame 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 32 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Ottawa Senators | 8–4 | Tampa Bay Lightning | St. Pete Times Forum | Recap | |||
| Martin Havlat (3) – 05:20 Wade Redden (1) – pp – 08:40 Patrick Eaves (1) – 12:56 |
First period | 18:38 – pp – Martin St. Louis (3) | ||||||
| Martin Havlat (4) – 02:17 Antoine Vermette (1) – 09:11 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dany Heatley (1) – pp – 06:12 Zdeno Chara (1) – pp – 10:28 Antoine Vermette (2) – 16:18 |
Third period | 00:20 – pp – Paul Ranger (1) 11:26 – Paul Ranger (2) 13:25 – pp – Pavel Kubina (1) | ||||||
| Ray Emery 35 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | John Grahame 15 saves / 20 shots Sean Burke 8 saves / 11 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Ottawa Senators | 5–2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | St. Pete Times Forum | Recap | |||
| Jason Spezza (2) – 06:13 | First period | 11:10 – Martin St. Louis (4) 16:15 – Brad Richards (2) | ||||||
| Chris Phillips (1) – 05:59 Dany Heatley (2) – pp – 17:10 Martin Havlat (5) – 17:50 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Neil (1) – 01:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ray Emery 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | John Grahame 13 saves / 17 shots Sean Burke 7 saves / 8 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2–3 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 12:53 – Peter Schaefer (2) 15:44 – Andrej Meszaros (1) | ||||||
| Evgeny Artyukhin (1) – 01:37 Brad Richards (3) – 18:15 |
Second period | 15:02 – pp – Martin Havlat (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sean Burke 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| Ottawa won series 4–1 | |
(2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens
The Carolina Hurricanes entered the playoffs as the Southeast Division champions, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference with 112 points. Montreal qualified as the seventh seed earning 93 points during the regular season. This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning five of the six previous series. They last met in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals where Carolina won in six games. Carolina won all four games during this year's regular season series.
The Hurricanes eliminated the Canadiens in six games. After allowing a goal in the opening minute of Game one the Canadiens scored six unanswered goals taking the opening game of the series 6–1. Carolina pulled goaltender Martin Gerber after allowing three goals in the first period of Game two and he was replaced by 22-year-old rookie backup Cam Ward. The Hurricanes were able to tie the game with 90 seconds remaining in regulation before losing in double overtime as Michael Ryder scored at 2:32, giving Montreal a 6–5 win. In Game three Eric Staal scored the game winner 3:38 into overtime as Carolina won 2–1. Rod Brind'Amour gave the Hurricanes the lead in Game four and they hung on to win 3–2. Cam Ward made 30 saves and allowed just one goal against as the Hurricanes took Game five 2–1. Hurricanes forward Cory Stillman ended the series at 1:19 of the first overtime as Carolina won Game six 2–1.
| April 22 | Montreal Canadiens | 6–1 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| Francis Bouillon (1) – pp – 08:23 Radek Bonk (1) – 16:17 |
First period | 00:50 – Matt Cullen (1) | ||||||
| Alexei Kovalev (1) – 02:18 Chris Higgins (1) – 16:01 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alexei Kovalev (2) – pp – 11:40 Sheldon Souray (1) – 18:12 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cristobal Huet 42 saves / 43 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Gerber 15 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 6–5 | 2OT | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | ||
| Jan Bulis (1) – 04:48 Michael Ryder (1) – pp – 13:35 Radek Bonk (2) – 14:46 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:42 – Matt Cullen (2) 09:05 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (1) | ||||||
| Alexei Kovalev (3) – 05:22 Richard Zedník (1) – 05:58 |
Third period | 00:22 – pp – Ray Whitney (1) 01:15 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (2) 18:30 – Cory Stillman (1) | ||||||
| Michael Ryder (2) – 02:32 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cristobal Huet 41 saves / 46 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Gerber 10 saves / 13 shots Cam Ward 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Carolina Hurricanes | 2–1 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:17 – pp – Richard Zednik (2) | ||||||
| Rod Brind'Amour (3) – 11:27 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eric Staal (1) – pp – 03:38 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 27 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Cristobal Huet 34 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Carolina Hurricanes | 3–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Justin Williams (1) – 10:22 Aaron Ward (1) – 11:33 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:21 – Alexander Perezhogin (1) 12:58 – pp – Sheldon Souray (2) | ||||||
| Rod Brind'Amour (4) – 05:54 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 23 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Cristobal Huet 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 30 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:27 – pp – Eric Staal (2) | ||||||
| Alexei Kovalev (4) – 19:32 | Second period | 13:57 – pp – Matt Cullen (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cristobal Huet 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | 2–1 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Bell Centre | Recap | ||
| Mark Recchi (1) – 07:01 | First period | 06:31 – pp – Sheldon Souray (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cory Stillman (2) – 01:19 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Cristobal Huet 27 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| Carolina won series 4–2 | |
(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) New York Rangers
The New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the Atlantic Division champions (winning the tie-breaker with Philadelphia in total wins), earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference with 101 points. New York qualified as the sixth seed earning 100 points during the regular season. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with New York winning all three previous series. They last met in the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals where New York won in five games. The teams split this year's eight game regular season series.
