The 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began after the conclusion of the 1993–94 NHL season. Prior to the season, the league renamed its conferences and divisions, and switched from a divisional-based to a conference-based playoff structure. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven game series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships; and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The playoffs ended when the New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh game of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.[1] In total, an NHL record seven game sevens were played in this year's playoffs, two of which went to overtime.
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Dates | April 16–June 14, 1994 |
Teams | 16 |
Defending champions | Montreal Canadiens |
Final positions | |
Champions | New York Rangers |
Runner-up | Vancouver Canucks |
Tournament statistics | |
Scoring leader(s) | Brian Leetch (Rangers) (34 points) |
MVP | Brian Leetch (Rangers) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Hhof_stanley_cup.jpg/175px-Hhof_stanley_cup.jpg)
For the first time since joining the NHL, all four former WHA teams (the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets) failed to make the playoffs. Wayne Gretzky also missed the playoffs for the first time in his career.[2] Conversely, the San Jose Sharks became the first post-1990 expansion team to make the playoffs. All series played between Central and Pacific Division teams had a 2–3–2 format to reduce travel.[3][4] This remains the last time that two Canadian teams made it to the Conference Finals in the same year, let alone faced each other in that particular round.
Playoff seeds
editThis was the first season of the NHL's new conference-oriented playoff format, emulating the NBA's seeding format in use then. The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top two seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the six remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
Eastern Conference
edit- New York Rangers, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 112 points
- Pittsburgh Penguins, Northeast Division champions – 101 points
- New Jersey Devils – 106 points
- Boston Bruins – 97 points
- Montreal Canadiens – 96 points
- Buffalo Sabres – 95 points
- Washington Capitals – 88 points
- New York Islanders – 84 points
Western Conference
edit- Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 100 points
- Calgary Flames, Pacific Division champions – 97 points
- Toronto Maple Leafs – 98 points
- Dallas Stars – 97 points
- St. Louis Blues – 91 points
- Chicago Blackhawks – 87 points
- Vancouver Canucks – 85 points
- San Jose Sharks – 82 points
Map of playoff teams
editPlayoff bracket
editIn each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series. Most followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). All series played between Central and Pacific Division teams instead had a 2–3–2 format to reduce travel, with the sites for games five and six switched, and the team with home-ice advantage had the option to start the series on the road instead of at home. The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the two division winners seeded 1–2 based on regular season records, and the six remaining teams seeded 3–8.
The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home-ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home-ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | NY Islanders | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Washington | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Pittsburgh | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Washington | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | New Jersey | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Buffalo | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Montreal | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W7 | Vancouver | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | San Jose | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Calgary | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Dallas | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Dallas | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | St. Louis | 0 |
Conference quarterfinals
editEastern Conference quarterfinals
edit(1) New York Rangers vs. (8) New York Islanders
editThe New York Rangers earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 112 points. The Islanders qualified as the eighth seed earning 84 points during the regular season. This was the eighth playoff series between these two rivals, with the Islanders winning five of the previous seven series. They last met in the 1990 Patrick Division Semifinals which the Rangers won in five games. The Islanders won the season series earning six of ten points during this year's five game regular season series.[5]
This was the last time that the Islanders got swept in a playoff series until the 2019 Eastern Conference Second Round.
