2010 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 14, 2010, after the 2009–10 NHL regular season.[1] The Finals ended on June 9, 2010, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to win their fourth championship and their first since 1961. Blackhawks center and team captain Jonathan Toews was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player.
This NHL post-season was noted for the unexpected playoff successes of two teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens, who were the seventh and eighth seeds in their conference and were tied for points. The Flyers became the third NHL team to win a seven game series after being down 3–0 (the others being the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders).[2] The Flyers went on to play in the Stanley Cup Final, losing to Chicago. Meanwhile, the Canadiens became the first eighth-seeded team in NHL history to win a series against the first-seeded team after being down 3–1 in a series, when they beat the Washington Capitals in the first round.[3] After upsetting the defending Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round, the Canadiens became the first eighth-seeded team to compete in the Eastern Conference Finals since the current playoff format was implemented in 1994.[4]
Previously, only the eighth-seeded 2006 Edmonton Oilers had accomplished a similar feat, winning the 2006 Western Conference Finals. As a result of the Canadiens having the eighth seed, the Flyers became the first seventh-seed to have home-ice advantage in the conference finals since the current playoff format was instituted. During the 2010 playoffs, 18 games went to overtime.[5]
Playoff seeds
Eastern Conference
- Washington Capitals, Southeast Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, President's Trophy winners – 121 points
- New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions – 103 points
- Buffalo Sabres, Northeast Division champions – 100 points
- Pittsburgh Penguins – 101 points
- Ottawa Senators – 94 points
- Boston Bruins – 91 points
- Philadelphia Flyers – 88 points (41 wins)
- Montreal Canadiens – 88 points (39 wins)
Western Conference
- San Jose Sharks, Pacific Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 113 points
- Chicago Blackhawks, Central Division champions – 112 points
- Vancouver Canucks, Northwest Division champions – 103 points
- Phoenix Coyotes – 107 points
- Detroit Red Wings – 102 points
- Los Angeles Kings – 101 points
- Nashville Predators – 100 points
- Colorado Avalanche – 95 points
Playoff bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage, 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 was determined based on regular season points. Thus, the Chicago Blackhawks had home ice advantage for the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team had home ice for games one and two and if necessary, five and seven, while the lower-seeded team had home ice for games three, four, and if necessary, game six. Home ice proved to be a minimal advantage, as home teams had a record of 46 wins to 43 losses during all four rounds of the playoffs.
Conference Quarterfinals
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winner, earning the NHL's best regular season record with 121 points. The Montreal Canadiens qualified for the post-season as the eighth seed with 88 points. This was the first playoff series between the two franchises and only the second time the Caps faced a Canadian team in the playoffs. Jose Theodore was facing one of his former clubs. Montreal's difference in the series is the fifth largest point differential (33 points) for a lower-seeded team beating a higher-seeded team in playoff history. It is also the first time an eight-seeded team has come back against a number one seed after being down 3–1 in the series.[3]
| April 15 | Washington Capitals | 2–3 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Verizon Center | Recap | ||
| Joe Corvo 1 - 15:33 | First period | 12:36 - pp - Michael Cammalleri 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Nicklas Backstrom 1 - 00:47 | Third period | 07:34 - Scott Gomez 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 13:19 - Tomas Plekanec 1 | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 45 saves / 47 shots | ||||||
| April 17 | Washington Capitals | 6–5 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Verizon Center | Recap | ||
| Eric Fehr 1 - 10:21 | First period | 01:00 - Brian Gionta 1 07:58 - Andrei Kostitsyn 1 | ||||||
| Nicklas Backstrom 2 - 18:23 | Second period | 11:06 - Andrei Kostitsyn 2 17:44 - pp - Andrei Kostitsyn 3 | ||||||
| Alexander Ovechkin 1 - 02:56 Nicklas Backstrom 3 - 09:47 John Carlson 1 - 18:39 |
Third period | 14:54 - Tomas Plekanec 2 | ||||||
| Nicklas Backstrom 4 - 00:31 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 0 saves / 2 shots Semyon Varlamov 19 saves / 22 shots |
Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 31 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–5 | Washington Capitals | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:06 - sh - Boyd Gordon 1 04:42 - Brooks Laich 1 08:33 - Eric Fehr 2 13:50 - Alexander Ovechkin 2 | ||||||
| Tomas Plekanec 3 - pp - 02:25 | Third period | 19:15 - Matt Bradley 1 | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 10 saves / 13 shots Carey Price 21 saves / 23 shots |
Goalie stats | Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–6 | Washington Capitals | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Michael Cammalleri 2 - 09:12 | First period | 08:10 - pp - Alexander Ovechkin 3 | ||||||
| Brian Gionta 2 - pp - 15:42 | Second period | 19:53 - sh - Mike Knuble 1 | ||||||
| Dominic Moore 1 - 18:42 | Third period | 11:09 - Alexander Ovechkin 4 12:01 - Jason Chimera 1 17:33 - en - Mike Knuble 2 19:49 - en - Nicklas Backstrom 5 | ||||||
| Carey Price 32 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Semyon Varlamov 36 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Washington Capitals | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Verizon Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:30 - Michael Cammalleri 3 07:01 - Travis Moen 1 | ||||||
| Alexander Ovechkin 5 - 03:52 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 37 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–1 | Washington Capitals | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Michael Cammalleri 4 - pp - 07:30 Michael Cammalleri 5 - 09:09 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maxime Lapierre 1 - 04:17 Tomas Plekanec - en - 19:03 |
Third period | 15:10 - Eric Fehr 3 | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 53 saves / 54 shots | Goalie stats | Semyon Varlamov 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Washington Capitals | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Verizon Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:30 - pp - Marc-Andre Bergeron 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brooks Laich 2 - 17:44 | Third period | 16:24 - Dominic Moore 2 | ||||||
| Semyon Varlamov 14 saves / 16 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 41 saves / 42 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–3 | |
(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
The New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 103 points. The Philadelphia Flyers earned the seventh seed with 88 points, winning the tiebreaker over Montreal on total wins (41 to 39). The two franchises met in the playoffs for the first time since the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2004, having previously met in the 2000 and 1995 Eastern Conference Finals.