The Devils swept the Rangers in four games. The Devils scored five times on the power play in Game one winning 6–1, Devils forward Patrik Elias scored six points in the victory (two goals and four assists). In Game two John Madden scored a hat trick for the Devils as they earned a 4–1 victory. Martin Brodeur earned his 21st career playoff shutout with 25 saves as the Devils won Game three 3–0. New Jersey took the lead in the second period of Game four with two power play goals and they never looked back eliminating the Rangers by a final score of 4–2.
| April 22 | New York Rangers | 1–6 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| Petr Prucha (1) – pp – 10:00 | First period | 03:55 – pp – Patrik Elias (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:48 – pp – Scott Gomez (1) 17:10 – Ken Klee (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:53 – pp – Brian Rafalski (1) 08:45 – pp – Jamie Langenbrunner (1) 15:34 – pp – Patrik Elias (2) | ||||||
| Henrik Lundqvist 24 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 29 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | New York Rangers | 1–4 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:47 – sh – John Madden (1) 14:13 – pp – Brian Gionta (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 19:54 – sh – John Madden (2) | ||||||
| Blair Betts (1) – 05:41 | Third period | 12:46 – John Madden (3) | ||||||
| Kevin Weekes 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | New Jersey Devils | 3–0 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Jamie Langenbrunner (2) – 01:08 Patrik Elias (3) – 09:20 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Zach Parise (1) – 02:48 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 17 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | New Jersey Devils | 4–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:41 – Jed Ortmeyer (1) | ||||||
| Scott Gomez (2) – pp – 04:20 Patrik Elias (4) – pp – 07:21 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Gionta (2) – sh – 04:30 Patrik Elias (5) – 13:21 |
Third period | 18:33 – pp – Steve Rucchin (1) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Henrik Lundqvist 25 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| New Jersey won series 4–0 | |
(4) Buffalo Sabres vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers
The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 110 points. Philadelphia qualified as the fifth seed (losing the tie-breaker with New Jersey in total wins for the Atlantic Division title) earning 101 points during the regular season. This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with Philadelphia winning five of the seven previous series. They last met in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Buffalo won in six games. Buffalo won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Sabres defeated the Flyers in six games. Philadelphia goaltender Robert Esche made 55 saves in a 3–2 Flyers loss; Daniel Briere ended the game with a goal at 7:31 in double-overtime. Buffalo forwards Jean-Pierre Dumont and Jason Pominville each recorded hat-tricks in Game two as the Sabres scored three power play goals rolling to an 8–2 victory. Peter Forsberg scored two second period goals in Game three to break a 1–1 tie, the Flyers went on to win the game 4–2. In Game four R.J. Umberger put the Flyers up for good with his goal at 9:51 in the third period as Philadelphia evened the series with a 5–4 victory. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made 24 saves to earn his first career playoff shutout in Game five as Buffalo won 3–0. In Game six the Sabres jumped to a 5–0 lead on a goal by Maxim Afinogenov as the Flyers pulled Robert Esche from the game, Buffalo went on to a resounding 7–1 series-clinching victory.
| April 22 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–3 | 2OT | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 05:20 – Tim Connolly (1) | ||||||
| Mike Knuble (1) – 16:34 | Second period | 04:33 – Jay McKee (1) | ||||||
| Simon Gagne (1) – pp – 18:09 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 07:31 – Daniel Briere (1) | ||||||
| Robert Esche 55 saves / 58 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 30 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–8 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:41 – Jean-Pierre Dumont (1) 03:00 – pp – Chris Drury (1) 12:26 – Ales Kotalik (1) 14:36 – Jason Pominville (1) 19:46 – pp – Jean-Pierre Dumont (2) | ||||||
| Simon Gagne (2) – 00:58 | Second period | 09:42 – pp – Jean-Pierre Dumont (3) | ||||||
| Petr Nedved (1) – 05:47 | Third period | 08:35 – Jason Pominville (2) 18:42 – Jason Pominville (3) | ||||||
| Robert Esche 5 saves / 10 shots Antero Niittymaki 15 saves / 18 shots |
Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 20 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Ales Kotalik (2) – 02:37 | First period | 06:35 – sh – Brian Savage (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:57 – Peter Forsberg (1) 12:37 – pp – Peter Forsberg (2) | ||||||
| Tim Connolly (2) – 04:44 | Third period | 19:44 – en – Simon Gagne (3) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Robert Esche 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Buffalo Sabres | 4–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Thomas Vanek (1) – pp – 02:34 Daniel Briere (2) – 10:10 |
First period | 12:13 – Eric Desjardins (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:26 – Peter Forsberg (3) | ||||||
| Daniel Briere (3) – pp – 06:17 Mike Grier (1) – sh – 19:41 |
Third period | 03:50 – pp – Petr Nedved (2) 09:51 – R.J. Umberger (1) 19:11 – Peter Forsberg (4) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 28 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Robert Esche 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 30 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0–3 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:05 – pp – Tim Connolly (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 19:12 – pp – Jean-Pierre Dumont (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:50 – Maxim Afinogenov (1) | ||||||
| Robert Esche 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 24 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 7–1 | Philadelphia Flyers | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Mike Grier (2) – 11:16 Ales Kotalik (3) – 17:34 Derek Roy (1) – 19:27 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jason Pominville (4) – 03:05 Maxim Afinogenov (2) – 07:19 Chris Drury (2) – 19:46 |
Second period | 18:57 – Branko Radivojevic (1) | ||||||
| Chris Drury (3) – sh – 02:12 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 21 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Robert Esche 12 saves / 17 shots Antero Niittymaki 9 saves / 11 shots | ||||||
| Buffalo won series 4–2 | |
Western Conference Quarterfinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Edmonton Oilers
The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Western Conference regular season and Central Division champions, with 124 points. Edmonton qualified as the eighth seed earning 95 points (losing the tie-breaker with Colorado in total wins) during the regular season. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with Edmonton winning both previous series. They last met in the 1988 Campbell Conference Finals where Edmonton won in five games. Detroit won this year's four game regular season series earning six of eight points during the season.