April 17 | New York Islanders | 0–6 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:32 – pp – Brian Leetch (1) 15:28 – pp – Steve Larmer (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:13 – Mark Messier (1) 12:19 – Adam Graves (1) 14:05 – Alexei Kovalev (1) 17:38 – Sergei Zubov (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ron Hextall 22 saves / 28 shots Jamie McLennan 11 saves / 11 shots |
Goalie stats | Mike Richter 21 saves / 21 shots |
April 18 | New York Islanders | 0–6 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 05:41 – Alexei Kovalev (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 00:18 – Mark Messier (2) 01:38 – Kevin Lowe (1) 12:29 – Craig MacTavish (1) 17:06 – Stéphane Matteau (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 04:23 – pp – Brian Noonan (1) | ||||||
Jamie McLennan 30 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 29 saves / 29 shots |
April 21 | New York Rangers | 5–1 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | |||
Esa Tikkanen (1) – 02:08 Brian Leetch (2) – pp – 03:40 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Adam Graves (2) – pp – 10:43 Alexei Kovalev (3) – pp – 18:48 |
Second period | 15:28 – Ray Ferraro (1) | ||||||
Adam Graves (3) – 10:37 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 21 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 13 saves / 18 shots |
April 24 | New York Rangers | 5–2 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | |||
Alexei Kovalev (4) – pp – 11:59 | First period | 01:28 – pp – Steve Thomas (1) 07:24 – Dan Plante (1) | ||||||
Sergei Zubov (2) – pp – 03:42 Mark Messier (3) – 10:22 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Steve Larmer (2) – 08:34 Mark Messier (4) – 17:08 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 16 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 29 saves / 34 shots |
New York Rangers won series 4–0 | |
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Washington Capitals
editThe Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference by winning the Northeast Division with 101 points. The Washington Capitals earned 88 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the third playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Pittsburgh winning both previous series. They last met in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals which Pittsburgh won in seven games after erasing a 3–1 deficit. Washington won the season series earning five of eight points during this year's four game regular season series.
Until their 2018 championship season, this was the only time the Capitals had defeated the Penguins in their first ten playoff series.
April 17 | Washington Capitals | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
Dmitri Khristich (1) – 04:49 | First period | 12:10 – Mario Lemieux (1) 14:14 – Joe Mullen (1) | ||||||
Peter Bondra (1) – 11:07 Mike Ridley (1) – 13:29 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Joe Juneau (1) – 10:34 Michal Pivonka (1) – 19:26 |
Third period | 19:16 – Mario Lemieux (2) | ||||||
Don Beaupre 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 26 saves / 31 shots |
April 19 | Washington Capitals | 1–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 06:19 – pp – Mario Lemieux (3) 09:06 – Rick Tocchet (1) | ||||||
Michal Pivonka (2) – pp – 00:57 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Byron Dafoe 15 saves / 17 shots | Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 34 saves / 35 shots |
April 21 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0–2 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 14:11 – sh – Joe Reekie (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 19:44 – Joe Reekie (2) | ||||||
Tom Barrasso 16 saves / 17 shots | Goalie stats | Don Beaupre 27 saves / 27 shots |
April 23 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–4 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
Martin Straka (1) – 14:10 | First period | 04:51 – Dmitri Khristich (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 13:47 – Peter Bondra (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 01:42 – pp – Joe Juneau (2) 19:06 – Dave Poulin (1) | ||||||
Tom Barrasso 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Don Beaupre 21 saves / 22 shots |
April 25 | Washington Capitals | 2–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 01:41 – Shawn McEachern (1) | ||||||
Mike Ridley (2) – 05:10 Kevin Hatcher (1) – 06:45 |
Second period | 15:25 – Kevin Stevens (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 09:21 – Jaromir Jagr (1) | ||||||
Byron Dafoe 19 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 26 saves / 28 shots |
April 27 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–6 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
Jaromir Jagr (2) – 10:32 Rick Tocchet (2) – pp – 15:05 |
First period | 01:29 – Joe Juneau (3) 07:49 – sh – Kelly Miller (1) 09:42 – pp – John Slaney (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 01:25 – Calle Johansson (1) 08:27 – Dave Poulin (2) | ||||||
Mario Lemieux (4) – 10:42 | Third period | 19:41 – Michal Pivonka (3) | ||||||
Tom Barrasso 16 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Don Beaupre 26 saves / 29 shots |
Washington won series 4–2 | |
(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Buffalo Sabres
editThe New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference with 106 points. The Buffalo Sabres earned 95 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New Jersey won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
April 17 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–0 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
Todd Simon (1) – pp – 19:49 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Alexander Mogilny (1) – 19:51 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 30 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 22 shots |
April 19 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–2 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 01:33 – Stephane Richer (1) | ||||||
Alexander Mogilny (2) – 00:38 | Third period | 13:39 – pp – Scott Stevens (1) | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 23 saves / 24 shots |
April 21 | New Jersey Devils | 2–1 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
Stephane Richer (2) – 19:01 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Tommy Albelin (1) – 15:43 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 04:08 – pp – Alexander Mogilny (3) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 24 saves / 26 shots |