| April 14 | New Jersey Devils | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers | Prudential Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:25 - pp - Chris Pronger 1 16:27 - Mike Richards 1 | ||||||
| Travis Zajac 1 - 17:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 12 saves / 14 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 23 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | New Jersey Devils | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Prudential Center | Recap | |||
| Zach Parise 1 - sh - 02:45 | First period | 09:33 - Arron Asham 1 15:30 - pp - Claude Giroux 1 | ||||||
| Colin White 1 - 03:44 Andy Greene 1 - pp - 13:25 |
Second period | 18:48 - pp - Chris Pronger 2 | ||||||
| Dainius Zubrus 1 - 15:56 Ilya Kovalchuk 1 - en - 19:27 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 26 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 28 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–2 | OT | New Jersey Devils | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Claude Giroux 2 - pp - 08:49 | First period | 07:15 - pp - Brian Rolston 1 | ||||||
| Mike Richards 2 - 01:15 | Second period | 16:38 - pp - Brian Rolston 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daniel Carcillo 1 - 03:35 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 17 saves / 19 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 31 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–1 | New Jersey Devils | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 12:24 - pp - Ilya Kovalchuk 2 | ||||||
| Jeff Carter 1 - pp - 09:08 Daniel Briere 1 - 17:27 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daniel Carcillo 2 - 04:10 Jeff Carter 2 - 09:28 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 30 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 24 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | New Jersey Devils | 0–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Prudential Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:16 - Daniel Briere 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:48 - Claude Giroux 3 13:47 - pp - Claude Giroux 4 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 28 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
(3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Boston Bruins
The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Northeast Division with 100 points. The Boston Bruins earned the sixth seed with 91 points. The last meeting between the two franchises took place in the 1999 Eastern Conference Semifinal, which the Sabres won 4–2. The turning points in the series were the injury to Thomas Vanek in game two, the Sabres blowing a two goal lead in game four and losing in double overtime, and the waiving of an automatic suspension against Bruins captain Zdeno Chara after game five.[citation needed]
| April 15 | Buffalo Sabres | 2-1 | Boston Bruins | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| Thomas Vanek 1 - 04:52 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Craig Rivet 1 - 14:10 | Second period | 09:30 - pp - Mark Recchi 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 38 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 30 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 17 | Buffalo Sabres | 3-5 | Boston Bruins | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| Tyler Myers 1 - 02:55 Matt Ellis 1 - 12:00 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jason Pominville 1 - 16:41 | Second period | 02:35 - Michael Ryder 1 09:54 - Zdeno Chara 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:23 - Michael Ryder 2 07:23 - Zdeno Chara 2 19:40 - en - Mark Recchi 2 | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 26 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Boston Bruins | 2-1 | Buffalo Sabres | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| Dennis Wideman 1 - 15:17 | First period | 06:57 - Mike Grier 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrice Bergeron 1 - 12:57 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 27 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Boston Bruins | 3-2 | 2OT | Buffalo Sabres | TD Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 02:12 - Tim Kennedy 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:59 - Steve Montador 1 | ||||||
| David Krejci 1 - pp - 02:07 Patrice Bergeron 2 - 06:40 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Miroslav Satan 1 - pp - 07:41 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 35 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 36 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Buffalo Sabres | 4-1 | Boston Bruins | HSBC Arena | Recap | |||
| Adam Mair 1 - 01:54 Jason Pominville 2 - 18:54 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Grier 2 - 09:22 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tyler Ennis 1 - en - 18:17 | Third period | 17:30 - pp - Johnny Boychuk 1 | ||||||
| Ryan Miller 34 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 29 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Boston Bruins | 4-3 | Buffalo Sabres | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| David Krejci 2 - 13:39 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mark Recchi 3 - pp - 01:01 | Second period | 06:34 - Patrick Kaleta 1 | ||||||
| David Krejci 3 - 07:18 Miroslav Satan 2 - 14:49 |
Third period | 07:40 - Nathan Gerbe 1 18:47 - Thomas Vanek 2 | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Ryan Miller 28 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–2 | |
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
The Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions, entered the playoffs as the fourth-overall seed in the Eastern Conference with 101 points. The Ottawa Senators earned 94 points during the regular season to finish fifth-overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the third meeting between the two clubs and third time in four years, all occurring during the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, with Ottawa winning the series 4–1 in 2007, and Pittsburgh sweeping the series in 2008 (the Senators did not qualify for the playoffs in 2009).