The eighth seeded Oilers upset the Red Wings in six games. Red Wings winger Kirk Maltby scored two goals in Game one, including the winner in double overtime as Detroit won 3–2. The Oilers took the lead by scoring twice in 57 seconds in the second period of Game two as they hung on to win 4–2. Jarret Stoll provided the game-winner in double overtime in Game three giving the Oilers a 4–3 victory. The Red Wings scored three power-play goals in Game four earning a 4–2 victory to tie the series. Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson made 30 saves as Edmonton hung on to win Game five by a score of 3–2. The Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit after two periods of play in Game six by scoring four times in third period, Ales Hemsky broke the tie with 1:06 remaining in regulation as Edmonton ended the series with a 4–3 win.
| April 21 | Edmonton Oilers | 2–3 | 2OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| Sergei Samsonov (1) – pp – 11:44 | First period | 04:05 – pp – Robert Lang (1) | ||||||
| Chris Pronger (1) – pp – 08:43 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:43 – Kirk Maltby (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 02:39 – Kirk Maltby (2) | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 54 saves / 57 shots | Goalie stats | Manny Legace 23 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Chris Pronger (2) – 12:32 | First period | 14:50 – Jason Williams (1) | ||||||
| Fernando Pisani (1) – 17:49 Brad Winchester (1) – 18:46 |
Second period | 07:11 – pp – Henrik Zetterberg (1) | ||||||
| Jarret Stoll (1) – en – 19:47 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 33 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Manny Legace 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | 2OT | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | ||
| Henrik Zetterberg (2) – pp – 12:05 | First period | 04:17 – Jaroslav Spacek (1) 16:38 – Ryan Smyth (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:38 – pp – Raffi Torres (1) | ||||||
| Henrik Zetterberg (3) – pp – 11:52 Mathieu Schneider (1) – 12:10 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 08:44 – Jarret Stoll (2) | ||||||
| Manny Legace 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 44 saves / 47 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| Tomas Holmstrom (1) – pp – 13:25 Robert Lang (2) – 19:23 |
First period | 07:22 – pp – Fernando Pisani (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:03 – pp – Jaroslav Spacek (2) | ||||||
| Nicklas Lidstrom (1) – pp – 06:44 Henrik Zetterberg (4) – pp – 15:53 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Manny Legace 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 27 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Fernando Pisani (3) – 05:16 Ryan Smyth (2) – pp – 08:34 Shawn Horcoff (1) – 12:36 |
Second period | 18:39 – Brendan Shanahan (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:38 – Henrik Zetterberg (5) | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Manny Legace 16 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| May 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| Henrik Zetterberg (6) – 14:36 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Robert Lang (3) – pp – 14:02 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johan Franzen (1) – 10:07 | Third period | 02:56 – pp – Fernando Pisani (4) 06:40 – Fernando Pisani (5) 16:07 – pp – Ales Hemsky (1) 18:54 – Ales Hemsky (2) | ||||||
| Manny Legace 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 33 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| Edmonton won series 4–2 | |
(2) Dallas Stars vs. (7) Colorado Avalanche
The Dallas Stars entered the playoffs as the Pacific Division champions, earning the second seed in the Western Conference with 112 points. Colorado qualified as the seventh seed earning 95 points (winning the tie-breaker with Edmonton in total wins) during the regular season. This was the fourth and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with Dallas winning two of three previous series. They last met in the 2004 Western Conference Quarterfinals where Colorado won in five games. Dallas won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Avalanche upset the Stars in five games. After trailing by two early in the first period of Game one the Avalanche scored five un-answered goals and won by a score of 5–2. Brett Clark tied the game with a short-handed goal at 17:56 of the third period and four and a half minutes into overtime Joe Sakic scored his NHL-record seventh career overtime goal to end the game in a 5–4 Colorado victory.[1] Avalanche forward Andrew Brunette scored with 57 seconds remaining in the third period to tie Game three and Alex Tanguay tallied his second goal of the game at 1:09 of the first overtime to give the Avalanche a 4–3 win. Dallas staved off elimination in Game four as Niklas Hagman scored two goals in a 4–1 victory. Colorado goaltender Jose Theodore made 50 saves in Game five and Andrew Brunette scored the series-clinching goal nearly fourteen minutes into overtime to give the Avalanche a 3–2 win.
| April 22 | Colorado Avalanche | 5–2 | Dallas Stars | American Airlines Center | Recap | |||
| Milan Hejduk (1) – 16:42 | First period | 13:04 – Brendan Morrow (1) 15:02 – Bill Guerin (1) | ||||||
| Wojtek Wolski (1) – 05:24 Rob Blake (1) – pp – 09:08 John-Michael Liles (1) – pp – 11:12 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brett Clark (1) – 02:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 16 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Marty Turco 26 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Colorado Avalanche | 5–4 | OT | Dallas Stars | American Airlines Center | Recap | ||
| Rob Blake (2) – pp – 07:06 Andrew Brunette (1) – 09:04 Milan Hejduk (2) – 12:23 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:41 – Jussi Jokinen (1) 05:54 – pp – Jere Lehtinen (1) 06:58 – Jere Lehtinen (2) 19:57 – pp – Mike Modano (1) | ||||||
| Brett Clark (2) – sh – 17:56 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (1) – 04:36 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Marty Turco 18 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Dallas Stars | 3–4 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | ||
| Stu Barnes (1) – sh – 10:49 | First period | 05:21 – pp – Joe Sakic (2) 18:53 – Alex Tanguay (1) – 18:53 | ||||||
| Jon Klemm (1) – 08:44 Sergei Zubov (1) – pp – 19:45 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:03 – pp – Andrew Brunette (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:09 – Alex Tanguay (2) | ||||||
| Marty Turco 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 19 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Dallas Stars | 4–1 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| Jere Lehtinen (3) – 07:35 | First period | 04:46 – Brad Richardson (1) | ||||||
| Niklas Hagman (1) – 03:50 Bill Guerin (2) – pp – 18:41 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Niklas Hagman (2) – en – 18:45 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marty Turco 22 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 35 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| April 30 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–2 | OT | Dallas Stars | American Airlines Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jim Dowd (1) – 13:03 Joe Sakic (3) – 19:58 |
Second period | 04:25 – pp – Jussi Jokinen (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:47 – Bill Guerin (3) | ||||||
| Andrew Brunette (3) – 13:55 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 50 saves / 52 shots | Goalie stats | Marty Turco 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–1 | |
(3) Calgary Flames vs. (6) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
The Calgary Flames entered the playoffs as the Northwest Division champions, earning the third seed in the Western Conference with 103 points. Anaheim qualified as the sixth seed earning 98 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's four game regular season series.