April 23 | New Jersey Devils | 3–5 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
Bruce Driver (1) – pp – 09:11 | First period | 15:08 – pp – Wayne Presley (1) 15:42 – Yuri Khmylev (1) | ||||||
Claude Lemieux (1) – 01:07 John MacLean (1) – pp – 18:36 |
Second period | 03:16 – Yuri Khmylev (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 00:30 – Wayne Presley (2) 11:35 – Rob Ray (1) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 20 saves / 23 shots |
April 25 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–5 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
Yuri Khmylev (3) – 02:30 Derek Plante (1) – 10:56 |
First period | 07:40 – pp – John MacLean (2) | ||||||
Alexander Mogilny (4) – 05:42 | Second period | 07:59 – Claude Lemieux (2) 18:05 – pp – Stephane Richer (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 04:30 – Claude Lemieux (3) 19:52 – John MacLean (3) | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 30 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 20 shots |
April 27 | New Jersey Devils | 0–1 | 4OT | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Fourth overtime period | 05:43 – Dave Hannan (1) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 49 saves / 50 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 70 saves / 70 shots |
April 29 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–2 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
Philippe Boucher (1) – pp – 06:00 | First period | 09:53 – pp – Bruce Driver (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 13:49 – Claude Lemieux (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Dominik Hasek 44 saves / 46 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 18 shots |
New Jersey won series 4–3 | |
(4) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Montreal Canadiens
editThe Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 97 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned 96 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the twenty-eighth playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Montreal winning twenty-one of the previous twenty-seven series. This was also the tenth time in eleven years these two team had met in the playoffs. They last met in the 1992 Adams Division Finals, which Boston won in a four-game sweep. Montreal won the season series earning six of ten points during this year's five game regular season series. Game six was the final playoff game in the Montreal Forum.
April 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
Brian Bellows (1) – 06:55 | First period | 14:51 – pp – Mariusz Czerkawski (1) | ||||||
Mike Keane (1) – 06:19 | Second period | 18:52 – pp – Adam Oates (1) 19:43 – pp – Ted Donato (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Patrick Roy 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 24 saves / 26 shots |
April 18 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
Kirk Muller (1) – pp – 04:42 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 15:42 – Don Sweeney (1) 19:18 – pp – Glen Wesley (1) | ||||||
Paul DiPietro (1) – pp – 00:18 Kirk Muller (2) – 04:32 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Patrick Roy 40 saves / 42 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 21 saves / 24 shots |
April 21 | Boston Bruins | 6–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
Bryan Smolinski (1) – pp – 08:46 Fred Knipscheer (1) – 14:46 Dave Reid (1) – sh – 18:12 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Brent Hughes (1) – 09:57 Glen Murray (1) – 16:31 |
Second period | 02:25 – Benoit Brunet (1) 11:50 – Mike Keane (2) 11:56 – Gilbert Dionne (1) | ||||||
Dave Reid (2) – 18:57 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Vincent Riendeau 24 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Tugnutt 20 saves / 25 shots |
April 23 | Boston Bruins | 2–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
Adam Oates (2) – 13:41 | First period | 05:40 – pp – Kirk Muller (3) 10:54 – pp – Kirk Muller (4) 11:34 – pp – Paul DiPietro (2) | ||||||
Ted Donato (2) – 02:54 | Second period | 19:14 – Guy Carbonneau (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 03:33 – Ed Ronan (1) | ||||||
Vincent Riendeau 10 saves / 15 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 39 saves / 41 shots |
April 25 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
John LeClair (1) – 14:49 | Third period | 02:12 – Jozef Stumpel (1) | ||||||
Kirk Muller (5) – 17:18 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Patrick Roy 60 saves / 61 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 34 saves / 36 shots |
April 27 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
Bryan Smolinski (2) – pp – 03:00 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Steve Heinze (1) – 09:36 | Second period | 17:50 – pp – John LeClair (2) | ||||||
Al Iafrate (1) – 07:21 | Third period | 02:57 – Kirk Muller (6) | ||||||
Jon Casey 20 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 22 saves / 25 shots |
April 29 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–5 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 03:43 – Glen Murray (2) 11:47 – Ted Donato (3) | ||||||
Vincent Damphousse (1) – 05:44 | Second period | 01:23 – pp – Adam Oates (3) 04:22 – Fred Knipscheer (2) | ||||||
Kevin Haller (1) – 13:12 Mike Keane (3) – 14:43 |
Third period | 05:03 – Ray Bourque (1) | ||||||
Patrick Roy 26 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 26 saves / 29 shots |
Boston won series 4–3 | |
Western Conference quarterfinals
edit(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) San Jose Sharks
editThe Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions with 100 points. The San Jose Sharks earned 82 points during the regular season to finish eighth overall in the Western Conference. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Sharks made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs in their third season since entering the league in the 1991–92 season. The most recent team to represent the San Francisco Bay Area prior to this was the Oakland Seals, who lost in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals in 1970. Detroit won three of the four games in this year's regular season series. The Sharks shocked the top-seeded Red Wings in seven games, becoming the first eighth-seeded team in North American sports history to defeat a number one seed.