| April 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–5 | Ottawa Senators | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Evgeni Malkin 1 - pp - 03:03 | First period | 08:45 - Peter Regin 1 14:08 - Chris Neil 1 | ||||||
| Evgeni Malkin 2 - pp - 10:22 | Second period | 01:20 - pp - Chris Kelly 1 13:14 - pp - Erik Karlsson 1 | ||||||
| Craig Adams 1 - 05:16 Alex Goligoski 1 - 17:36 |
Third period | 09:40 - Jarkko Ruutu 1 | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Elliott 17 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–1 | Ottawa Senators | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Sidney Crosby 1 - 08:45 | First period | 00:18 - Peter Regin 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Kris Letang 1 - 15:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 19 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Elliott 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Ottawa Senators | 2–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:17 - Alexei Ponikarovsky 1 | ||||||
| Mike Fisher 1 - pp - 01:53 | Second period | 05:57 - Evgeni Malkin 3 19:15 - pp - Sidney Crosby 2 | ||||||
| Matt Cullen 1 - pp - 12:58 | Third period | 04:27 - Bill Guerin 1 | ||||||
| Brian Elliott 20 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 20 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Ottawa Senators | 4–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Scotiabank Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:50 - pp - Evgeni Malkin 4 | ||||||
| Chris Neil 2 - 07:06 Daniel Alfredsson 1 - 10:59 Matt Cullen 2 - pp - 13:19 |
Second period | 03:47 - Sidney Crosby 3 03:59 - Matt Cooke 1 06:12 - Sidney Crosby 4 12:38 - sh - Maxime Talbot 1 18:11 - Chris Kunitz 1 | ||||||
| Jason Spezza 1 - 07:37 | Third period | 12:27 - pp - Jordan Staal 1 | ||||||
| Brian Elliott 15 saves / 19 shots Pascal Leclaire 20 saves / 23 shots |
Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–4 | 3OT | Ottawa Senators | Mellon Arena | Recap | ||
| Kris Letang 2 - pp - 18:05 | First period | 10:25 - pp - Mike Fisher 2 11:33 - Jarkko Ruutu 2 | ||||||
| Chris Kunitz 2 - 18:34 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sidney Crosby 5 - 09:01 | Third period | 10:24 - Peter Regin 3 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 07:06 - Matt Carkner 1 | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 40 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Pascal Leclaire 56 saves / 59 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Ottawa Senators | 3–4 | OT | Pittsburgh Penguins | Scotiabank Place | Recap | ||
| Matt Cullen 3 - 05:19 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Neil 3 - 01:51 Daniel Alfredsson 2 - 09:48 |
Second period | 10:56 - Matt Cooke 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 07:03 - pp - Bill Guerin 2 12:24 - Matt Cooke 3 | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 09:56 - Pascal Dupuis 1 | ||||||
| Pascal Leclaire 39 saves / 43 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 28 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| Pittsburgh won series 4–2 | |
Western Conference Quarterfinals
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the regular season Western Conference champions, with 113 points. The Colorado Avalanche earned 95 points to clinch the eighth playoff seed in the Western Conference. The franchises previously faced each other in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2004, which the Sharks won 4–2. The Avalanche played the first playoffs after the retirement of Joe Sakic.
| April 14 | San Jose Sharks | 1–2 | Colorado Avalanche | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:38 - pp - John-Michael Liles 1 | ||||||
| Ryan Clowe 1 - 07:59 | Third period | 19:10 - Chris Stewart 1 | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Craig Anderson 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | San Jose Sharks | 6–5 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | ||
| Manny Malhotra 1 - pp - 19:18 | First period | 01:10 - Kyle Cumiskey 1 | ||||||
| Rob Blake 1 - 03:43 Devin Setoguchi 1 - 07:10 Scott Nichol 1 – 19:45 |
Second period | 00:24 - Chris Stewart 2 04:08 - Milan Hejduk 1 17:30 - Brandon Yip 1 | ||||||
| Joe Pavelski 1 - 19:28 | Third period | 05:34 - Chris Stewart 3 | ||||||
| Devin Setoguchi 2 - pp - 05:22 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 17 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Craig Anderson 46 saves / 52 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Colorado Avalanche | 1–0 | OT | San Jose Sharks | Pepsi Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan O'Reilly 1 - 00:51 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Craig Anderson 51 saves / 51 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 16 saves / 17 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Colorado Avalanche | 1–2 | OT | San Jose Sharks | Pepsi Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 01:12 - pp - Dan Boyle 1 | ||||||
| Paul Stastny - pp - 03:27 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 10:24 - Joe Pavelski 2 | ||||||
| Craig Anderson 43 saves / 45 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 33 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | San Jose Sharks | 5–0 | Colorado Avalanche | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Logan Couture 1 - 08:25 Joe Pavelski 3 - pp - 10:21 Dwight Helminen 1 - 15:30 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Logan Couture 2 - 10:37 Patrick Marleau 1 - pp - 13:24 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 28 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Craig Anderson 29 saves / 33 shots Peter Budaj 3 saves / 4 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Colorado Avalanche | 2–5 | San Jose Sharks | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:47 - Joe Pavelski 4 | ||||||
| Marek Svatos 1 - 06:14 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brandon Yip 2 - 04:51 | Third period | 07:33 - Dan Boyle 2 09:02 - Joe Pavelski 5 19:08 - en - Devin Setoguchi 3 19:29 - en - Douglas Murray 1 | ||||||
| Craig Anderson 29 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 16 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| San Jose won series 4–2 | |
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators
The Chicago Blackhawks entered the playoffs as the second-overall seed in the Western Conference, having clinched the Central Division title with 112 points. The Nashville Predators qualified for the playoffs after missing the playoffs the previous season for the first time in four years, clinching the seventh seed with 100 points. This was the first time these two franchises met each other in the playoffs. Nashville's Game 1 victory in Chicago was the franchise's first-ever road playoff win; they had previously lost each of their previous games: three times in 2004 and 2008 against Detroit and twice each in 2006 and 2007, both against San Jose.
| April 16 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–4 | Nashville Predators | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Kane 1 - 09:43 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:31 - J.P. Dumont 1 10:37 - J.P. Dumont 2 19:12 - en - Jerred Smithson 1 19:46 - en - Martin Erat 1 | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 22 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Pekka Rinne 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Chicago Blackhawks | 2–0 | Nashville Predators | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dave Bolland 1 - pp - 08:44 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Kane 2 - 04:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 23 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Pekka Rinne 31 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Nashville Predators | 4–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | Bridgestone Arena | Recap | |||
| Joel Ward 1 - 13:00 | First period | 17:35 - pp - Tomas Kopecky 1 | ||||||
| David Legwand 1 - 04:00 Shea Weber 1 - 09:52 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Erat - ps - 14:25 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pekka Rinne 26 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 31 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Nashville Predators | 0–3 | Chicago Blackhawks | Bridgestone Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 10:57 - pp - Patrick Sharp 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:55 - Jonathan Toews 1 16:17 - Patrick Sharp 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 33 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Chicago Blackhawks | 5–4 | OT | Nashville Predators | United Center | Recap | ||
| Andrew Ladd 1 - 09:57 Niklas Hjalmarsson 1 - 14:53 |
First period | 06:23 - David Legwand 2 | ||||||
| Tomas Kopecky 2 - 16:24 | Second period | 17:31 - sh - Joel Ward 2 | ||||||
| Patrick Kane 3 - sh - 19:46 | Third period | 01:34 - Martin Erat 3 11:39 - Martin Erat 4 | ||||||
| Marian Hossa 1 - 04:07 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 17 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Nashville Predators | 3–5 | Chicago Blackhawks | Bridgestone Arena | Recap | |||
| Shea Weber 2 - 8:40 Jason Arnott 1 - pp - 15:44 Jason Arnott 2 - 19:05 |
First period | 6:38 - Duncan Keith 1 9:54 - Patrick Kane 4 12:03 - Patrick Sharp 3 19:29 - pp - Jonathan Toews 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:52 - en - John Madden 1 | ||||||
| Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 25 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the third overall seed in the Western Conference, having clinched the Northwest Division title with 103 points. The Los Angeles Kings qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2002, clinching the sixth seed with 101 points. The two franchises met for the first time since the 1993 Smythe Division Final, which the Kings won 4–2.
