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2008 Stanley Cup playoffs

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Official logo for the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.

The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, 2008, after the 2007–08 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.

The Finals ended on June 4, 2008, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two to win their eleventh championship and their fourth in eleven seasons. It was the first championship in the 16-year career of Red Wings winger Dallas Drake, who retired following the season. Red Wings winger Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player. Sidney Crosby and Zetterberg led the tournament with 27 points.

Highlights

The San Jose Sharks were the media's favorite to win the cup going into the playoffs, having gone the entire month of March without a regulation loss and nearly finishing first overall during the regular season.

Milestones

In Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Minnesota Wild, captain Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche extended his record for playoff overtime goals to eight, with a goal 11:11 into overtime. Chris Chelios appeared in his 248th career playoff game surpassing Patrick Roy for most career playoff games of all time.

In Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals in San Jose, Dallas Stars center Brad Richards tied an NHL record for most points in one period of a playoff game, when he recorded one goal and three assists in the third period.

In the Western Conference Semifinals against the Avalanche, Johan Franzen became the first player to score multiple hat tricks in a series since Jari Kurri tallied three in 1985. In the process, he set an NHL record for most goals in a four-game sweep and the Red Wings' record for most goals in a playoff series with nine, beating the previous record of eight set by Gordie Howe in 1949.[1] Franzen achieved this feat in only four games, moreover, while Howe achieved it in seven.[1]

Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Sharks and Stars was the eighth-longest game in the history of the NHL, lasting 129:03. Stars captain Brenden Morrow ended the game at 9:03 of the fourth overtime, tapping in a power-play goal. Goaltenders Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov set team records for saves in a game with 61 and 53, respectively. The final score was 2–1.

Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European (and Swedish) born and trained player to lead an NHL team to the Stanley Cup. Charlie Gardiner (born in Scotland) and Johnny Gottselig (born in Russia) both won the Stanley Cup as captains of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1934 and 1938 respectively, but they were both raised in Canada.

New interpretation of NHL rule

In Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, while on a five-on-three power play, the New York Rangers' Sean Avery tried to screen the New Jersey Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur by waving his hands and stick while facing Brodeur. This prompted the NHL to issue an interpretation of the League's rules, stating that an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be called on actions such as the one used by Avery.[2]

Playoff seeds

The Stanley Cup

Eastern Conference

  1. Montreal Canadiens, Northeast Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 104 points
  2. Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlantic Division champions – 102 points
  3. Washington Capitals, Southeast Division champions – 94 points
  4. New Jersey Devils – 99 points
  5. New York Rangers – 97 points
  6. Philadelphia Flyers – 95 points
  7. Ottawa Senators – 94 points (43 wins)
  8. Boston Bruins – 94 points (41 wins)

Western Conference

  1. Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, President's Trophy winners – 115 points
  2. San Jose Sharks, Pacific Division champions – 108 points
  3. Minnesota Wild, Northwest Division champions – 98 points
  4. Anaheim Ducks – 102 points
  5. Dallas Stars – 97 points
  6. Colorado Avalanche – 95 points
  7. Calgary Flames – 94 points
  8. Nashville Predators – 91 points

Playoff bracket

Template:NHLBracket-reseed In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage, which gives them a possible maximum of four games on their home ice, with the lower-seeded team getting a possible maximum of three. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points; thus, the Detroit Red Wings had home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, including in the Finals. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team has home ice for games one and two, and if necessary, five and seven, while the lower-seeded team has home ice for games three, four and, if necessary, six.

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins

The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season and Northeast Division champions with 104 points. Boston qualified as the eighth seed earning 94 points (losing the tie-breaker in wins with Ottawa) during the regular season. This was the 31st playoff meeting between these two Original Six rivals, with Montreal winning twenty-three of the thirty previous series. They last met in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Montreal won in seven games. Montreal won all eight games during this year’s regular season series.

The Canadiens held off Boston winning the series in seven games. Montreal took the lead early in Game one and never looked back in a 4–1 victory. The Bruins forced overtime in Game two by scoring two third period goals before coming up short in the first overtime as Alexei Kovalev ended the game with a power-play goal at 2:30 for Montreal. Boston forward Marc Savard scored the overtime winner in a 2–1 Game three victory; the win ended a 13-game losing streak against Montreal by the Bruins. Patrice Brisebois scored the only goal of Game four for the Canadiens and Carey Price made 27 saves for his first career playoff shutout in a 1–0 win. Boston scored five unanswered goals in Game five, including four goals in the third period as they extended the series with a 5–1 win. For the second game in a row the Bruins scored four times in the third period as they tied the series with a 5–4 victory. In Game seven Montreal rebounded from the lackluster performances of their previous two games and eliminated Boston with a 5–0 win.


April 10 Boston Bruins 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre Recap  
Shane Hnidy (1) – 08:34 First period 00:34 – Sergei Kostitsyn (1)
02:02 – Andrei Kostitsyn (1)
No scoring Second period 05:16 – Bryan Smolinski (1)
No scoring Third period 07:24 – Tom Kostopoulos (1)
Tim Thomas 28 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Carey Price 17 saves / 18 shots
April 12 Boston Bruins 2–3 OT Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre Recap  
No scoring First period 18:30 – Roman Hamrlik (1)
No scoring Second period 01:50 – Sergei Kostitsyn (2)
Peter Schaefer (1) – 03:58
David Krejci (1) – pp – 09:34 		Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 02:30 – pp – Alexei Kovalev (1)
Tim Thomas 28 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Carey Price 37 saves / 39 shots
April 13 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 OT Boston Bruins TD Banknorth Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 06:30 – Milan Lucic (1)
Tom Kostopoulos (2) – 04:26 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 09:25 – Marc Savard (1)
Carey Price 29 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Tim Thomas 27 saves / 28 shots
April 15 Montreal Canadiens 1–0 Boston Bruins TD Banknorth Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Patrice Brisebois (1) – pp – 19:18 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Carey Price 27 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Tim Thomas 27 saves / 28 shots
April 17 Boston Bruins 5–1 Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre Recap  
No scoring First period 09:47 – Alexei Kovalev (2)
Phil Kessel (1) – pp – 07:45 Second period No scoring
Glen Metropolit (1) – 03:31
Zdeno Chara (1) – pp – 05:49
Marco Sturm (1) – sh – 15:13
Vladimir Sobotka (1) – 17:48 		Third period No scoring
Tim Thomas 31 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Carey Price 19 saves / 24 shots
April 19 Montreal Canadiens 4–5 Boston Bruins TD Banknorth Garden Recap  
Chris Higgins (1) – 09:44 First period No scoring
Tomas Plekanec (1) – 07:43 Second period 01:54 – Phil Kessel (2)
Francis Bouillon (1) – 10:04
Chris Higgins (2) – 15:56 		Third period 03:13 – Vladimir Sobotka (3)
12:13 – Milan Lucic (2)
15:45 – Phil Kessel (3)
17:23 – Marco Sturm (2)
Carey Price 31 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats Tim Thomas 31 saves / 35 shots
April 21 Boston Bruins 0–5 Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre Recap  
No scoring First period 03:31 – Mike Komisarek (1)
No scoring Second period 10:45 – Mark Streit (1)
15:13 – Andrei Kostitsyn (2)
No scoring Third period 17:58 – pp – Andrei Kostitsyn (3)
19:52 – Sergei Kostitsyn (3)
Tim Thomas 30 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Carey Price 25 saves / 25 shots
Montreal won series 4–3


(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, having clinched the Atlantic Division title with 102 points. Meanwhile, the Senators limped into the playoffs as the seventh seed, with key players out with injuries, including captain Daniel Alfredsson, who missed the first two games.