April 18 | San Jose Sharks | 5–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
Shawn Cronin (1) – 12:55 Igor Larionov (1) – 15:28 Sergei Makarov (1) – pp – 17:03 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 02:24 – pp – Steve Chiasson (1) 17:41 – Sheldon Kennedy (1) | ||||||
Jamie Baker (1) – 04:42 Vlastimil Kroupa (1) – 15:36 |
Third period | 01:34 – Darren McCarty (1) 06:01 – pp – Greg Johnson (1) | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 33 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Bob Essensa 19 saves / 24 shots |
April 20 | San Jose Sharks | 0–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 00:46 – Shawn Burr (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 02:32 – Bob Probert (1) 05:07 – Dino Ciccarelli (1) 06:43 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (1) | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 22 saves / 22 shots |
April 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | San Jose Sharks | San Jose Arena | Recap | |||
Darren McCarty (2) – 01:53 Dino Ciccarelli (2) – 12:53 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Shawn Burr (2) – 19:31 | Second period | 17:14 – pp – Rob Gaudreau (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 19:28 – pp – Sergei Makarov (2) | ||||||
Chris Osgood 22 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Arturs Irbe 27 saves / 30 shots |
April 23 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | San Jose Sharks | San Jose Arena | Recap | |||
Dino Ciccarelli (3) – 07:17 Greg Johnson (2) – 10:21 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Kris Draper (1) – 06:08 | Second period | 03:45 – sh – Tom Pederson (1) 08:01 – Igor Larionov (2) 11:55 – pp – Ulf Dahlen (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 06:35 – Sergei Makarov (3) | ||||||
Chris Osgood 18 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Arturs Irbe 21 saves / 24 shots |
April 26 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–6 | San Jose Sharks | San Jose Arena | Recap | |||
Paul Coffey (1) – 13:33 Ray Sheppard (1) – 14:13 |
First period | 02:47 – pp – Sergei Makarov (4) 08:34 – Todd Elik (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 18:45 – Sergei Makarov (5) | ||||||
Nicklas Lidstrom (2) – sh – 06:44 Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – 15:22 |
Third period | 02:08 – Ulf Dahlen (2) 08:08 – Johan Garpenlov (1) 16:43 – Bob Errey (1) | ||||||
Bob Essensa 15 saves / 19 shots Chris Osgood 0 saves / 2 shots |
Goalie stats | Arturs Irbe 31 saves / 35 shots |
April 28 | San Jose Sharks | 1–7 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 02:03 – Sergei Fedorov (1) 15:20 – pp – Steve Chiasson (2) 16:33 – Ray Sheppard (2) 16:56 – Slava Kozlov (1) | ||||||
Ulf Dahlen (3) – pp – 04:04 | Second period | 01:25 – Steve Yzerman (1) 11:21 – Dino Ciccarelli (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 08:31 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (5) | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 20 saves / 26 shots Jimmy Waite 7 saves / 8 shots |
Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 22 saves / 23 shots |
April 30 | San Jose Sharks | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
Johan Garpenlov (2) – 00:47 Sergei Makarov (6) – 13:59 |
First period | 19:47 – sh – Kris Draper (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 02:36 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (2) | ||||||
Jamie Baker (2) – 13:25 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 14 saves / 17 shots |
San Jose won series 4–3 | |
(2) Calgary Flames vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks
editThe Calgary Flames entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference by winning the Pacific Division with 97 points. The Vancouver Canucks earned 85 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Western Conference. This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Calgary winning three of the previous four series. They last met in the 1989 Smythe Division Semifinals which the Flames won in seven games. Calgary won the season series earning nine of fourteen points during this year's seven game regular season series.