| April 15 | Vancouver Canucks | 3–2 | OT | Los Angeles Kings | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mikael Samuelsson 1 - pp - 03:09 Daniel Sedin 1 - 08:31 |
Second period | 00:54 - pp - Jarret Stoll 1 13:06 - pp - Fredrik Modin 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mikael Samuelsson 2 - 08:52 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Jonathan Quick 41 saves / 44 shots | ||||||
| April 17 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–3 | OT | Los Angeles Kings | General Motors Place | Recap | ||
| Steve Bernier 1 - pp - 07:33 Mikael Samuelsson 3 - 09:49 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:58 - pp - Fredrik Modin 2 11:33 - Wayne Simmonds 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 07:28 - pp - Anze Kopitar 1 | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 29 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Jonathan Quick 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Los Angeles Kings | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks | Staples Center | Recap | |||
| Drew Doughty 1 - pp - 11:00 | First period | 02:09 - Mason Raymond 1 | ||||||
| Michal Handzus 1 - pp - 04:06 Michal Handzus 2 - pp - 12:18 Brad Richardson 1 - 13:21 |
Second period | 14:53 - Mikael Samuelsson 4 | ||||||
| Ryan Smyth 1 - 09:21 | Third period | 04:18 - Daniel Sedin 2 | ||||||
| Jonathan Quick 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 12 saves / 16 shots Andrew Raycroft 6 saves / 7 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Los Angeles Kings | 4–6 | Vancouver Canucks | Staples Center | Recap | |||
| Drew Doughty 2 - pp - 13:26 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dustin Brown 1 - pp - 05:56 Anze Kopitar 2 - 17:09 |
Second period | 03:36 - pp - Christian Ehrhoff 1 15:35 - Pavol Demitra 1 | ||||||
| Wayne Simmonds 2 - 13:18 | Third period | 07:29 - Mikael Samuelsson 5 12:16 - pp - Sami Salo 1 17:08 - Henrik Sedin 1 19:43 - en - Ryan Kesler 1 | ||||||
| Jonathan Quick 31 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 22 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Vancouver Canucks | 7–2 | Los Angeles Kings | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Steve Bernier 2 - 08:50 Alexander Edler 1 - 17:32 |
First period | 14:24 - pp - Michal Handzus 3 | ||||||
| Daniel Sedin 3 - 08:26 Mikael Samuelsson 6 - 13:31 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pavol Demitra 2 - 04:38 Mikael Samuelsson 7 - pp - 06:31 Steve Bernier 3 - 09:50 |
Third period | 05:02 - Fredrik Modin 3 | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Jonathan Quick 21 saves / 26 shots Erik Ersberg 2 saves / 4 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Los Angeles Kings | 2–4 | Vancouver Canucks | Staples Center | Recap | |||
| Alexander Frolov 1 - 10:08 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Drew Doughty 3 - 15:57 | Second period | 08:38 - pp - Steve Bernier 4 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:57 - Kevin Bieksa 1 17:57 - Daniel Sedin 4 18:53 - en - Alexandre Burrows 1 | ||||||
| Jonathan Quick 18 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| Vancouver won series 4–2 | |
(4) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
The Phoenix Coyotes qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2002, finishing the regular season with 107 points (the most in franchise history), and entered the playoffs as the fourth-overall seed in the Western Conference. The Detroit Red Wings, making their 19th straight playoff appearance, earned 102 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Western Conference. Phoenix and Detroit faced each other in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 1998 playoffs, with the Red Wings defeating Phoenix 4–2. The franchises also met in the 1996 Western Conference Quarterfinals, with the Red Wings defeating the Winnipeg Jets 4–2, after which the Winnipeg franchise moved to Phoenix.