The Penguins won Game 1 by a score of 4–0. The Penguins then held on for a 5–3 win in game two, taking a 2–0 series advantage. Sidney Crosby's goal in the opening seconds of the third period of game three broke a 1–1 tie, and Pittsburgh eventually won 4–1, then completed the series sweep in game four with a 3–1 win. Crosby led the Penguins with eight points (two goals and six assists).


April 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–0 Ottawa Senators Mellon Arena Recap  
Gary Roberts 1 - 01:08
Petr Sykora 1 - 12:28 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Evgeni Malkin 1 - 13:58
Gary Roberts 2 - pp - 18:25 		Third period No scoring
Marc-Andre Fleury 26 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Martin Gerber 31 saves / 35 shots
April 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Ottawa Senators Mellon Arena Recap  
Sergei Gonchar 1 - pp - 16:10 First period No scoring
Petr Sykora 2 - pp - 05:22
Petr Sykora 3 - 10:52 		Second period 11:25 - Shean Donovan 1
16:11 - pp - Cory Stillman 1
Ryan Malone 1 - pp - 18:58
Ryan Malone 2 - en - 19:53 		Third period 08:51 - Cody Bass 1
Marc-Andre Fleury 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Martin Gerber 49 saves / 53 shots
April 14 Ottawa Senators 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Scotiabank Place Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Nick Foligno 1 - 01:11 Second period 05:39 - Max Talbot 1
No scoring Third period 00:12 - Sidney Crosby 1
01:30 - Jordan Staal 1
08:55 - pp - Marian Hossa 1
Martin Gerber 34 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 33 saves / 34 shots
April 16 Ottawa Senators 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Scotiabank Place Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Cory Stillman 2 - 10:31 Second period 01:40 - pp - Evgeni Malkin 2
15:28 - Jarkko Ruutu 1
No scoring Third period 19:52 - en - Sidney Crosby 2
Martin Gerber 31 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 22 shots
Pittsburgh won series 4–0


(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

The Washington Capitals made a late season surge that helped them clinch first place in the Southeast Division, and the third seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Philadelphia Flyers returned to the playoffs after finishing last in the NHL the previous season.

The Capitals were victorious in game one thanks to the game-winning goal scored by Alexander Ovechkin, but the Flyers won three straight games to take a 3–1 lead in the series, including a 4–3 game four victory in double overtime on a goal by Mike Knuble. Washington, however, won the next two games to force a seventh, as they tried to come back from a three games to one deficit to win a series for just the second time in franchise history, as they had against the Flyers in the first round of the 1988 playoffs. Joffrey Lupul scored a power play goal in overtime of Game 7 to advance the Flyers to the next playoff round.

April 11 Washington Capitals 5–4 Philadelphia Flyers Verizon Center Recap  
Donald Brashear 1 - 03:16
Dave Steckel 1 - 24:08
Mike Green 1 - 41:50
Mike Green 2 - pp - 46:26
Alexander Ovechkin 1 - 55:28 		Scoring stats 08:17 - Vaclav Prospal 1
31:46 - Danny Briere 1
32:19 - Vaclav Prospal 2
35:22 - pp - Danny Briere 2
Cristobal Huet 22 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 18 saves / 22 shots
April 13 Washington Capitals 0–2 Philadelphia Flyers Verizon Center Recap  
No scoring Scoring stats 05:53 - R. J. Umberger 1
15:17 - Jeff Carter 1
Cristobal Huet 39 saves / 41 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 24 saves / 24 shots
April 15 Philadelphia Flyers 6–3 Washington Capitals Wachovia Center Recap  
Danny Briere 3 - 16:10
Scott Hartnell 1 - 18:26
Sami Kapanen 1 - 18:43
Danny Briere 4 - pp - 39:50
Mike Richards 1 - ps - 57:01
Mike Knuble 1 - en - 58:55 		Scoring stats 17:21 - Eric Fehr 1
27:28 - pp - Mike Green 3
55:26 - Brooks Laich 1
Martin Biron 16 saves / 19 shots Goalie stats Cristobal Huet 27 saves / 32 shots
April 17 Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 2OT Washington Capitals Wachovia Center Recap  
Jeff Carter 2 - 00:42
Jeff Carter 3 - pp - 18:33
Daniel Briere 5 - pp - 50:01
Mike Knuble 2 - 86:40 		Scoring stats 02:41 - pp - Nicklas Backstrom 1
12:59 - pp - Alexander Semin 1
25:56 - Steve Eminger 1
Martin Biron 38 saves / 41 shots Goalie stats Cristobal Huet 42 saves / 46 shots
April 19 Washington Capitals 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers Verizon Center Recap  
Nicklas Backstrom 2 - pp - 07:31
Sergei Fedorov 1 - 21:25
Alexander Semin 2 - pp - 54:33 		Scoring stats 32:35 - pp - Vaclav Prospal 3
55:17 - Derian Hatcher 1
Cristobal Huet 30 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 23 saves / 26 shots
April 21 Philadelphia Flyers 2–4 Washington Capitals Wachovia Center Recap  
Mike Richards 2 - pp - 03:49
Daniel Briere 6 - 21:18 		Scoring stats 29:34 - Nicklas Backstrom 3
38:03 - Alexander Semin 3
42:46 - Alexander Ovechkin 2
50:41 - Alexander Ovechkin 3
Martin Biron 36 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Cristobal Huet 33 saves / 35 shots
April 22 Washington Capitals 2–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers Verizon Center Recap  
Nicklas Backstrom 4 - pp - 05:42
Alexander Ovechkin 4 - 35:29 		Scoring stats 15:38 - pp - Scottie Upshall 1
29:47 - Sami Kapanen 2
66:06 - pp - Joffrey Lupul 1
Cristobal Huet 31 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 39 saves / 41 shots
Philadelphia won series 4–3


(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers

Tension was high in this series, as the Rangers won seven of the eight games against their rivals across the Hudson River during the regular season. The New York Rangers mostly dominated the New Jersey Devils in the opening round, becoming the first team to win on New Jersey's home ice three times in a playoff series.[3] The Devils' only win was an overtime victory in game three with a goal by John Madden. In game three, the Rangers' Sean Avery tried to screen New Jersey's goaltender Martin Brodeur by waving his hands and stick while facing Brodeur. This prompted the NHL to issue an interpretation of the League's rules, stating that an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty would be called on actions such as the one used by Avery.[2] The Rangers won the next two games, each by a score of 5-3, to move on to the Eastern Conference Semi-final.