The Canucks won the series after being down 3–1. They are the only team to date to win a series after being down 3–1 with all three games being won in overtime.
April 18 | Vancouver Canucks | 5–0 | Calgary Flames | Olympic Saddledome | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Geoff Courtnall (1) – 01:15 Cliff Ronning (1) – pp – 10:54 Dave Babych (1) – 12:16 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Trevor Linden (1) – 04:26 Jeff Brown (1) – pp – 15:53 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Kirk McLean 31 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 23 saves / 28 shots |
April 20 | Vancouver Canucks | 5–7 | Calgary Flames | Olympic Saddledome | Recap | |||
Jeff Brown (2) – 08:08 | First period | 07:30 – Joe Nieuwendyk (1) 09:08 – sh – Mike Sullivan (1) 15:46 – pp – Al MacInnis (1) 19:10 – Al MacInnis (2) | ||||||
Geoff Courtnall (2) – sh – 02:44 Cliff Ronning (2) – pp – 13:31 Martin Gelinas (1) – 18:54 |
Second period | 10:58 – pp – Joe Nieuwendyk (2) 17:46 – pp – Theoren Fleury (1) | ||||||
Trevor Linden (2) – 02:45 | Third period | 01:16 – pp – German Titov (1) | ||||||
Kirk McLean 27 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 23 saves / 28 shots |
April 22 | Calgary Flames | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Wes Walz (1) – 03:33 Theoren Fleury (2) – 08:29 Gary Roberts (1) – 18:23 Theoren Fleury (3) – 19:58 |
Third period | 06:35 – Sergio Momesso (1) 18:42 – Greg Adams (1) | ||||||
Mike Vernon 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 23 saves / 26 shots |
April 24 | Calgary Flames | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
Ronnie Stern (1) – 10:07 | First period | 17:54 – pp – Martin Gelinas (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 02:06 – Trevor Linden (3) | ||||||
Wes Walz (2) – 00:44 Theoren Fleury (4) – 03:38 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Vernon 42 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 25 saves / 28 shots |
April 26 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–1 | OT | Calgary Flames | Olympic Saddledome | Recap | ||
Pavel Bure (1) – 04:48 | First period | 05:53 – German Titov (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Geoff Courtnall (3) – 07:15 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Kirk McLean 21 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 30 saves / 32 shots |
April 28 | Calgary Flames | 2–3 | OT | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | ||
Gary Roberts (2) – pp – 19:59 | First period | 08:38 – Gerald Diduck (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 07:10 – Jose Charbonneau (1) | ||||||
Wes Walz (3) – 03:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 16:43 – pp – Trevor Linden (4) | ||||||
Mike Vernon 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 30 saves / 32 shots |
April 30 | Vancouver Canucks | 4–3 | 2OT | Calgary Flames | Olympic Saddledome | Recap | ||
Pavel Bure (2) – pp – 09:24 Geoff Courtnall (4) – 11:44 |
First period | 05:04 – Theoren Fleury (5) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:30 – Ronnie Stern (2) 10:34 – Theoren Fleury (6) | ||||||
Greg Adams (2) – 16:23 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Pavel Bure (3) – 02:20 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Kirk McLean 46 saves / 49 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 31 saves / 35 shots |
Vancouver won series 4–3 | |
(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (6) Chicago Blackhawks
editThe Toronto Maple Leafs entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference with 98 points. The Chicago Blackhawks earned 87 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Western Conference. This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Toronto winning five of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1986 Norris Division Semifinals which Toronto won in a three-game sweep. These teams split their six-game regular season series. Game six was the last NHL game played at Chicago Stadium.