| April 14 | Phoenix Coyotes | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| Keith Yandle 1 - pp - 14:13 | First period | 12:17 - Tomas Holmstrom 1 16:27 - pp - Nicklas Lidstrom 1 | ||||||
| Wojtek Wolski 1 - pp - 06:15 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Derek Morris 1 - pp - 02:19 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 38 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 32 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Phoenix Coyotes | 4–7 | Detroit Red Wings | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| Keith Yandle 2 - 10:23 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Wojtek Wolski 2 - 07:05 Matthew Lombardi 1 - 09:09 |
Second period | 06:27 - pp - Henrik Zetterberg 1 08:20 - Pavel Datsyuk 1 10:25 - Valtteri Filppula 1 | ||||||
| Shane Doan 1 - 09:24 | Third period | 02:32 - Justin Abdelkader 1 13:54 - Henrik Zetterberg 2 17:54 - pp - Valtteri Filppula 2 19:12 - en - Henrik Zetterberg 3 | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 32 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 27 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–4 | Phoenix Coyotes | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Valtteri Filppula 3 - 14:42 | First period | 00:29 - pp - Sami Lepisto 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 19:28 - Wojtek Wolski 3 | ||||||
| Johan Franzen 1 - 09:59 | Third period | 08:16 - Petr Prucha 1 11:38 - Radim Vrbata 1 | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 29 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–0 | Phoenix Coyotes | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Todd Bertuzzi 1 - pp - 15:33 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pavel Datsyuk 2 - 15:53 Henrik Zetterberg 4 - 16:18 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 29 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 32 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Phoenix Coyotes | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 17:04 - Drew Miller 1 | ||||||
| Ed Jovanovski 1 - 09:45 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:09 - Tomas Holmstrom 2 12:18 - Pavel Datsyuk 3 19:04 - en - Henrik Zetterberg 6 | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–5 | Phoenix Coyotes | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:10 - sh - Lauri Korpikoski 1 | ||||||
| Brad Stuart 1 - 02:51 | Second period | 02:27 - pp - Mathieu Schneider 1 10:09 - pp - Radim Vrbata 2 14:01 - Wojtek Wolski 4 | ||||||
| Darren Helm 1 - 16:29 | Third period | 05:25 - pp - Taylor Pyatt 1 | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 24 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ilya Bryzgalov 31 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Phoenix Coyotes | 1–6 | Detroit Red Wings | Jobing.com Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Vernon Fiddler 1 - 08:23 | Second period | 02:01 - pp - Pavel Datsyuk 4 03:42 - Pavel Datsyuk 5 13:52 - pp - Nicklas Lidstrom 2 19:55 - Brad Stuart 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:35 - Todd Bertuzzi 2 12:14 - pp - Nicklas Lidstrom 3 | ||||||
| Ilya Bryzgalov 44 saves / 50 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 32 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–3 | |
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference Semifinals
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
This was the second time that Montreal and Pittsburgh have met in the playoffs. The only previous playoff series between Montreal and Pittsburgh was the 1998 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, in which the Canadiens defeated the Penguins 4–2. Game seven was the last game ever to be played at Mellon Arena, the Penguins' home rink since the start of the franchise as the Canadiens dethroned the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins. Incidentally, the Canadiens were the winners of the first game played against the Penguins at Mellon Arena in 1967.[6] The Penguins moved into the Consol Energy Center starting the next season.
| April 30 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 6–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Sergei Gonchar 1 - pp - 08:38 Jordan Staal 2 - pp - 13:27 |
First period | 04:30 - P. K. Subban 1 | ||||||
| Kris Letang 3 - pp - 02:34 Craig Adams 2 - 18:36 |
Second period | 15:27 - Michael Cammalleri 6 | ||||||
| Alex Goligoski 2 - pp - 02:59 Bill Guerin 3 - en - 19:11 |
Third period | 12:29 - pp - Brian Gionta 3 | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 28 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 15 saves / 20 shots Carey Price 3 saves / 3 shots | ||||||
| May 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Matt Cooke 4 - 04:38 | First period | 15:48 - Brian Gionta 4 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:29 - pp - Michael Cammalleri 7 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:06 - Michael Cammalleri 8 | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 18 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 38 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:16 - pp - Evgeni Malkin 5 19:45 - en - Pascal Dupuis 2 | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 18 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Tom Pyatt 1 - 02:34 | First period | 03:27 - Maxime Talbot 2 05:18 - pp - Chris Kunitz 3 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maxim Lapierre 2 - 02:07 Brian Gionta 5 - 03:40 |
Third period | |||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 33 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 22 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| Kris Letang 4 - pp - 18:18 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sergei Gonchar 2 - 09:50 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:29 - pp - Michael Cammalleri 9 | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 23 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Michael Cammalleri 10 - 01:13 | First period | 07:22 - Sidney Crosby 6 | ||||||
| Michael Cammalleri 11 - 10:45 Jaroslav Spacek 1 - 13:15 |
Second period | 05:21 - pp - Kris Letang 5 | ||||||
| Maxim Lapierre 3 - 11:03 | Third period | 18:36 - Bill Guerin 4 | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Mellon Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:32 - pp - Brian Gionta 6 14:23 - Dominic Moore 3 | ||||||
| Chris Kunitz 4 - 08:36 Jordan Staal 3 - 16:30 |
Second period | 03:32 - Michael Cammalleri 12 05:14 - Travis Moen 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:00 - pp - Brian Gionta 7 | ||||||
| Marc-Andre Fleury 9 saves / 13 shots Brent Johnson 6 saves / 7 shots |
Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 37 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–3 | |
(6) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
This was the first time the franchises have met in the playoffs since 1978, when the Bruins defeated the Flyers 4-1 in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Boston and Philadelphia had previously met in the Semifinals in 1976 and 1977. The Flyers won the first of those matchups, 4-1, with Boston sweeping in 1977. Philadelphia and Boston also met in the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, which Philadelphia won 4–2 to become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. The turning points in the series were the injury of Dave Krecji in game three and the return of Simon Gagne in game four in which he scored the OT winner (and the winner in game seven). Philadelphia came back from a 3–0 deficit to win the series 4–3, becoming the third NHL team to achieve this feat, and the first since the 1975 New York Islanders. In the final game of this series, Philadelphia also came back from a 3–0 goal deficit to win game seven by a score of 4–3.[2][7]
The Bruins lost game seven on a Flyers power-play goal as a result of a too many men penalty.[8] Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe said that "watching the Bruins blow a series on a too-many-men penalty is like watching the 1978 Red Sox lose a one-game playoff on a homer hit by a guy named Bucky."[9] The collapse as a result of the penalty brought back memories of the 1979 Stanley Cup semi-finals when they lost to their bitter rivals (and eventual champions), the Montreal Canadiens largely in part to a too many men penalty which forced overtime, and eventually, the Canadiens win.[10]
| May 1 | Boston Bruins | 5–4 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | TD Garden | Recap | ||
| Steve Begin 1 - 02:39 Patrice Bergeron 3 - 12:54 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Miroslav Satan 3 - pp - 11:43 | Second period | 07:38 - Ryan Parent 1 15:48 - pp - Chris Pronger 3 | ||||||
| David Krejci 4 - 07:25 | Third period | 12:37 - pp - Mike Richards 3 16:38 - Daniel Briere 3 | ||||||
| Marc Savard 1 - 13:52 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuuka Rask 32 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 41 saves / 46 shots | ||||||
| May 3 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 | Philadelphia Flyers | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| Johnny Boychuk 2 - 05:12 | First period | 17:06 - Mike Richards 4 | ||||||