April 9 New Jersey Devils 1–4 New York Rangers Prudential Center Recap  
Paul Martin 1 - pp - 34:14 Scoring stats 21:45 - Brendan Shanahan 1
47:23 - sh - Ryan Callahan 1
57:07 - Sean Avery 1
59:55 - en - Nigel Dawes 1
Martin Brodeur 24 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Henrik Lundqvist 26 saves / 27 shots
April 11 New Jersey Devils 1–2 New York Rangers Prudential Center Recap  
John Madden 1 - 58:37 Scoring stats 44:26 - Jaromir Jagr 1
44:49 - Sean Avery 2
Martin Brodeur 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Henrik Lundqvist 26 saves / 27 shots
April 13 New York Rangers 3–4 OT New Jersey Devils Madison Square Garden Recap  
Brandon Dubinsky 1 - 12:17
Sean Avery 3 - pp - 26:50
Brandon Dubinsky 2 - pp - 40:55 		Scoring stats 03:01 - Sergei Brylin 1
32:56 - pp - Patrik Elias 1
35:19 - pp - Zach Parise 1
66:01 - John Madden 2
Henrik Lundqvist 29 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 27 saves / 30 shots
April 16 New York Rangers 5–3 New Jersey Devils Madison Square Garden Recap  
Scott Gomez 1 - pp - 12:37
Martin Straka 1 - 22:53
Chris Drury 1 - 32:39
Marc Staal 1 - 56:47
Scott Gomez 2 - en - 59:47 		Scoring stats 20:31 - Patrik Elias 2
26:58 - pp - Patrik Elias 3
44:37 - Mike Mottau 1
Henrik Lundqvist 28 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 34 saves / 38 shots
April 18 New Jersey Devils 3–5 New York Rangers Prudential Center Recap  
Brian Gionta 1 - 4:40
Bryce Salvador 1 - 29:26
Patrik Elias 4 - pp - 33:50 		Scoring stats 4:58 - Michal Rozsival 1
6:38 - pp - Jaromir Jagr 2
18:01 - Scott Gomez 3
25:35 - Chris Drury 2
59:00 - en - Brandon Dubinsky 3
Martin Brodeur 18 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Henrik Lundqvist 23 saves / 26 shots
New York won series 4–1


Western Conference Quarterfinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators

The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Western Conference regular season and Central Division champions with 115 points. Nashville qualified as the eighth seed earning 91 points during the regular season. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with Detroit winning the only previous series. They last met in the 2004 Western Conference Quarterfinals where Detroit won in six games. Detroit won five of the eight games during this year’s regular season series.

The Red Wings defeated Nashville in six games. Nashville goaltender Dan Ellis made 37 saves in a losing effort and Henrik Zetterberg scored twice in the third period for the Red Wings as Detroit took Game one by a final score of 3–1. Detroit forward Kris Draper broke the tie early in the second period of Game two as the Red Wings won 4–2. Nashville scored two goals just nine seconds apart late in Game three as Jason Arnott scored the game-winning goal in a 5–3 Predators victory. Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek was pulled in the second period of Game four after allowing three goals; he was replaced by Chris Osgood for the remainder of the series, the Predators evened the series with a 3–2 win. Johan Franzen ended Game five 1:48 into the first overtime as the Red Wings took a 2–1 victory. Detroit eliminated the Predators with a 20 save shutout from Chris Osgood in a 3–0 win in Game six.


April 10 Nashville Predators 1–3 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 05:58 – Johan Franzen (1)
Jordin Tootoo (1) – 17:47 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 06:54 – Henrik Zetterberg (1)
19:41 – en – Henrik Zetterberg (2)
Dan Ellis 37 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Dominik Hasek 19 saves / 20 shots
April 12 Nashville Predators 2–4 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 02:26 – Darren McCarty (1)
Alexander Radulov (1) – pp – 02:19
Jordin Tootoo (2) – 02:30 		Second period 00:39 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (1)
05:00 – Kris Draper (1)
No scoring Third period 10:03 – Tomas Holmstrom (1)
Dan Ellis 34 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Dominik Hasek 25 saves / 27 shots
April 14 Detroit Red Wings 3–5 Nashville Predators Sommet Center Recap  
Kris Draper (2) – 08:56 First period No scoring
Jiri Hudler (1) – pp – 09:12 Second period 12:53 – Alexander Radulov (2)
15:01 – David Legwand (1)
Pavel Datsyuk (1) – 00:40 Third period 16:03 – Ryan Suter (1)
16:12 – Jason Arnott (1)
19:39 – en – Martin Erat (1)
Dominik Hasek 24 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Dan Ellis 23 saves / 26 shots
April 16 Detroit Red Wings 2–3 Nashville Predators Sommet Center Recap  
No scoring First period 05:18 – pp – Dan Hamhuis (1)
05:50 – Shea Weber (1)
Pavel Datsyuk (2) – pp – 06:24 Second period 06:35 – Greg de Vries (1)
Pavel Datsyuk (3) – 03:23 Third period No scoring
Dominik Hasek 11 saves / 14 shots
Chris Osgood 13 saves / 13 shots 		Goalie stats Dan Ellis 39 saves / 41 shots
April 18 Nashville Predators 1–2 OT Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 04:20 – Valtteri Filppula (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Radek Bonk (1) – 19:16 Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 01:48 – Johan Franzen (2)
Dan Ellis 52 saves / 54 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 20 saves / 21 shots
April 20 Detroit Red Wings 3–0 Nashville Predators Sommet Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Nicklas Lidstrom (2) – sh – 13:44 Second period No scoring
Jiri Hudler (2) – 03:52
Brian Rafalski (1) – en – 19:55 		Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 20 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Dan Ellis 40 saves / 42 shots
Detroit won series 4–2


(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames

The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the Pacific Division champions, earning the second seed in the Western Conference with 108 points. Calgary qualified as the seventh seed earning 94 points during the regular season. This was the third and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 2004 Western Conference Finals where Calgary won in six games. Calgary won three of the four games during this year’s regular season series.

San Jose eliminated the Flames in seven games. Stephane Yelle's second goal of the game was the game-winner as Calgary took the opening game of the series 3–2. San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov recorded a shutout making 21 saves in Game two to help the Sharks tie the series. The Flames rallied from a three-goal deficit to win Game three 4–3 as backup goaltender Curtis Joseph relieved Miikka Kiprusoff after he was pulled just three and a half minutes into the game. San Jose scored two goals late in the third period of Game four to win the game 3–2. San Jose had a three-goal lead in Game five and held off a Calgary comeback in a 4–3 victory. Miikka Kiprusoff recorded a shutout in Game six to force a deciding game seven as the Flames won 2–0. After being held pointless in the first six games of the series San Jose forward Jeremy Roenick scored two goals and two assists in Game seven as the Sharks won 5–3.