The Mighty Ducks eliminated the Flames in seven games. Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 33 saves and Darren McCarty scored 9:45 into the first overtime as Calgary won Game one 2–1. In Game two Anaheim took a three-goal lead and hung on for a 4–3 victory. The Flames scored three power-play goals as they earned a 5–2 win in Game three. Sean O'Donnell scored the overtime winner in overtime shortly after a power play expired in Game four as Anaheim evened the series with a 3–2 victory. Flames captain Jarome Iginla scored twice as the Calgary held off a late charge by the Mighty Ducks taking a 3–2 victory in Game five. In Game six Scott Niedermayer scored a power-play goal with just over five minutes remaining in regulation time as Anaheim forced a seventh game with their 2–1 win. Anaheim goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves as the Mighty Ducks ended the Flames season with a shutout winning Game seven 3–0.
| April 21 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 1–2 | OT | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:17 – Tony Amonte (1) | ||||||
| Jeff Friesen (1) – 05:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 09:45 – Darren McCarty (1) | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 33 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 4–3 | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | |||
| Chris Kunitz (1) – 09:37 Scott Niedermayer (1) – sh – 13:20 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joffrey Lupul (1) – 05:10 | Second period | 09:09 – sh – Jarome Iginla (1) 11:53 – pp – Kristian Huselius (1) | ||||||
| Samuel Pahlsson (1) – 07:55 | Third period | 15:31 – pp – Dion Phaneuf (1) | ||||||
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 16 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Calgary Flames | 5–2 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| Daymond Langkow (1) – pp – 14:01 | First period | 17:26 – pp – Francois Beauchemin (1) | ||||||
| Kristian Huselius (2) – pp – 01:25 Chuck Kobasew (1) – 15:34 |
Second period | 08:16 – pp – Francois Beauchemin (2) | ||||||
| Darren McCarty (2) – 04:59 Robyn Regehr (1) – pp – 05:33 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Miikka Kiprusoff 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 19 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Calgary Flames | 2–3 | OT | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:47 – Ryan Getzlaf (1) 07:13 – pp – Teemu Selanne (1) | ||||||
| Jarome Iginla (2) – 00:11 Jarome Iginla (3) – 03:27 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:36 – Sean O'Donnell (1) | ||||||
| Miikka Kiprusoff 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 2–3 | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:49 – sh – Tony Amonte (2) 16:18 – pp – Jarome Iginla (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:03 – Jarome Iginla (5) | ||||||
| Andy McDonald (1) – pp – 08:19 Rob Niedermayer (1) – pp – 19:27 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere 5 saves / 8 shots Ilya Bryzgalov 19 saves / 19 shots |
Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 1 | Calgary Flames | 1–2 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| Stephane Yelle (1) – 10:18 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:49 – Teemu Selanne (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:23 – pp – Scott Niedermayer (2) | ||||||
| Miikka Kiprusoff 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 21 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| May 3 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 3–0 | Calgary Flames | Pengrowth Saddledome | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Teemu Selanne (3) – 05:12 Ruslan Salei (1) – 19:01 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jeff Friesen (2) – en – 19:40 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 22 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Miikka Kiprusoff 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| Anaheim 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 106 points. San Jose qualified as the fifth seed earning 99 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Nashville won this year's four game regular season series earning six of eight points during the season.
The Sharks eliminated the Predators in five games. All four of the Predators goals in Game one came on the power play as Nashville took the opening game 4–3. In Game two San Jose scored three first period power play goals and Vesa Toskala earned a shutout in the Sharks 3–0 victory. San Jose captain Patrick Marleau scored twice in Game three as the Sharks won 4–1. Nashville attempted to make a comeback late in Game four as the Sharks hung on to win 5–4, Patrick Marleau recorded a hat trick in the victory. San Jose continued to exploit the Predators penalty killing in Game five as they scored twice on the power play and ended Nashville's season with a 2–1 victory.
| April 21 | San Jose Sharks | 3–4 | Nashville Predators | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Recap | |||
| Mark Smith (1) – 04:12 | First period | 08:57 – pp – Mike Sillinger (1) 10:56 – pp – Martin Erat (1) 19:56 – pp – Shea Weber (1) | ||||||
| Nils Ekman (1) – pp – 08:50 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Thornton (1) – 10:31 | Third period | 12:06 – pp – Adam Hall (1) | ||||||
| Vesa Toskala 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Mason 31 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | San Jose Sharks | 3–0 | Nashville Predators | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Recap | |||
| Jonathan Cheechoo (1) – pp – 05:37 Patrick Marleau (1) – pp – 16:31 Mark Smith (2) – pp – 17:31 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Vesa Toskala 25 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Mason 34 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Nashville Predators | 1–4 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Kimmo Timonen (1) – sh – 06:33 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:10 – Patrick Marleau (2) 18:48 – pp – Steve Bernier (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:38 – Jonathan Cheechoo (2) 16:45 – Patrick Marleau (3) | ||||||
| Chris Mason 36 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Vesa Toskala 16 saves / 17 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Nashville Predators | 4–5 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Paul Kariya (1) – pp – 08:55 | First period | 07:03 – Patrick Rissmiller (1) | ||||||
| Shea Weber (2) – 05:45 | Second period | 07:01 – pp – Patrick Marleau (4) 11:30 – pp – Patrick Marleau (5) 12:56 – Mark Smith (3) | ||||||
| Mike Sillinger (2) – 10:47 Scott Hartnell (1) – 15:38 |
Third period | 04:13 – Patrick Marleau (6) | ||||||
| Chris Mason 19 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Vesa Toskala 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 30 | San Jose Sharks | 2–1 | Nashville Predators | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Recap | |||
| Milan Michalek (1) – pp – 19:59 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau (7) – pp – 13:24 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:06 – pp – Paul Kariya (2) | ||||||
| Vesa Toskala 34 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Mason 34 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| San Jose won series 4–1 | |
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference Semifinals
(1) Ottawa Senators vs. (4) Buffalo Sabres
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with Buffalo winning both previous series. They last met in the 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Buffalo won in four games. Ottawa won five of the eight games during this year's regular season series.