| Miroslav Satan 4 - 09:31 | Second period | 19:35 - Daniel Briere 4 | ||||||
| Milan Lucic 1 - 17:03 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 24 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–4 | Boston Bruins | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Arron Asham 2 - 02:32 | First period | 04:11 - Blake Wheeler 1 05:45 - Miroslav Satan 5 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:30 - pp - Mark Recchi 4 18:08 - en - Patrice Bergeron 4 | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 15 saves / 19 shots Johan Backlund 0 saves / 0 shots |
Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 34 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–4 | OT | Boston Bruins | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Daniel Briere 5 - 19:06 | First period | 15:37 - Mark Recchi 5 | ||||||
| Chris Pronger 4 - 04:28 Claude Giroux 5 - 08:35 |
Second period | 10:56 - Michael Ryder 3 | ||||||
| Ville Leino 1 - 14:20 | Third period | 03:49 - pp - Milan Lucic 2 19:28 - Mark Recchi 6 | ||||||
| Simon Gagne 1 - 14:40 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Boucher 33 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 29 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Boston Bruins | 0–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:41 - Ville Leino 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:16 - Scott Hartnell 1 17:53 - pp - Simon Gagne 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:48 - Simon Gagne 3 | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 27 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Brian Boucher 9 saves / 9 shots Michael Leighton 14 saves / 14 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–1 | Boston Bruins | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Mike Richards 5 - 06:58 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daniel Briere 6 - pp - 16:20 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:00 - Milan Lucic 3 | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 30 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Tuukka Rask 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | TD Garden | Recap | |||
| Michael Ryder 4 - pp - 05:27 Milan Lucic 4 - pp - 09:02 Milan Lucic 5 - 14:10 |
First period | 17:12 - James van Riemsdyk 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:49 - Scott Hartnell 2 08:39 - Daniel Briere 7 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:52 - Simon Gagne 4 | ||||||
| Tuukka Rask 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 22 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–3 | |
Western Conference Semifinals
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
The Sharks and the Red Wings last faced off in the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals, which Detroit won 4–2. There have been two other series between these franchises in the mid-1990s, with each team winning one.
| April 29 | San Jose Sharks | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| Joe Pavelski 5 - pp - 09:05 Dany Heatley 1 - 10:01 Devin Setoguchi 4 - 10:24 |
First period | 11:40 - Daniel Cleary 1 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:45 - Johan Franzen 2 | ||||||
| Joe Pavelski 6 - pp - 00:50 | Third period | 02:57 - Brian Rafalski 1 | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 20 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 2 | San Jose Sharks | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| Joe Pavelski 8 - pp - 09:01 Ryan Clowe 2 - 10:32 |
First period | 06:51 - Pavel Datsyuk 6 13:17 - pp - Tomas Holmstrom 3 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:00 - Nicklas Lidstrom 4 | ||||||
| Joe Pavelski 9 - pp - 04:40 Joe Thornton 1 - 12:37 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 28 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 41 saves / 45 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | OT | San Jose Sharks | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| Tomas Holmstrom 4 - 13:33 Daniel Cleary 2 - 18:37 |
First period | 19:56 - Devin Setoguchi 5 | ||||||
| Henrik Zetterberg 7 - 01:42 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:42 - Joe Thornton 2 13:17 - Logan Couture 3 | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 07:07 - Patrick Marleau 2 | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 29 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 32 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 7–1 | San Jose Sharks | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Todd Bertuzzi 2 - pp - 05:40 Johan Franzen 3 - 07:50 Johan Franzen 4 - 10:43 Johan Franzen 5 - 11:16 Valtteri Filppula - 18:50 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Rafalski 2 - pp - 03:05 | Second period | 19:11 - pp - Dany Heatley 2 | ||||||
| Johan Franzen 6 - pp - 07:33 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jimmy Howard 28 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 4 saves / 9 shots Thomas Greiss 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | San Jose Sharks | 2–1 | Detroit Red Wings | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Thornton 3 - pp - 04:54 | Second period | 02:40 - Brian Rafalski 3 | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau 3 - 06:59 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 33 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Jimmy Howard 30 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| San Jose won series 4–1 | |
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Vancouver Canucks
This is the third second-round series between Vancouver and Chicago under the current playoff format. Vancouver and Chicago competed in the Western Conference Semifinals the previous year, with the Blackhawks winning the series 4–2. In 1995, the Blackhawks swept the series.
| May 1 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–5 | Vancouver Canucks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:51 - Christian Ehrhoff 2 19:49 - Mason Raymond 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 00:32 - Henrik Sedin 2 10:59 - pp - Kyle Wellwood 1 16:21 - Michael Grabner 1 | ||||||
| Patrick Kane 5 - pp - 02:07 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 20 saves / 25 shots Cristobal Huet 3 saves / 3 shots |
Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 36 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| May 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Brent Seabrook 1 - 07:40 | First period | 01:22 - Mason Raymond 3 05:02 - pp - Mikael Samuelsson 8 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Sharp 4 - sh - 06:49 Kris Versteeg 1 - 18:30 Patrick Kane 6 - en - 19:12 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–5 | Chicago Blackhawks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:19 - Kris Versteeg 2 16:47 - pp - Dustin Byfuglien 1 | ||||||
| Jannik Hansen 1 - 09:07 Alexandre Burrows 2 - 19:06 |
Second period | 11:24 - pp - Dustin Byfuglien 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 07:45 - Marian Hossa 2 13:58 - Dustin Byfuglien 3 | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 30 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 31 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 4–7 | Chicago Blackhawks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Kyle Wellwood 2 - 01:34 Daniel Sedin 5 - pp - 14:36 |
First period | 00:18 - Brent Seabrook 2 09:23 - pp - Jonathan Toews 3 | ||||||
| Alexander Edler 2 - pp - 18:16 | Second period | 00:27 - pp - Jonathan Toews 4 12:47 - pp - Patrick Sharp 5 15:22 - pp - Jonathan Toews 5 | ||||||
| Henrik Sedin 3 - 14:37 | Third period | 06:59 - Tomas Kopecky 3 19:23 - en - Dave Bolland 2 | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 27 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–4 | Vancouver Canucks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:59 - Christian Ehrhoff 3 14:24 - Kevin Bieksa 2 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:00 - pp - Kevin Bieksa 3 | ||||||
| Jonathan Toews 6 - 12:51 | Third period | 19:15 - en - Alexandre Burrows 3 | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 20 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Roberto Luongo 29 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Vancouver Canucks | 1–5 | Chicago Blackhawks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:00 - Troy Brouwer 1 02:36 - Kris Versteeg 3 19:15 - sh - Dave Bolland 3 | ||||||
| Shane O'Brien 1 - 03:44 | Third period | 08:17 - Patrick Kane 7 08:42 - Dustin Byfuglien 4 | ||||||
| Roberto Luongo 25 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 29 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference Final
(7) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
This was the first ever conference final contested by the seventh and eighth seeds. The Canadiens and the Flyers both earned 88 points in the regular season, but Philadelphia's greater number of victories gave them the higher seed. There were five previous meetings between Montreal and Philadelphia, including the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals. Their last meeting was in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals which Philadelphia won 4–1.