April 9 Calgary Flames 3–2 San Jose Sharks HP Pavilion Recap  
Stephane Yelle (1) – 02:47
Dion Phaneuf (1) – pp – 05:17 		First period 06:06 – Ryane Clowe (1)
Stephane Yelle (2) – 16:21 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 19:03 – Ryane Clowe (2)
Miikka Kiprusoff 37 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 20 saves / 23 shots
April 10 Calgary Flames 0–2 San Jose Sharks HP Pavilion Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 04:56 – Joe Pavelski (1)
18:09 – pp – Torrey Mitchell (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Miikka Kiprusoff 41 saves / 43 shots Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 21 saves / 21 shots
April 13 San Jose Sharks 3–4 Calgary Flames Pengrowth Saddledome Recap  
Ryane Clowe (3) – pp – 01:31
Patrick Marleau (1) – 03:19
Douglas Murray (1) – 03:33 		First period 13:22 – pp – Jarome Iginla (1)
No scoring Second period 10:14 – pp – Daymond Langkow (1)
No scoring Third period 01:18 – Dion Phaneuf (2)
16:15 – Owen Nolan (1)
Evgeni Nabokov 21 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Miikka Kiprusoff 2 saves / 5 shots
Curtis Joseph 22 saves / 22 shots
April 15 San Jose Sharks 3–2 Calgary Flames Pengrowth Saddledome Recap  
No scoring First period 03:19 – Jarome Iginla (2)
Ryane Clowe (4) – pp – 10:56 Second period 18:29 – Dion Phaneuf (3)
Jonathan Cheechoo (1) – 15:06
Joe Thornton (1) – 19:50 		Third period No scoring
Evgeni Nabokov 8 saves / 10 shots Goalie stats Miikka Kiprusoff 29 saves / 32 shots
April 17 Calgary Flames 3–4 San Jose Sharks HP Pavilion Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Jarome Iginla (3) – pp – 04:03 Second period 11:32 – pp – Joe Pavelski (2)
18:07 – Patrick Marleau (2)
Daymond Langkow (2) – pp – 09:06
David Moss (1) – 18:43 		Third period 04:52 – Jonathan Cheechoo (2)
08:22 – Jonathan Cheechoo (3)
Miikka Kiprusoff 22 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 33 saves / 36 shots
April 20 San Jose Sharks 0–2 Calgary Flames Pengrowth Saddledome Recap  
No scoring First period 11:33 – Owen Nolan (2)
No scoring Second period 19:03 – Daymond Langkow (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Evgeni Nabokov 23 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Miikka Kiprusoff 21 saves / 21 shots
April 22 Calgary Flames 3–5 San Jose Sharks HP Pavilion Recap  
Jarome Iginla (4) – pp – 12:23 First period 10:57 – pp – Joe Thornton (2)
Owen Nolan (3) – 03:33 Second period 06:04 – Jeremy Roenick (1)
09:04 – pp – Jeremy Roenick (2)
14:01 – Joe Pavelski (3)
14:53 – Devin Setoguchi (2)
Wayne Primeau (1) – 05:18 Third period No scoring
Miikka Kiprusoff 26 saves / 30 shots
Curtis Joseph 10 saves / 11 shots 		Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 19 saves / 22 shots
San Jose won series 4–3


(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche

The first three games of the series between the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche each ended with 3–2 scores in overtime, with the Avalanche taking the first game and the Wild winning the next two, but five different Colorado players scored in Game 4 to give them the win. Then Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny scored less than 80 seconds apart in the third period of Game 5 to win it for the Avalanche. Colorado then captured the series in Game 6, aided by Jose Theodore's 34 saves from 35 shots.

April 9 Minnesota Wild 2–3 OT Colorado Avalanche Xcel Energy Center Recap  
Mikko Koivu 1 - 53:02
Todd Fedoruk 1 - 56:13 		Scoring stats 21:29 - Kurt Sauer 1
33:08 - pp - Ryan Smyth 1
71:11 - Joe Sakic 1
Niklas Backstrom 19 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Jose Theodore 28 saves / 30 shots
April 11 Minnesota Wild 3–2 OT Colorado Avalanche Xcel Energy Center Recap  
Pavol Demitra 1 - pp - 41:37
Mikko Koivu 2 - 58:09
Keith Carney 1 - 61:14 		Scoring stats 17:06 - Peter Forsberg 1
59:16 - Milan Hejduk 1
Niklas Backstrom 24 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Jose Theodore 28 saves / 31 shots
April 14 Colorado Avalanche 2–3 OT Minnesota Wild Pepsi Center Recap  
Andrew Brunette 1 - 15:19
Joe Sakic 2 - 54:56 		Scoring stats 27:13 - Mikko Koivu 3
31:32 - sh - Brian Rolston 1
71:58 - Pierre-Marc Bouchard 1
Jose Theodore 36 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Niklas Backstrom 44 saves / 46 shots
April 15 Colorado Avalanche 5–1 Minnesota Wild Pepsi Center Recap  
Andrew Brunette 2 - 4:01
Wojtek Wolski 1 - 5:37
Tyler Arnason 1 - 11:08
Ruslan Salei 1 - pp - 27:42
Milan Hejduk 2 - pp - 36:44 		Scoring stats 43:11 - sh - Mikko Koivu 4
Jose Theodore 24 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Niklas Backstrom 24 saves / 29 shots
Josh Harding 11 saves / 11 shots
April 17 Minnesota Wild 2–3 Colorado Avalanche Xcel Energy Center Recap  
Pierre-Marc Bouchard 2 - pp - 19:20
Brian Rolston 2 - 59:57 		Scoring stats 12:24 - pp - Andrew Brunette 3
45:06 - pp - Wojtek Wolski 2
46:25 - Paul Stastny 1
Niklas Backstrom 14 saves / 17 shots Goalie stats Jose Theodore 38 saves / 40 shots
April 19 Colorado Avalanche 2–1 Minnesota Wild Pepsi Center Recap  
Ben Guite 1 - sh - 8:02
Ryan Smyth 2 - 32:30 		Scoring stats 20:36 - Aaron Voros 1
Jose Theodore 34 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Niklas Backstrom 28 saves / 30 shots
Colorado won series 4–2


(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars

The defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks came into the 2008 playoffs finishing second in the Pacific Division behind the San Jose Sharks, and they were slotted as the fourth seed in the West facing the fifth-seeded Dallas Stars in the opening round. Despite winning five of eight games against the Ducks during the regular season, the Stars had lost their last two matchups and only collected six total points in the month of March (out of a possible 22 points). Consequently, the defending champions were heavy favorites against the Stars, who had not made it out of the first round in over five years.

Dallas stunned the undisciplined Ducks, posting a 4–0 shutout in Game 1, with all four goals coming on the power play. Anaheim went into Game 2 with a much more focused attack, but could only manage a 2–2 tie after two periods. Dallas then took control of the game, getting three goals in the third period.

The series shifted to Dallas with the Stars having a 2–0 series lead. In Game 3, the Ducks avoided a 3–0 deficit by taking control early in the game and jumping out to a 4–0 lead, with two goals coming from Ducks captain Chris Pronger. Anaheim won the game, 4–2. Anaheim's leading goal scorer in the regular season, Corey Perry, returned from injury in game four. However, the Ducks could not keep up with the Stars' home-ice advantage, and scored their only goal of the game with eight seconds left. Dallas won the game 3–1 and took a commanding three games to one series lead.

Game 5 was played in Anaheim—where the Stars had already won the first two games of the series—as the Ducks attempted to avoid elimination. The Stars kept it close, but the Ducks took control late in the game, getting their first contributions of the series from Perry. The Ducks won 5–2 to send the series back to Dallas. In Dallas, the Ducks struck first, getting another goal from Perry, but the Stars scored four goals in the third period with defenseman Stephane Robidas scoring a goal and then setting up Stu Barnes for the game winner just one minute later to give the Stars the series win.