April 18 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 02:33 – Wendel Clark (1) 07:38 – pp – Doug Gilmour (1) 11:37 – sh – Kent Manderville (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 03:35 – Jamie Macoun (1) 06:25 – pp – Dave Andreychuk (1) | ||||||
Chris Chelios (1) – pp – 03:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ed Belfour 23 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 27 saves / 28 shots |
April 20 | Chicago Blackhawks | 0–1 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 02:15 – Todd Gill (1) | ||||||
Ed Belfour 37 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 32 saves / 32 shots |
April 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–5 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
Dave Ellett (1) – pp – 10:15 Bill Berg (1) – 17:02 |
First period | 00:49 – Tony Amonte (1) 02:07 – pp – Tony Amonte (2) 07:23 – Joe Murphy (1) | ||||||
Dmitri Mironov (1) – pp – 01:00 | Second period | 15:58 – Tony Amonte (3) | ||||||
Dave Ellett (2) – pp – 06:35 | Third period | 01:31 – Tony Amonte (4) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 28 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 29 saves / 33 shots |
April 24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–4 | OT | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
Doug Gilmour (2) – pp – 14:55 | First period | 09:55 – Gary Suter (1) 13:28 – pp – Gary Suter (2) | ||||||
Dave Andreychuk (2) – pp – 14:40 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Robert Pearson (1) – 02:59 | Third period | 12:35 – pp – Gary Suter (3) | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 01:23 – Jeremy Roenick (1) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 34 saves / 37 shots |
April 26 | Chicago Blackhawks | 0–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 10:07 – pp – Mike Eastwood (1) | ||||||
Ed Belfour 36 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 17 saves / 17 shots |
April 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–0 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
Mike Gartner (1) – pp – 14:49 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Felix Potvin 27 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 17 saves / 18 shots |
Toronto won series 4–2 | |
(4) Dallas Stars vs. (5) St. Louis Blues
editThe Dallas Stars entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 97 points. The St. Louis Blues earned 91 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Western Conference. This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with St. Louis winning five of the nine previous series. They last met in the 1991 Norris Division Finals which the then Minnesota North Stars won in six games. Dallas won the season series earning seven of twelve points during this year's six game regular season series. This was the first time the city of Dallas was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Game four was the last game played at the St. Louis Arena.
April 17 | St. Louis Blues | 3–5 | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Alexei Kasatonov (1) – 14:06 | Second period | 03:50 – pp – Dave Gagner (1) 05:15 – pp – Brent Gilchrist (1) 15:31 – Brent Gilchrist (2) | ||||||
Brett Hull (1) – pp – 05:10 Phil Housley (1) – pp – 14:39 |
Third period | 16:11 – Grant Ledyard (1) 18:23 – Trent Klatt (1) | ||||||
Curtis Joseph 40 saves / 45 shots | Goalie stats | Darcy Wakaluk 33 saves / 36 shots |
April 20 | St. Louis Blues | 2–4 | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | |||
Brendan Shanahan (1) – 02:06 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Brett Hull (2) – 07:01 | Second period | 04:25 – Mike Modano (1) 04:47 – Russ Courtnall (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 02:58 – Mike Modano (2) 19:49 – Dave Gagner (2) | ||||||
Curtis Joseph 47 saves / 50 shots | Goalie stats | Darcy Wakaluk 24 saves / 26 shots |
April 22 | Dallas Stars | 5–4 | OT | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 05:29 – Brendan Shanahan (2) | ||||||
Trent Klatt (2) – pp – 02:33 Shane Churla (1) – pp – 07:38 Mike Modano (3) – 09:57 |
Second period | 04:11 – sh – Kevin Miller (1) | ||||||
Dave Gagner (3) – 15:11 | Third period | 13:47 – Craig Janney (1) 19:31 – Alexei Kasatonov (2) | ||||||
Paul Cavallini (1) – pp – 08:34 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Darcy Wakaluk 44 saves / 48 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 26 saves / 31 shots |
April 24 | Dallas Stars | 2–1 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 07:22 – pp – Phil Housley (2) | ||||||
Mike Modano (4) – 15:47 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Modano (5) – pp – 16:13 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Darcy Wakaluk 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 30 saves / 32 shots |
Dallas won series 4–0 | |
Conference semifinals
editEastern Conference semifinals
edit(1) New York Rangers vs. (7) Washington Capitals
editThis was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Washington winning two of the previous three series. They last met in the 1991 Patrick Division Semifinals, which Washington won in six games. New York won five of the six games in this year's regular season series.