The Sabres eliminated the Senators in five games. Sabres forward Tim Connolly tied Game one with just 10.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at six and Chris Drury ended the game just 18 seconds into overtime as Buffalo won 7–6. Ryan Miller faced 44 shots and allowed just one goal against as the Sabres won Game two 2–1. Overtime was required in Game three after Jason Spezza tied the game late in the third period. Jean-Pierre Dumont ended the game with a goal at 5:05 of the first overtime as the Sabres took the game 3–2. In Game four Wade Redden scored a power-play goal early in the third period as the Senators earned a 2–1 victory. Sabres rookie forward Jason Pominville became the first player in league history to score a short-handed overtime goal to end a series as he scored just 2:26 into the first overtime as Buffalo won Game five 3–2.[2]
| May 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 7–6 | OT | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | ||
| Mike Grier (3) – 00:35 Teppo Numminen (1) – pp – 06:56 |
First period | 03:05 – Jason Spezza (3) 03:20 – Bryan Smolinski (2) | ||||||
| Tim Connolly (4) – sh – 03:29 Derek Roy (2) – 19:30 |
Second period | 01:47 – Martin Havlat (7) 04:15 – pp – Dany Heatley (3) | ||||||
| Derek Roy (3) – sh – 18:23 Tim Connolly (5) – 19:49 |
Third period | 00:16 – Mike Fisher (2) 18:47 – pp – Bryan Smolinski (3) | ||||||
| Chris Drury (4) – 00:18 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 27 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 16 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–1 | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jean-Pierre Dumont (5) – 03:33 Jochen Hecht (1) – 06:00 |
Second period | 07:40 – Chris Phillips (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 43 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 15 saves / 17 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Ottawa Senators | 2–3 | OT | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 09:24 – pp – Chris Drury (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jason Spezza (4) – pp – 05:47 Jason Spezza (5) – pp – 18:30 |
Third period | 10:15 – Maxim Afinogenov (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:05 – Jean-Pierre Dumont (6) | ||||||
| Ray Emery 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Ottawa Senators | 2–1 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| Brian Pothier (1) – 04:56 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:18 – Daniel Briere (4) | ||||||
| Wade Redden (2) – pp – 02:52 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ray Emery 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 13 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–2 | OT | Ottawa Senators | Scotiabank Place | Recap | ||
| Henrik Tallinder (1) – 00:33 | First period | 10:26 – pp – Daniel Alfredsson (2) | ||||||
| Chris Drury (6) – pp – 07:56 | Second period | 13:59 – Brian Pothier (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jason Pominville (5) – sh – 02:26 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 34 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Ray Emery 21 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Buffalo won series 4–1 | |
(2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3) New Jersey Devils
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Carolina won in six games. Carolina won this year's four game regular season series earning five of eight points during the season.
The Hurricanes defeated New Jersey in five games. Carolina scored five power-play goals in Game one as they won 6–0. Scott Gomez gave the Devils a 2–1 lead with just over twenty seconds to go in the third period of Game two, however just 18 seconds later Eric Staal scored the game-tying goal with just three seconds left in regulation time to send the game into overtime. Niclas Wallin tallied the game-winner 3:09 into the first overtime. In Game three Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour scored the game-winner with 1:01 to play in the second period. New Jersey jumped out to a 5–0 lead and won Game four with a final score of 5–1. Cory Stillman scored the series-winning goal at 14:20 of the second period as the Hurricanes held on for a 4–1 victory in Game five.
| May 6 | New Jersey Devils | 0–6 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:37 – pp – Ray Whitney (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:58 – Ray Whitney (3) 17:32 – pp – Eric Staal (3) 18:06 – pp – Cory Stillman (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:07 – pp – Doug Weight (1) 13:07 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (5) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 29 saves / 35 shots Scott Clemmensen 3 shots / 3 saves |
Goalie stats | Cam Ward 21 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | New Jersey Devils | 2–3 | OT | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | ||
| Jamie Langenbrunner (3) – 06:20 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:18 – pp – Mark Recchi (2) | ||||||
| Scott Gomez (3) – 19:39 | Third period | 19:57 – Eric Staal (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 03:09 – Niclas Wallin (1) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 21 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Carolina Hurricanes | 3–2 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| Matt Cullen (4) – pp – 08:16 Justin Williams (2) – 10:07 |
First period | 02:57 – Sergei Brylin (1) | ||||||
| Rod Brind'Amour (6) – pp – 18:59 | Second period | 08:45 – pp – Patrik Elias (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 13 | Carolina Hurricanes | 1–5 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:58 – pp – Scott Gomez (4) 11:02 – sh – Jay Pandolfo (1) 19:00 – pp – Scott Gomez (5) | ||||||
| Mark Recchi (3) – 11:04 | Second period | 00:44 – Sergei Brylin (2) 04:23 – John Madden (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 13 saves / 17 shots Martin Gerber 15 saves / 16 shots |
Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 19 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | New Jersey Devils | 1–4 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| Brian Gionta (3) – 00:57 | First period | 08:39 – Frantisek Kaberle (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:20 – pp – Cory Stillman (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 07:22 – Ray Whitney (4) 18:32 – en – Eric Staal (5) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 17 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| Carolina won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference Semifinals
(5) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Edmonton Oilers
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Edmonton won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
The Oilers came back from a two-game deficit to defeat the Sharks in six games. Patrick Marleau recorded a goal and an assist during Game one in a 2–1 San Jose victory. The Sharks won Game two 2–1 with Joe Thornton scoring the game-winner on the power play in the second period. Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala made 55 saves in a losing effort in Game three as the Oilers won in a triple-overtime on a goal scored by Shawn Horcoff at 2:24 to give Edmonton a 3–2 win. Edmonton came back from an early 3–1 deficit in Game four and scored five unanswered goals to win 6–3 and to even the series at two games apiece. After San Jose tied Game five early the third period the Oilers scored three unanswered goals as they took another 6–3 victory. Dwayne Roloson posted a 24 save shutout in Game six as the Oilers took the game 2–0 with the game-winning goal from Michael Peca to win the series four games to two.