April 10 Anaheim Ducks 0–4 Dallas Stars Honda Center Recap  
No scoring Scoring stats 11:25 - pp - Steve Ott 1
17:34 - pp - Loui Eriksson 1
23:58 - pp - Jere Lehtinen 1
37:22 - pp - Brenden Morrow 1
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 33 saves / 37 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 23 saves / 23 shots
April 12 Anaheim Ducks 2–5 Dallas Stars Honda Center Recap  
Teemu Selanne 1 - pp - 23:41
Travis Moen 1 - 36:19 		Scoring stats 06:28 - Mike Ribeiro 1
21:28 - pp - Jere Lehtinen 2
45:47 - pp - Mike Modano 1
46:42 - Brad Richards 1
54:36 - Loui Eriksson 2
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 25 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 20 saves / 22 shots
April 15 Dallas Stars 2–4 Anaheim Ducks American Airlines Center Recap  
Brenden Morrow 2 - pp - 45:43
Brenden Morrow 3 - pp - 47:22 		Scoring stats 6:39 - Todd Marchant 1
10:09 - Ryan Getzlaf 1
14:31 - pp - Chris Pronger 1
25:34 - pp - Chris Pronger 2
Marty Turco 11 saves / 15 shots Goalie stats Jean-Sebastien Giguere 31 saves / 33 shots
April 17 Dallas Stars 3–1 Anaheim Ducks American Airlines Center Recap  
Joel Lundqvist 1 - 16:39
Stu Barnes 1 - 49:01
Steve Ott 2 - 57:17 		Scoring stats 59:52 - Mathieu Schneider 1
Marty Turco 28 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Jean-Sebastien Giguere 17 saves / 20 shots
April 18 Anaheim Ducks 5–2 Dallas Stars Honda Center Recap  
Corey Perry 1 - 8:25
Ryan Getzlaf 2 - pp - 31:03
Teemu Selanne 2 - pp - 40:48
Sean O'Donnell 1 - 52:05
Todd Marchant 2 - en - 58:36 		Scoring stats 18:27 - Mattias Norstrom 1
44:41 - Mike Ribeiro 2
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 40 saves / 42 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 27 saves / 31 shots
April 20 Dallas Stars 4–1 Anaheim Ducks American Airlines Center Recap  
Stephane Robidas 1 - pp - 41:18
Stu Barnes 2 - 42:10
Loui Eriksson 3 - 57:42
Mike Modano 2 - pp - en - 59:56 		Scoring stats 22:11 - Corey Perry 2
Marty Turco 17 saves / 18 shots Goalie stats Jean-Sebastien Giguere 22 saves / 25 shots
Dallas won series 4–2


Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers won four consecutive games to eliminate the Eastern Conference top-seeded Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens took game one with Tom Kostopoulos's goal in overtime, but then had a hard time getting past Flyers goaltender Martin Biron for the rest of the series. Montreal goaltender Carey Price started to struggle with the Flyers, and was replaced by Jaroslav Halak late in game three. Price regained his starting job in game five, and the Canadiens jumped to a 3–1 lead early in the second period, but the Flyers scored three consecutive goals en route to a 6–4 series-clinching victory.

April 24 Montreal Canadiens 4–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers Bell Centre Recap  
No scoring First period 13:15 - R. J. Umberger 2
16:49 - Jim Dowd 1
Andrei Kostitsyn 4 - 09:44
Alexei Kovalev 3 - sh - 16:53 		Second period No scoring
Alexei Kovalev 4 - pp - 19:31 Third period 00:19 - pp - Joffrey Lupul 2
Tom Kostopoulos 3 - 00:48 First overtime period No scoring
Carey Price 30 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 30 saves / 34 shots
April 26 Montreal Canadiens 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers Bell Centre Recap  
Saku Koivu 1 - pp - 16:18 First period 05:53 - R. J. Umberger 3
08:39 - pp - Jeff Carter 4
No scoring Second period 13:33 - Daniel Briere 7
Andrei Markov 1 - 01:26 Third period 17:39 - R. J. Umberger 4
Carey Price 19 saves / 23 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 34 saves / 36 shots
April 28 Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 Montreal Canadiens Wachovia Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Scottie Upshall 2 - 07:04
Mike Richards 3 - sh - 15:12
R. J. Umberger 5 - 18:19 		Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 07:29 - pp - Tomas Plekanec 2
08:41 - pp - Saku Koivu 2
Martin Biron 32 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Carey Price 9 saves / 12 shots
Jaroslav Halak 2 saves / 2 shots
April 30 Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 Montreal Canadiens Wachovia Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
R. J. Umberger 6 - pp - 07:47 Second period No scoring
Scott Hartnell 2 - 06:47
Daniel Briere 8 - pp - 16:22
R. J. Umberger 7 - en - 19:58 		Third period 12:59 - Tomas Plekanec 3
13:36 - Saku Koivu 3
Martin Biron 36 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Jaroslav Halak 22 saves / 25 shots
May 3 Montreal Canadiens 4–6 Philadelphia Flyers Bell Centre Recap  
Tomas Plekanec 4 - pp - 04:29
Alexei Kovalev 5 - 11:28 		First period 10:20 - R. J. Umberger 8
Christopher Higgins 3 - 08:15 Second period 14:02 - Mike Richards 4
15:44 - R. J. Umberger 9
17:00 - Scott Hartnell 3
Andrei Kostitsyn 5 - 02:13 Third period 16:56 - Scottie Upshall 3
19:10 - en - Mike Knuble 3
Carey Price 31 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 31 saves / 35 shots
Philadelphia won series 4–1


(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) New York Rangers

The Semifinal matchup, between two Atlantic Division rivals, began on April 25. It was the fourth playoff meeting between the two teams, with Pittsburgh having won all three previous match-ups.[4] After overcoming a 3–0 deficit midway through the second period, the Penguins took the lead with 1:41 remaining, and held on to win the Game 1, 5–4.[5] In Game 2, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots to earn his second shutout of the playoffs; the Penguins won the game 2–0 to take a 2–0 lead in the series.[6] Game 3 shifted the series to New York, where the Rangers were undefeated against the Penguins during the regular season. Martin Straka scored his second goal of the series to tie the game at one in the first period, but late in the second, Evgeni Malkin netted his second game-winning goal of the series to give the Penguins a 3–0 lead in the series.[7] Facing elimination in Game 4, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 29 shots that he faced and Jaromir Jagr scored twice as New York shut-out the Penguins, 3–0.[8] Game 5 was played in Pittsburgh. After falling to a 2–0 deficit, the Rangers battled back to tie the game, which was forced into overtime. Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa then scored his fourth goal of the series at the 7:10 mark of the first overtime to win the series for the Penguins.[9] The Penguins went on to play another division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, for the Eastern Conference championship.