May 1 | Washington Capitals | 3–6 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
Michal Pivonka (4) – 04:13 | First period | 03:51 – Stephane Matteau (2) 16:28 – Brian Noonan (2) | ||||||
Kelly Miller (2) – pp – 08:51 | Second period | 12:47 – pp – Brian Leetch (3) 15:45 – Brian Noonan (3) | ||||||
Mike Ridley (3) – 13:32 | Third period | 03:06 – Greg Gilbert (1) 14:30 – Mark Messier (5) | ||||||
Don Beaupre 18 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots |
May 3 | Washington Capitals | 2–5 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
Kevin Hatcher (2) – 08:10 | First period | 16:42 – Joey Kocur (1) | ||||||
Mike Ridley (4) – 04:35 | Second period | 01:38 – Sergei Zubov (3) 10:44 – Esa Tikkanen (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 10:47 – Adam Graves (4) 11:06 – Stephane Matteau (3) | ||||||
Rick Tabaracci 20 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 22 saves / 24 shots |
May 5 | New York Rangers | 3–0 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
Brian Leetch (4) – pp – 04:35 Mark Messier (6) – pp – 13:57 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Steve Larmer (3) – 06:06 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 21 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Don Beaupre 18 saves / 21 shots |
May 7 | New York Rangers | 2–4 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
Adam Graves (5) – 00:33 | First period | 07:26 – Todd Krygier (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 08:26 – pp – Joe Juneau (4) 10:22 – Jason Woolley (1) 15:26 – Todd Krygier (2) | ||||||
Brian Noonan (4) – pp – 17:16 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 16 saves / 20 shots Glenn Healy 3 saves / 3 shots |
Goalie stats | Don Beaupre 25 saves / 27 shots |
May 9 | Washington Capitals | 3–4 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
Kevin Hatcher (3) – sh – 05:33 Shawn Anderson (1) – 16:20 |
First period | 01:46 – Adam Graves (6) 08:01 – Adam Graves (7) 08:56 – Esa Tikkanen (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Sylvain Cote (1) – 00:27 | Third period | 16:32 – Brian Leetch (5) | ||||||
Rick Tabaracci 24 saves / 25 shots Don Beaupre 8 saves / 11 shots |
Goalie stats | Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots |
New York won series 4–1 | |
(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (4) Boston Bruins
editThis was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 1988 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which Boston won in seven games. These teams split their four-game regular season series.
May 1 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
Bryan Smolinski (3) – 05:02 David Shaw (1) – 07:22 |
First period | 13:22 – pp – Bernie Nicholls (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Jon Casey 34 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 27 saves / 29 shots |
May 3 | Boston Bruins | 6–5 | OT | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | ||
Bryan Smolinski (4) – 13:08 | First period | 02:23 – Valeri Zelepukin (1) 16:25 – Randy McKay (1) | ||||||
Glen Wesley (2) – 09:03 | Second period | 04:09 – pp – Scott Stevens (2) | ||||||
Al Iafrate (2) – 06:17 Ted Donato (4) – pp – 11:37 Steve Heinze (2) – 13:55 |
Third period | 08:27 – Jim Dowd (1) 19:56 – Bruce Driver (3) | ||||||
Don Sweeney (2) – 09:08 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Jon Casey 26 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 27 shots |
May 5 | New Jersey Devils | 4–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
Jim Dowd (2) – 12:27 | First period | 08:39 – Mariusz Czerkawski (2) | ||||||
Tommy Albelin (2) – pp – 14:36 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Tom Chorske (1) – 03:17 Tom Chorske (2) – 19:08 |
Third period | 09:13 – pp – Al Iafrate (3) | ||||||
Chris Terreri 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 21 saves / 25 shots |
May 7 | New Jersey Devils | 5–4 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
Valeri Zelepukin (2) – 08:47 | First period | 15:06 – Glen Murray (3) | ||||||
Stephane Richer (4) – pp – 06:15 | Second period | 10:07 – Brent Hughes (2) 15:25 – pp – Ray Bourque (2) | ||||||