| May 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–2 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Jaroslav Spacek (3) – pp – 02:33 | First period | 07:42 – Patrick Marleau (8) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:14 – Christian Ehrhoff (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Vesa Toskala 15 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–2 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:26 – Tom Preissing (1) | ||||||
| Sergei Samsonov (2) – 15:23 | Second period | 17:29 – pp – Joe Thornton (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 36 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Vesa Toskala 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | San Jose Sharks | 2–3 | 3OT | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 10:04 – pp – Marc-Andre Bergeron (1) | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau (9) – 01:19 Patrick Rissmiller (2) – 09:30 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:13 – Raffi Torres (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 02:24 – Shawn Horcoff (2) | ||||||
| Vesa Toskala 55 saves / 58 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 32 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | San Jose Sharks | 3–6 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| Joe Thornton (2) – 03:47 Nils Ekman (2) – 06:40 |
First period | 12:55 – Shawn Horcoff (3) | ||||||
| Jonathan Cheechoo (3) – 09:02 | Second period | 12:28 – Michael Peca (1) 15:35 – Sergei Samsonov (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:57 – Jason Smith (1) 08:19 – Ales Hemsky (3) 14:00 – pp – Jarret Stoll (3) | ||||||
| Vesa Toskala 26 saves / 31 shots Evgeni Nabokov 3 saves / 4 shots |
Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 22 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | Edmonton Oilers | 6–3 | San Jose Sharks | HP Pavilion | Recap | |||
| Fernando Pisani (6) – 08:29 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Smyth (3) – pp – 06:31 | Second period | 04:30 – Scott Thornton (2) | ||||||
| Shawn Horcoff (4) – sh – 00:12 Fernando Pisani (7) – 04:03 Jarret Stoll (4) – pp – 13:40 Ryan Smyth (4) – pp – 16:11 |
Third period | 00:44 – pp – Christian Ehrhoff (2) 02:30 – Jonathan Cheechoo (4) | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Vesa Toskala 12 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| May 17 | San Jose Sharks | 0–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:21 – Michael Peca (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:37 – Shawn Horcoff (5) | ||||||
| Vesa Toskala 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 24 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Edmonton won series 4–2 | |
(6) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim vs. (7) Colorado Avalanche
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Colorado won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.
Anaheim swept the Avalanche in four games. The Mighty Ducks scored four times in the second period of Game one as Anaheim won 5–0, rookie Ilya Bryzgalov recorded his second-straight shutout. In Game two Ilya Bryzgalov equalled a rookie record previously set by Frank McCool in 1945 as he recorded his third straight playoff shutout as the Ducks won 3–0.[3] In Game three Dan Hinote ended Ilya Bryzgalov's shutout streak at 249:15 (the second longest in league history) when he scored late in the first period for the Avalanche.[4] Joffrey Lupul scored four goals including the overtime winner as the Mighty Ducks won 4–3. Joe Sakic scored the only goal for the Avalanche in Game four as Anaheim finished off the series with a 4–1 victory to advance to their second Conference Final appearance in team history.
| May 5 | Colorado Avalanche | 0–5 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:38 – Samuel Pahlsson (2) 10:24 – Chris Kunitz (2) 19:05 – Teemu Selanne (4) 19:54 – pp – Joffrey Lupul (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:07 – Travis Moen (1) | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 29 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 29 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Colorado Avalanche | 0–3 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 18:17 – pp – Ryan Getzlaf (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:41 – Ruslan Salei (2) 12:24 – Joffrey Lupul (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 22 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 4–3 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 19:33 – Dan Hinote (1) | ||||||
| Joffrey Lupul (4) – 09:02 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joffrey Lupul (5) – 08:54 Joffrey Lupul (6) – 10:40 |
Third period | 04:47 – sh – Jim Dowd (2) 13:35 – Rob Blake (3) | ||||||
| Joffrey Lupul (7) – 16:30 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 26 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 35 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 4–1 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| Todd Marchant (1) – 16:52 | First period | 02:17 – Joe Sakic (4) | ||||||
| Teemu Selanne (5) – 02:22 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dustin Penner (1) – 06:07 Todd Marchant (2) – en – 18:21 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 40 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 30 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| Anaheim won series 4–0 | |
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference Final
(2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (4) Buffalo Sabres
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Carolina most recently made it to the Conference Finals in 2002, defeating Toronto in six games, while the Sabres last made it to the Conference Finals in 1999, defeating Toronto in five games. Carolina won three of the four games in this year's four game regular season series.