| May 16 | Philadelphia Flyers | 6–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Braydon Coburn 1 - pp - 03:55 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| James van Riemsdyk 2 - 00:30 Daniel Briere 8 - 04:23 - Simon Gagne 5 - pp - 09:53 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Hartnell 3 - 12:13 Claude Giroux 6 - 13:26 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 28 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 10 saves / 14 shots Carey Price 9 saves / 11 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Daniel Briere 9 - pp - 04:16 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Simon Gagne 6 - pp - 15:49 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ville Leino 3 - 10:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 30 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 20 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–1 | Philadelphia Flyers | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| Michael Cammalleri 13 - 07:05 Tom Pyatt 2 - 16:52 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dominic Moore 4 - 11:33 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Gionta 8 - 02:00 Marc-Andre Bergeron 2 - pp - 19:29 |
Third period | 08:22 - Simon Gagne 7 | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 33 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| May 22 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Bell Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:41 - Claude Giroux 7 14:53 - Ville Leino 4 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:47 - en - Claude Giroux 8 | ||||||
| Jaroslav Halak 22 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 17 saves / 17 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Mike Richards 6 - sh - 04:25 | First period | 00:59 - Brian Gionta 9 | ||||||
| Arron Asham 3 - 03:07 Jeff Carter 3 - 04:31 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jeff Carter 4 - en 19:37 | Third period | 06:53 - Scott Gomez 2 | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Jaroslav Halak 22 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference Final
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (2) Chicago Blackhawks
This was the first ever playoff series between the Sharks and the Blackhawks. There were four games between these two teams during the regular season, with Chicago leading San Jose three games to one. This was the only sweep of the entire playoffs.
| May 16 | San Jose Sharks | 1–2 | Chicago Blackhawks | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| Jason Demers 1 - pp - 11:19 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:44 - Patrick Sharp 6 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:15 - Dustin Byfuglien 5 | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 38 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 44 saves / 45 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | San Jose Sharks | 2–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | HP Pavilion at San Jose | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 12:48 - Andrew Ladd 2 | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau 4 - pp - 11:08 | Second period | 06:59 - Dustin Byfuglien 6 08:29 - pp - Jonathan Toews 7 | ||||||
| Patrick Marleau 5 - 15:32 | Third period | 06:18 - Troy Brouwer 2 | ||||||
| Evgeni Nabokov 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 20 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| May 21 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–2 | OT | San Jose Sharks | United Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Sharp 7 - pp - 06:59 | Second period | 03:58 - pp - Patrick Marleau 6 | ||||||
| Dave Bolland 4 - 13:05 | Third period | 15:37 - Patrick Marleau 7 | ||||||
| Dustin Byfuglien 7 - 12:24 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 44 saves / 46 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 35 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| May 23 | Chicago Blackhawks | 4–2 | San Jose Sharks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:08 - Logan Couture 4 | ||||||
| Brent Seabrook 3 - 13:15 Dave Bolland 5 - 18:38 |
Second period | 07:35 - sh - Patrick Marleau 8 | ||||||
| Dustin Byfuglien 8 - pp - 14:05 Kris Versteeg 4 - en - 19:18 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 16 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Evgeni Nabokov 23 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–0 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
The Chicago Blackhawks had home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals since they finished the regular season with more points (112) than the Philadelphia Flyers (88). This was the second playoff series between the two teams and the first since 1971 when the Blackhawks swept the Flyers in the Stanley Cup quarterfinals. Prior to the 2010 Finals, both teams had previously lost in their last five consecutive Finals appearances (Chicago in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, and 1992; and Philadelphia in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, and 1997). Having lost in the 2010 Finals, the Flyers became the third team in NHL history to lose in six consecutive Finals appearances, after the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings. It also was the first time since the Flyers themselves lost in 1987 that a team in the city of Philadelphia lost a championship in a non-presidential inauguration year (Phillies in 1993 and 2009 World Series, Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Flyers in 1997, and 76ers in 2001 NBA Finals).[11]
| May 29 | Chicago Blackhawks | 6–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | United Center | Recap | |||
| Troy Brouwer 3 - 07:46 Dave Bolland 6 - sh - 11:50 |
First period | 06:38 - Ville Leino 5 16:37 - pp - Scott Hartnell 4) 19:33 - Daniel Briere 10 | ||||||
| Patrick Sharp 8 - 01:11 Kris Versteeg 5 - 09:31 Troy Brouwer 4 - 15:18 |
Second period | 07:20 - Blair Betts 1 18:49 - Arron Asham 4 | ||||||
| Tomas Kopecky 4 - 08:25 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 27 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 15 saves / 20 shots Brian Boucher 11 saves / 12 shots | ||||||