April 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 New York Rangers Mellon Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 13:40 - pp - Martin Straka 2
Jarkko Ruutu 2 - 08:13
Pascal Dupuis 1 - 08:27 		Second period 01:52 - Chris Drury 3
03:37 - Sean Avery 4
Marian Hossa 2 - 04:40
Petr Sykora 4 - 05:00
Evgeni Malkin 3 - pp - 18:19 		Third period 10:04 - Scott Gomez 4
Marc-Andre Fleury 20 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Henrik Lundqvist 21 saves / 26 shots
April 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–0 New York Rangers Mellon Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Jordan Staal 2 - pp - 13:55 Second period No scoring
Adam Hall 1 - en - 19:43 Third period No scoring
Marc-Andre Fleury 26 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Henrik Lundqvist 30 saves / 31 shots
April 29 New York Rangers 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Madison Square Garden Recap  
Martin Straka 3 - 14:32 First period 01:02 - Marian Hossa 3
16:17 - Georges Laraque 1
17:41 - pp - Evgeni Malkin 4
Ryan Callahan 2 - 12:07
Jaromir Jagr 3 - 13:11 		Second period 17:53 - pp - Evgeni Malkin 5
No scoring Third period 02:30 - Ryan Malone 3
Henrik Lundqvist 12 saves / 17 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 36 saves / 39 shots
May 1 New York Rangers 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Jaromir Jagr 4 - 12:45 Second period No scoring
Brandon Dubinsky 4 - pp - 00:44
Jaromir Jagr 5 - pp - en - 19:46 		Third period No scoring
Henrik Lundqvist 20 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 20 saves / 22 shots
May 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 OT New York Rangers Mellon Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Marian Hossa 4 - pp - 08:45
Evgeni Malkin 6 - 12:40 		Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period Lauri Korpikoski 1 - 02:03
Nigel Dawes 2 - 03:25
Marian Hossa 5 - 07:10 overtime period No scoring
Marc-Andre Fleury 20 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Henrik Lundqvist 37 saves / 40 shots
Pittsburgh won series 4–1


Western Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche

The Red Wings and Avalanche met for the sixth time in the playoffs, with the winner of the series later winning the Stanley Cup three times. Once bitter rivals, this series proved to be no contest as the Red Wings scored 21 total goals in four games to sweep the Avalanche, the first ever sweep in the two teams' playoff matchups against each other. Detroit's Johan Franzen scored nine goals, including two hat-tricks, breaking the franchise record for goals in a playoff series, also scoring as many goals as the entire Avalanche team. Meanwhile, Colorado was depleted with several key players out with injuries, including Peter Forsberg (who played one game in the series), Ryan Smyth, Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski.

April 24 Detroit Red Wings 4–3 Colorado Avalanche Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Henrik Zetterberg 3 - 09:46
Daniel Cleary 1 - 13:48
Johan Franzen 3 - pp - 17:23 		First period 08:53 - Paul Stastny 2
Johan Franzen 4 - 01:13 Second period 05:17 - John-Michael Liles 1
16:29 - Milan Hejduk 3
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Jose Theodore 12 saves / 16 shots
Peter Budaj 20 saves / 20 shots
April 26 Detroit Red Wings 5–1 Colorado Avalanche Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Johan Franzen 5 - pp - 04:22 First period No scoring
Johan Franzen 6 - pp - 04:04
Valtteri Filppula 2 - 05:42
Henrik Zetterberg 4 - 10:11 		Second period No scoring
Johan Franzen 7 - sh - 08:47 Third period 02:38 - Ian Laperriere 1
Chris Osgood 19 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Jose Theodore 16 saves / 20 shots
Peter Budaj 19 saves / 20 shots
April 29 Colorado Avalanche 3–4 Detroit Red Wings Pepsi Center Recap  
Cody McLeod 1 - 05:17 First period 12:14 - pp - Pavel Datsyuk 4
13:12 - Johan Franzen 8
Andrew Brunette 4 - pp - 08:08 Second period 06:36 - Pavel Datsyuk 5
12:24 - pp - Henrik Zetterberg 4
Andrew Brunette 5 - pp - 05:19 Third period No scoring
Jose Theodore 31 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 30 saves / 33 shots
May 1 Colorado Avalanche 2–8 Detroit Red Wings Pepsi Center Recap  
Tyler Arnason 2 - pp - 06:51 First period 04:33 - Mikael Samuelsson 1
18:34 - Tomas Holmstrom 2
19:21 - Johan Franzen 9
No scoring Second period 02:15 - pp - Henrik Zetterberg 5
05:45 - Henrik Zetterberg 6
11:37 - sh - Johan Franzen 10
17:15 - pp - Johan Franzen 11
John-Michael Liles 2 - pp - 10:26 Third period 08:02 - Mikael Samuelsson 2
Jose Theodore 12 saves / 15 shots
Peter Budaj 20 saves / 25 shots 		Goalie stats Chris Osgood 29 saves / 31 shots
Detroit won series 4–0


(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Dallas Stars

Dallas opened the series having not lost in regulation to the Sharks in San Jose since 2006, however, as in the Anaheim series, the Stars were seeded lower than the Sharks, who had home ice advantage.

Game 1 went to overtime after a late goal by Jonathan Cheechoo which tied the game, but Dallas captain Brenden Morrow scored in overtime to finish the game at 3–2. In Game 2, defenseman Sergei Zubov returned from a hernia injury that had kept him out since January. Stars' center Brad Richards keyed a four-goal outburst in the third period for Dallas, scoring a goal and three assists to lead the Stars to a 5–2 win. The Stars became only the fifth team in NHL history to win games one and two on the road in back-to-back series in the playoffs. In Game 3 in Dallas, the Stars won again in overtime on a rare goal from defenseman Mattias Norstrom.

With the Stars leading the Sharks 3–0 in the series, San Jose fought off elimination with third period goals from Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek in Game 4. San Jose came back home for Game 5. Dallas took a two-goal lead into the third period, however, the Sharks tied the game with goals by Michalek and Brian Campbell. Overtime was needed for the third time in five games, but just 1:05 into the first overtime, San Jose center Joe Pavelski converted a turnover to keep the Sharks alive in the playoffs down 3–2. Brenden Morrow had two goals disallowed in the game for illegally kicking the puck into the net and bunting one in with his hand.

In Game 6, Stars right winger Antti Miettinen opened the scoring in the second period off a rebound from Mike Modano. Minutes into the third period, San Jose winger Ryane Clowe tied the game on an odd shot from the halfboards. Replays showed the puck appeared to have been played with an illegal hand pass. Stars goaltender Marty Turco protested, but no official review took place, and the goal was allowed to stand. The game required overtime for the fourth time in the series. The game played on until the early hours of the morning and featured a fantastic goaltending duel between Turco and his Sharks counterpart Evgeni Nabokov, each trading spectacular saves throughout all four overtimes. Most notable was a save by Nabokov at the 1:31 mark of the first overtime on Dallas Stars forward Brad Richards. The save was reviewed but it was concluded that there was no goal on the play. Just past the 9:00 mark of the fourth overtime, with Brian Campbell in the Sharks' penalty box for tripping, Brenden Morrow tipped home a pass from defenceman Stephane Robidas to end the eighth-longest game in NHL history and win the series for the Stars 4–2. Goaltenders Turco and Nabokov set team records for saves in a game with 61 and 53 respectively.