The Hurricanes eliminated the Sabres in seven games. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made 29 saves in Game one as Buffalo won 3–2. Ray Whitney scored twice in the second period of Game two as the Hurricanes evened the series with a 4–3 victory. The Sabres scored four times in just over thirteen minutes in Game three as they earned a 4–3 win. Martin Gerber made 22 saves in a shutout victory for the Hurricanes as they took Game four by a score of 4–0. Cam Ward replaced Martin Gerber early in the second period of Game five as the Hurricanes came back from a two-goal deficit and won the game 4–3 on a power-play goal scored by Cory Stillman at 8:46 of the first overtime period. Daniel Briere forced a seventh game in this series with his game-winning goal at 4:22 of the first overtime as Buffalo won Game six 2–1. Hurricanes forward Rod Brind'Amour capitalised on a delay of game penalty to Brian Campbell at 11:22 of the third period in Game seven as Carolina advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 4–2 victory.
| May 20 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–2 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| Henrik Tallinder (2) – 02:56 | First period | 12:11 – Rod Brind’Amour (7) | ||||||
| Daniel Briere (5) – 09:41 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jay McKee (2) – 13:40 | Third period | 17:07 – sh – Mike Commodore (1) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 24 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 22 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–4 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| Thomas Vanek (2) – pp – 19:12 | First period | 10:05 – pp – Frantisek Kaberle (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:03 – pp – Ray Whitney (5) 12:58 – Ray Whitney (6) | ||||||
| Chris Drury (7) – pp – 11:39 Derek Roy (4) – pp – 19:57 |
Third period | 06:58 – Justin Williams (3) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 31 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 16 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Carolina Hurricanes | 3–4 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| Cory Stillman (5) – 14:07 | First period | 19:30 – pp – Chris Drury (8) | ||||||
| Cory Stillman (6) – 18:18 | Second period | 01:02 – pp – Daniel Briere (6) 08:28 – Daniel Briere (7) 12:55 – Ales Kotalik (4) | ||||||
| Eric Staal (6) – pp – 15:52 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 22 saves / 26 shots Martin Gerber 7 saves / 7 shots |
Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 24 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 26 | Carolina Hurricanes | 4–0 | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| Mark Recchi (4) – 06:54 Eric Staal (7) – pp – 09:53 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Andrew Ladd (1) – 02:10 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bret Hedican (1) – 16:03 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Gerber 22 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 17 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 28 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–4 | OT | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | ||
| Chris Drury (9) – 07:08 Derek Roy (5) – 17:32 |
First period | 07:25 – Justin Williams (4) | ||||||
| Toni Lydman (1) – 01:55 | Second period | 05:21 – Mark Recchi (5) 10:04 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (8) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 08:46 – pp – Cory Stillman (7) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Gerber 8 saves / 11 shots Cam Ward 15 saves / 15 shots | ||||||
| May 30 | Carolina Hurricanes | 1–2 | OT | Buffalo Sabres | HSBC Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 04:56 – J.P. Dumont (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bret Hedican (2) – 16:07 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 04:22 – pp – Daniel Briere (8) | ||||||
| Cam Ward 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| June 1 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–4 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 12:05 – Mike Commodore (2) | ||||||
| Doug Janik (1) – 15:50 Jochen Hecht (2) – 19:55 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:34 – Doug Weight (2) 11:22 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (9) 19:08 – Justin Williams (5) | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 22 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Carolina won series 4–3 | |
Western Conference Final
(6) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim vs. (8) Edmonton Oilers
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Anaheim most recently made it to the Conference Finals in 2003, sweeping the Minnesota Wild in four games, while the Oilers last made it to the Conference Finals in 1992, losing to Chicago in four games. Edmonton won all four games during this year's regular season series.
The Oilers eliminated Anaheim in five games. Ales Hemsky's power-play goal at 11:35 of the second period gave the Oilers the lead as they took Game one 3–1. Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves won again by a score of 3–1. Fernando Pisani scored the game-winning goal for the Oilers in Game three as the two teams traded eight goals in the third period and Edmonton hung on for a 5–4 victory. Anaheim changed goaltenders before the start of Game four as Jean-Sebastien Giguere got the start for the Mighty Ducks. Anaheim took a three-goal lead in the first period and never looked back winning the game 6–3. Dwayne Roloson made 32 saves as the Oilers ended the series with a 2–1 victory in Game five. The Oilers became the first eighth-seeded team to reach the Finals under this playoff format (which was introduced in 1994). Anaheim changed their team nickname, uniforms and logo after the season as they became known as the Anaheim Ducks.
| May 19 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–1 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| Michael Peca (3) – sh – 18:35 | First period | 19:03 – pp – Andy McDonald (2) | ||||||
| Ales Hemsky (4) – pp – 11:35 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Todd Harvey (1) – en – 19:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 31 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 23 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 21 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–1 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| Chris Pronger (3) – pp – 13:08 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Fernando Pisani (8) – 17:09 | Second period | 06:12 – Jeff Friesen (3) | ||||||
| Michael Peca (4) – en – 19:42 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 33 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 22 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 23 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 4–5 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:47 – Toby Petersen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sean O'Donnell (2) – 07:15 Teemu Selanne (6) – 09:13 Chris Kunitz (3) – 11:15 Todd Marchant (3) – 18:15 |
Third period | 02:19 – Michael Peca (5) 03:35 – pp – Steve Staios (1) 04:40 – pp – Chris Pronger (4) 14:14 – Fernando Pisani (9) | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 17 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 34 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| May 25 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 6–3 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| Dustin Penner (2) – 07:28 Dustin Penner (3) – 15:11 Ryan Getzlaf (3) – pp – 19:18 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ruslan Salei (3) – 05:42 Joffrey Lupul (8) – 18:22 |
Second period | 03:30 – pp – Marc-Andre Bergeron (2) 07:46 – Ryan Smyth (5) 10:01 – Georges Laraque (1) | ||||||
| Joffrey Lupul (9) – en – 18:50 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere 20 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Dwayne Roloson 40 saves / 45 shots | ||||||
| May 27 | Edmonton Oilers | 2–1 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:30 – pp – Francois Beauchemin (3) | ||||||
| Ethan Moreau (1) – 03:42 Raffi Torres (3) – 08:31 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 23 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| Edmonton won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Carolina made their second Finals appearance, while Edmonton made their seventh appearance in the Finals. The Hurricanes were defeated in their last appearance in the Finals losing to Detroit in five games in 2002, the Oilers won their last appearance in the Finals defeating Boston in five games in 1990. The teams did not meet during the regular season. This series marked the first time that two former World Hockey Association teams played against each other for the Stanley Cup since they merged with the NHL in 1979. This was the first Stanley Cup Finals to be contested by two teams that had both missed the playoffs the previous season.