| May 31 | Chicago Blackhawks | 2–1 | Philadelphia Flyers | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marian Hossa 3 - 17:09 Ben Eager 1 - 17:37 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:20 - pp - Simon Gagne 8 | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| June 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–3 | OT | Chicago Blackhawks | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Daniel Briere 11 - pp - 14:58 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Hartnell 5 - pp - 09:55 | Second period | 02:49 - Duncan Keith 2 17:52 - Brent Sopel 1 | ||||||
| Ville Leino 6 - 14:58 | Third period | 02:50 - Patrick Kane 8 | ||||||
| Claude Giroux 9 - 5:59 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 24 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 28 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| June 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–3 | Chicago Blackhawks | Wachovia Center | Recap | |||
| Mike Richards 7 - pp - 04:35 Matt Carle 1 - 14:48 Claude Giroux 10 - 19:23 |
First period | 18:32 - Patrick Sharp 9 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ville Leino 7 - 06:43 Jeff Carter 5 - en - 19:35 |
Third period | 12:01 - pp - Dave Bolland 7 15:50 - Brian Campbell 1 | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 31 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| June 6 | Chicago Blackhawks | 7–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | United Center | Recap | |||
| Brent Seabrook 4 - pp - 12:17 Dave Bolland 8 - 15:26 Kris Versteeg 6 - 18:15 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Kane 9 - 03:13 Dustin Byfuglien 9 - pp - 17:55 |
Second period | 00:32 - Scott Hartnell 6 04:38 - Kimmo Timonen 1 | ||||||
| Patrick Sharp 10 - 16:08 Dustin Byfuglien 10 - en - 17:55 |
Third period | 06:36 - James van Riemsdyk 3 17:24 - Simon Gagne 9 | ||||||
| Antti Niemi 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Michael Leighton 10 saves / 13 shots Brian Boucher 11 saves / 14 shots | ||||||
| June 9 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–4 | OT | Chicago Blackhawks | Wachovia Center | Recap | ||
| Scott Hartnell 7 - pp - 19:33 | First period | 16:49 - pp - Dustin Byfuglien 11 | ||||||
| Daniel Briere 12 - 08:00 | Second period | 09:58 - Patrick Sharp 11 17:43 - Andrew Ladd 3 | ||||||
| Scott Hartnell 8 - 16:01 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 04:06 - Patrick Kane 10 | ||||||
| Michael Leighton 37 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Antti Niemi 21 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
This was the first Stanley Cup won in overtime since the New Jersey Devils in 2000.
Player statistics
Skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points. If the list exceeds ten skaters because of a tie in points, goals take precedence.[12]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Briere | Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 12 | 18 | 30 | +9 |
| Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 7 | 22 | 29 | -1 |
| Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 10 | 18 | 28 | -2 |
| Mike Richards | Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 7 | 16 | 23 | -1 |
| Patrick Sharp | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 11 | 11 | 22 | +10 |
| Claude Giroux | Philadelphia Flyers | 23 | 10 | 11 | 21 | +7 |
| Ville Leino | Philadelphia Flyers | 19 | 7 | 14 | 21 | +10 |
| Michael Cammalleri | Montreal Canadiens | 19 | 13 | 6 | 19 | -6 |
| Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 13 | 6 | 13 | 19 | +6 |
| Johan Franzen | Detroit Red Wings | 12 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +8 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus
Goaltending
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.[13][14]
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Leighton | Philadelphia Flyers | 13 | 8 | 3 | 371 | 31 | 2.46 | .916 | 3 | 757:13 |
| Brian Boucher | Philadelphia Flyers | 12 | 6 | 6 | 298 | 27 | 2.47 | .909 | 1 | 655:37 |
| Jaroslav Halak | Montreal Canadiens | 18 | 9 | 9 | 562 | 43 | 2.55 | .923 | 0 | 1,013:24 |
| Evgeni Nabokov | San Jose Sharks | 15 | 8 | 7 | 407 | 38 | 2.56 | .907 | 1 | 889:51 |
| Tuukka Rask | Boston Bruins | 13 | 7 | 6 | 409 | 36 | 2.61 | .912 | 0 | 829:03 |
| Antti Niemi | Chicago Blackhawks | 22 | 16 | 6 | 645 | 58 | 2.63 | .910 | 2 | 1,321:51 |
| Jimmy Howard | Detroit Red Wings | 12 | 5 | 7 | 387 | 33 | 2.75 | .915 | 1 | 720:26 |
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds)
References
- ^ "2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Quarterfinals Schedule". National Hockey League. April 11, 2010. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Compton, Brian (May 14, 2010). "Double comeback: Flyers rally in Game 7 to advance". Boston, MA: National Hockey League. Archived from the original on May 18, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Questions galore for Capitals after quick exit". Washington, D.C.: National Hockey League. Associated Press. April 29, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ "Canadiens stun Penguins 5-2 in Game 7". National Hockey League. May 13, 2010. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Carchidi, Sam (June 10, 2010). "Sudden Death; Flyers' unforgettable run ends as Hawks win Cup". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Penguins 1967-68 Game Log and Scores". Nhlreference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ^ Ulman, Howard (May 14, 2010). "Flyers complete shocking comeback". Toronto Star. Boston, MA. Associated Press. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- ^ Shinzawa, Fluto (May 15, 2010). "They're history; Bruins suffer epic collapse to Flyers". Boston Globe. p. C1. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (May 15, 2010). "A chance to change, but a familiar ending". Boston Globe. p. C1. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ^ Kalman, Matt (May 14, 2010). "Too many men? Too much misery". ESPNBoston.com. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ Warren, Ken (June 2, 2010). "Two cities that could use a CUP". Ottawa Citizen. p. B3.
- ^ "2009–2010 - Playoffs - All Skaters - Summary - Total points". NHL.com. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "2009–2010 - Playoffs - Goalie - Summary - Goals against average". NHL.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "2009–2010 - Playoffs - Goalie - Summary - Save percentage". NHL.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)
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Playoffs not held in 2005 due to an unresolved lockout | |