April 25 San Jose Sharks 2–3 OT Dallas Stars HP Pavilion at San Jose Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Milan Michalek 1 - 04:50 Second period 06:06 - pp - Mike Modano 3
09:09 - Brenden Morrow 4
Jonathan Cheechoo 4 - 16:58 Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 04:39 - Brenden Morrow 5
Evgeni Nabokov 15 saves / 18 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 25 saves / 27 shots
April 27 San Jose Sharks 2–5 Dallas Stars HP Pavilion at San Jose Recap  
Joe Pavelski 4 - pp - 10:13 First period 15:37 - Mike Ribeiro 3
Milan Michalek 2 - 14:54 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 00:32 - Brad Richards 2
03:39 - pp - Mike Modano 4
13:55 - Niklas Hagman 1
18:45 - en - Niklas Hagman 2
Evgeni Nabokov 20 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 26 saves / 28 shots
April 29 Dallas Stars 2–1 OT San Jose Sharks American Airlines Center Recap  
No scoring First period 19:25 - sh - Patrick Marleau 3
No scoring Second period No scoring
Sergei Zubov 1 - pp - 00:47 Third period No scoring
Mattias Norstrom 2 - 04:37 First overtime period No scoring
Marty Turco 19 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 27 saves / 29 shots
April 30 Dallas Stars 1–2 San Jose Sharks American Airlines Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Jere Lehtinen 3 - 05:25 Second period 09:19 - sh - Patrick Marleau 4
No scoring Third period 03:26 - pp - Milan Michalek 3
Marty Turco 22 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 17 saves / 18 shots
May 2 San Jose Sharks 3–2 OT Dallas Stars HP Pavilion at San Jose Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 06:14 - pp - Jere Lehtinen 4
19:04 - Brenden Morrow 6
Milan Michalek 4 - 06:20
Brian Campbell 1 - 11:07 		Third period No scoring
Joe Pavelski 5 - 01:05 First overtime period No scoring
Evgeni Nabokov 24 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 19 saves / 22 shots
May 4 Dallas Stars 2–1 4OT San Jose Sharks American Airlines Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Antti Miettinen 1 - 04:49 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 01:39 - Ryan Clowe 5
Brenden Morrow 7 - pp - 09:03 Fourth overtime period No scoring
Marty Turco 61 saves / 62 shots Goalie stats Evgeni Nabokov 53 saves / 55 shots
Dallas won series 4–2


Conference Finals

See also: NHL Conference Finals

Eastern Conference Final

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

The Eastern Conference final between the cross-state rivals began on May 9. It was their fourth post season meeting, with the Flyers winning all three previous series (in 1989, 1997 and 2000). Game 1 was tied with seven seconds remaining in the first period when Evgeni Malkin scored to give the Penguins a 3–2 lead. Malkin scored the first short-handed goal of his career in the second to give the Penguins a 4–2 win and a 1–0 series lead.[10] With less than a minute left in the second period of Game 2, Mike Richards scored his third goal of the series to tie the game at 2–2. Maxime Talbot and Jordan Staal, however, both added goals for the Penguins to give them their second consecutive 4–2 victory.[11] The series shifted to Philadelphia for Game 3, where the Penguins struggled in the regular season. R. J. Umberger scored halfway through the first period to pull the Flyers within one goal, but the Flyers failed to score again. After getting two more goals in the third, the Penguins won the game 4–1 to take a commanding 3–0 series lead.[12] Facing elimination in Game 4, the Flyers jumped out to a 3–0 lead in the first period. Jordan Staal responded by scoring twice in the third, but Joffery Lupul tallied his second goal of the game to solidify the victory the game for the Flyers, 4–2, staving off elimination.[13] With the series returning to Pittsburgh, the Penguins won their eighth consecutive home game to win the Prince of Wales Trophy by a decisive final score of 6–0.

May 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers Mellon Arena Recap  
Petr Sykora 5 - 06:19
Sidney Crosby 3 - 14:11
Evgeni Malkin 7 - 19:53 		First period 08:30 - Mike Richards 5
12:50 - Mike Richards 6
Evgeni Malkin 8 - sh - 04:50 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Marc-Andre Fleury 25 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 17 saves / 21 shots
May 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers Mellon Arena Recap  
Sidney Crosby 4 - pp - 10:48 First period No scoring
Marian Hossa 6 - pp - 13:43 Second period 05:46 - pp -Jeff Carter 5
19:36 - sh - Mike Richards 7
Maxime Talbot 2 - 08:51
Jordan Staal 3 - en - 19:31 		Third period No scoring
Marc-Andre Fleury 30 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 34 saves / 37 shots
May 13 Philadelphia Flyers 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Wachovia Center Recap  
R. J. Umberger 10 - 10:59 First period 05:03 - pp - Ryan Whitney 1
07:41 - Marian Hossa 7
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 09:58 - Ryan Malone 4
19:06 - en - Marian Hossa 8
Martin Biron 21 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 17 saves / 18 shots
May 15 Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Wachovia Center Recap  
Joffrey Lupul 4 - 08:27
Daniel Briere 9 - pp - 11:48
Jeff Carter 6 - pp - 18:50 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Joffrey Lupul 5 - en - 19:27 Third period 03:16 - Jordan Staal 4
14:11 - Jordan Staal 5
Martin Biron 36 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 30 saves / 33 shots
May 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–0 Philadelphia Flyers Mellon Arena Recap  
Ryan Malone 5 - pp - 02:30
Evgeni Malkin 9 - 09:50 		First period No scoring
Marian Hossa 9 - 08:24
Ryan Malone 6 - pp - 11:42
Jordan Staal 6 - 19:02 		Second period No scoring
Pascal Dupuis 2 - 04:03 Third period No scoring
Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Martin Biron 19 saves / 25 shots
Pittsburgh won series 4–1


Western Conference Final

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Dallas Stars

The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars met in the playoffs for the first time since the 1998 Western Conference Final. Detroit took a 1–0 series lead in the first game, winning 4–1. In the game, Red Wings winger Johan Franzen scored his NHL-leading 12th playoff goal. The Red Wings then won Game 2, 2–1, where rookie Darren Helm scored his first career playoff goal. A scrum ensued after the game, originating when Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood's stick struck Stars center Mike Ribeiro, who retaliated with a two-handed slash to Osgood's chest; no suspensions were given.

The Red Wings dominated the Stars in Game 3 in Dallas, winning 5–2. Center Pavel Datsyuk scored a hat-trick for the Red Wings, while Osgood stopped 16 shots for the win. The Stars would avoid elimination in Game 4, winning 3–1. Back in Detroit for Game 5, Stars goaltender Marty Turco stopped 38 shots as the Stars won, 2–1. It was Turco's first-ever win at Joe Louis Arena at the professional level.[citation needed] The Red Wings responded by winning Game 6, 4–1, eliminating Dallas and returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2002.