| June 5 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–5 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| Fernando Pisani (10) – 08:18 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Pronger (5) – ps – 10:36 Ethan Moreau (2) – 16:23 |
Second period | 17:17 – Rod Brind'Amour (10) | ||||||
| Ales Hemsky (5) – pp – 13:31 | Third period | 01:40 – Ray Whitney (7) 05:09 – pp – Ray Whitney (8) 10:02 – sh – Justin Williams (6) 19:28 – Rod Brind'Amour (11) | ||||||
| Dwayne Roloson 19 saves / 23 shots Ty Conklin 2 saves / 3 shots |
Goalie stats | Cam Ward 34 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| June 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 0–5 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:21 – Andrew Ladd (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:28 – pp – Frantisek Kaberle (3) 19:57 – Cory Stillman (8) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:21 – pp – Doug Weight (3) 04:12 – pp – Mark Recchi (6) | ||||||
| Jussi Markkanen 21 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 25 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| June 10 | Carolina Hurricanes | 1–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:31 – Shawn Horcoff (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Rod Brind’Amour (12) – 09:09 | Third period | 17:45 – Ryan Smyth (6) | ||||||
| Cam Ward 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Jussi Markkanen 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| June 12 | Carolina Hurricanes | 2–1 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| Cory Stillman (9) – pp – 09:09 | First period | 08:40 – Sergei Samsonov (4) | ||||||
| Mark Recchi (7) – 15:56 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Ward 20 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Jussi Markkanen 18 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| June 14 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–3 | OT | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | ||
| Fernando Pisani (11) – 00:16 Ales Hemsky (6) – pp – 13:25 Michael Peca (6) – 19:42 |
First period | 05:54 – pp – Eric Staal (8) 10:16 – pp – Ray Whitney (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:56 – pp – Eric Staal (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Fernando Pisani (12) – sh – 03:31 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jussi Markkanen 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 25 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| June 17 | Carolina Hurricanes | 0–4 | Edmonton Oilers | Rexall Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:45 – pp – Fernando Pisani (13) 09:54 – Raffi Torres (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:04 – pp – Ryan Smyth (7) 13:05 – pp – Shawn Horcoff (7) | ||||||
| Cam Ward 30 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Jussi Markkanen 16 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| June 19 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–3 | Carolina Hurricanes | RBC Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:26 – Aaron Ward (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:18 – pp – Frantisek Kaberle (4) | ||||||
| Fernando Pisani (14) – 01:03 | Third period | 18:59 – en – Justin Williams (7) | ||||||
| Jussi Markkanen 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Cam Ward 22 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| Carolina won series 4–3 | |
Player statistics
Skaters
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Staal | Carolina Hurricanes | 25 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 0 | 8 |
| Cory Stillman | Carolina Hurricanes | 25 | 9 | 17 | 26 | +12 | 14 |
| Chris Pronger | Edmonton Oilers | 24 | 5 | 16 | 21 | +10 | 26 |
| Daniel Briere | Buffalo Sabres | 18 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 12 |
| Shawn Horcoff | Edmonton Oilers | 24 | 7 | 12 | 19 | +4 | 12 |
| Fernando Pisani | Edmonton Oilers | 24 | 14 | 4 | 18 | +4 | 10 |
| Rod Brind'Amour | Carolina Hurricanes | 25 | 12 | 6 | 18 | +9 | 16 |
| Chris Drury | Buffalo Sabres | 18 | 9 | 9 | 18 | +5 | 10 |
| Justin Williams | Carolina Hurricanes | 25 | 7 | 11 | 18 | +12 | 34 |
| Matt Cullen | Carolina Hurricanes | 25 | 4 | 14 | 18 | +2 | 12 |
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 | Min | Sv% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilya Bryzgalov | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 11 | 6 | 4 | 285 | 16 | 1.46 | 658:59 | .944 | 3 |
| Cristobal Huet | Montreal Canadiens | 6 | 2 | 4 | 212 | 15 | 2.33 | 385:37 | .929 | 0 |
| Dwayne Roloson | Edmonton Oilers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 618 | 45 | 2.33 | 1159:43 | .927 | 1 |
| Martin Brodeur | New Jersey Devils | 9 | 5 | 4 | 261 | 20 | 2.25 | 532:59 | .923 | 1 |
| Miikka Kiprusoff | Calgary Flames | 7 | 3 | 4 | 202 | 16 | 2.24 | 427:59 | .921 | 0 |
| Cam Ward | Carolina Hurricanes | 23 | 15 | 8 | 584 | 47 | 2.14 | 1319:53 | .920 | 2 |
| Jussi Markkanen | Edmonton Oilers | 6 | 3 | 3 | 137 | 13 | 2.17 | 360:23 | .905 | 1 |
References
- ^ "Joe Sakic – Career Timeline". July 9, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- ^ "Buffalo Wins On Pominville's Heroics". May 13, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^ "Game Recap". May 7, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "Game Recap". May 9, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
See also
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Playoffs not held in 2005 due to an unresolved lockout | |