May 8 Detroit Red Wings 4–1 Dallas Stars Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Brian Rafalski 2 - pp - 04:28
Johan Franzen 12 - pp - 15:34 		First period No scoring
Tomas Holmstrom 3 - pp - 06:40
Valtteri Filppula 3 - 15:37 		Second period 18:53 - Brenden Morrow 8
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 20 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 27 saves / 31 shots
May 10 Detroit Red Wings 2–1 Dallas Stars Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Darren Helm 1 - 05:56
Henrik Zetterberg 8 - pp - 15:13 		First period 10:41 - pp - Stephane Robidas 2
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 17 saves / 18 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 32 saves / 34 shots
May 12 Dallas Stars 2–5 Detroit Red Wings American Airlines Center Recap  
Nicklas Grossmann 1 - 15:13 First period 09:27 - Pavel Datsyuk 6
15:50 - Pavel Datsyuk 7
Brad Richards 3 - 03:47 Second period 11:54 - Jiri Hudler 3
No scoring Third period 01:38 - sh - Henrik Zetterberg 9
17:19 - Pavel Datsyuk 8
Marty Turco 16 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 16 saves / 18 shots
May 14 Dallas Stars 3–1 Detroit Red Wings American Airlines Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Loui Eriksson 4 - 19:37 Second period No scoring
Mike Modano 5 - pp - 05:35
Brenden Morrow 9 - 14:34 		Third period 00:49 - Henrik Zetterberg 10
Marty Turco 33 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 19 saves / 22 shots
May 17 Detroit Red Wings 1–2 Dallas Stars Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Jiri Hudler 4 - pp - 15:30 First period 09:20 - Trevor Daley 1
No scoring Second period 06:04 - Joel Lundqvist 2
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 19 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Marty Turco 38 saves / 39 shots
May 19 Dallas Stars 1–4 Detroit Red Wings American Airlines Center Recap  
No scoring First period 03:45 - Kris Draper 3
11:41 - pp - Pavel Datsyuk 9
16:17 - Dallas Drake 1
No scoring Second period 03:11 - sh - Henrik Zetterberg 11
02:07 - pp - Stephane Robidas 3 Third period No scoring
Marty Turco 25 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 28 saves / 29 shots
Detroit won series 4–2


Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 2008 Stanley Cup Finals

The 2008 Stanley Cup Final was won by the Detroit Red Wings over the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

May 24 Detroit Red Wings 4–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Mikael Samuelsson 3 - 13:01 Second period No scoring
Mikael Samuelsson 4 - 02:16
Daniel Cleary 2 - sh - 17:18
Henrik Zetterberg 12 - pp - 19:47 		Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 19 saves / 19 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 32 saves / 36 shots
May 26 Detroit Red Wings 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Brad Stuart 1 - 06:55
Tomas Holmstrom 4 - 11:18 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Valtteri Filppula 4 - 08:48 Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 22 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 31 saves / 34 shots
May 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Detroit Red Wings Mellon Arena Recap  
Sidney Crosby 5 - 17:25 First period No scoring
Sidney Crosby 6 - pp - 02:34 Second period 14:48 - pp - Johan Franzen 13
Adam Hall 2 - 07:18 Third period 13:37 - Mikael Samuelsson 5
Marc-Andre Fleury 32 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 21 saves / 24 shots
May 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 Detroit Red Wings Mellon Arena Recap  
Marian Hossa 10 - pp - 02:51 First period 07:06 - Nicklas Lidstrom 3
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 02:26 - Jiri Hudler 5
Marc-Andre Fleury 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 22 saves / 23 shots
June 2 Detroit Red Wings 3–4 3OT Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 08:37 - Marian Hossa 11
14:41 - Adam Hall 3
Darren Helm 2 - 02:54 Second period No scoring
Pavel Datsyuk 10 - pp - 06:43
Brian Rafalski 3 - 09:23 		Third period 19:25 - Maxime Talbot 3
No scoring Third overtime period 9:57 - pp - Petr Sykora 6
Chris Osgood 28 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Marc-Andre Fleury 55 saves / 58 shots
June 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Detroit Red Wings Mellon Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 05:03 - pp - Brian Rafalski 4
Evgeni Malkin 10 - pp - 15:26 Second period 08:07 - Valtteri Filppula 5
Sergei Gonchar 2 - pp - 18:33 Third period 07:36 - Henrik Zetterberg 13
Marc-Andre Fleury 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 20 saves / 22 shots
Detroit 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, all of the tied skaters are shown.[14]

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings 22 13 14 27 +16 16
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 20 6 21 27 +7 12
Marian Hossa Pittsburgh Penguins 20 12 14 26 +8 12
Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings 22 10 13 23 +13 6
Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins 20 10 12 22 +3 24
Johan Franzen Detroit Red Wings 16 13 5 18 +13 14
Mike Ribeiro Dallas Stars 18 3 14 17 0 16
Daniel Briere Philadelphia Flyers 17 9 7 16 -3 20
Ryan Malone Pittsburgh Penguins 20 6 10 16 +4 25
R. J. Umberger Philadelphia Flyers 17 10 5 15 +7 10
Brenden Morrow Dallas Stars 18 9 6 15 0 22
Jaromir Jagr New York Rangers 10 5 10 15 +3 12
Brad Richards Dallas Stars 18 3 12 15 +1 8
Niklas Kronwall Detroit Red Wings 22 0 15 15 +16 18

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

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 is bolded.[15][16]

Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA Sv% SO TOI
Chris Osgood Detroit Red Wings 19 14 4 430 30 1.55 .930 3 1159:57
Marc-Andre Fleury Pittsburgh Penguins 20 14 6 610 41 1.97 .933 3 1251:10
Marty Turco Dallas Stars 18 10 8 511 40 2.08 .922 1 1152:13
Evgeni Nabokov San Jose Sharks 13 6 7 333 31 2.18 .907 1 852:52
Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers 10 5 5 287 26 2.57 .909 1 608:04
Tim Thomas Boston Bruins 7 3 4 221 19 2.65 .914 0 430:06

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

The Stanley Cup Finals were broadcast in Canada by the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. In Quebec, RDS televised the series. In the United States, Versus televised Games 1 and 2, while NBC broadcast the remainder.[17] In the United Kingdom, all games were shown on Five.

References

  1. ^ a b Game Recap of game four of the Detroit-Colorado Western Conference semi-final.
  2. ^ a b "NHL amends unsportsmanlike conduct rule in response to Avery's antics". ESPN.com. April 14, 2008. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Lundqvist stops penalty shot, Rangers hold on to eliminate Devils". AP/ESPN.com. April 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ http://www.lohud.com/article/20080425/COLUMNIST01/804250415/Rangers-playoff-history-Penguins-ugly
  5. ^ "Semifinals: Game One recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Semifinals: Game Two recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Semifinals: Game Three recap". Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  8. ^ "Semifinals: Game Four recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Semifinals: Game Five recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Eastern Finals: Game One recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Eastern Finals: Game Two recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Eastern Finals: Game Three recap". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Eastern Finals: Game Four recap". Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  14. ^ "2007–2008 - Playoffs - All Skaters - Summary - Total points". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
  15. ^ "2007–2008 - Playoffs - Goalie - Summary - Goals against average". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  16. ^ "2007–2008 - Playoffs - Goalie - Summary - Save percentage". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  17. ^ "2008 Stanley Cup Final will begin Saturday, May 24". NHL.com. May 19, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008. [dead link]

See also

Preceded by Stanley Cup playoffs
2008 		Succeeded by
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