Ben Hankinson (1) – 01:44 Bernie Nicholls (2) – 12:12 |
Third period | 10:31 – Glen Murray (4) | ||||||
Stephane Richer (5) – 14:19 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Chris Terreri 38 saves / 42 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 29 saves / 34 shots |
May 9 | Boston Bruins | 0–2 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 01:23 – Corey Millen (1) 19:38 – Bobby Carpenter (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Jon Casey 21 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 22 saves / 22 shots |
May 11 | New Jersey Devils | 5–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
John MacLean (4) – 07:38 Scott Niedermayer (1) – pp – 15:12 Claude Lemieux (5) – 18:06 |
Second period | 18:31 – Mariusz Czerkawski (3) | ||||||
John MacLean (5) – 04:37 Tom Chorske (3) – 19:02 |
Third period | 01:39 – Glen Wesley (3) 02:08 – Bryan Smolinski (5) | ||||||
Chris Terreri 38 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 18 saves / 23 shots |
New Jersey won series 4–2 | |
Western Conference semifinals
edit(4) Dallas Stars vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks
editThis was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Dallas won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
May 2 | Vancouver Canucks | 6–4 | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | |||
Murray Craven (1) – 01:58 Geoff Courtnall (5) – 05:15 |
First period | 11:38 – Paul Broten (1) | ||||||
Pavel Bure (4) – 01:23 Jyrki Lumme (1) – pp – 10:23 |
Second period | 13:40 – pp – Richard Matvichuk (1) 14:14 – Mike McPhee (1) | ||||||
Martin Gelinas (3) – 15:21 Trevor Linden (5) – 19:45 |
Third period | 03:57 – Mike McPhee (2) | ||||||
Kirk McLean 35 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Darcy Wakaluk 27 saves / 32 shots |
May 4 | Vancouver Canucks | 3–0 | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | |||
Cliff Ronning (3) – 03:50 Pavel Bure (5) – 17:20 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Pavel Bure (6) – 19:39 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Kirk McLean 39 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 27 saves / 30 shots |
May 6 | Dallas Stars | 4–3 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
Dave Gagner (4) – pp – 17:09 Neal Broten (1) – 18:00 |
First period | 01:05 – pp – Trevor Linden (6) 09:26 – pp – Pavel Bure (7) | ||||||
Mike Modano (6) – 03:10 Neal Broten (2) – 08:17 |
Second period | 09:52 – Trevor Linden (7) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Andy Moog 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 32 saves / 36 shots |
May 8 | Dallas Stars | 1–2 | OT | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 02:09 – Trevor Linden (8) | ||||||
Brent Gilchrist (3) – 15:11 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 11:01 – Sergio Momesso (2) | ||||||
Andy Moog 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 37 saves / 38 shots |
May 10 | Dallas Stars | 2–4 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
Mike Modano (7) – pp – 17:41 | First period | 07:04 – Nathan LaFayette (1) 09:32 – pp – Pavel Bure (8) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 05:10 – Murray Craven (2) | ||||||
Dave Gagner (5) – pp – 18:09 | Third period | 16:34 – Pavel Bure (9) | ||||||
Andy Moog 29 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 28 saves / 30 shots |
Vancouver won series 4–1 | |
(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (8) San Jose Sharks
editThis was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. San Jose won the season series earning four of eight points during this year's four game regular season series.
May 2 | San Jose Sharks | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
Igor Larionov (3) – 07:09 | First period | 02:31 – Wendel Clark (1) | ||||||
Pat Falloon (1) – 15:38 | Second period | 07:15 – Mark Osborne (1) | ||||||
Johan Garpenlov (3) – 17:44 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 26 saves / 29 shots |
May 4 | San Jose Sharks | 1–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 08:06 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:31 – Mike Gartner (2) 13:29 – sh – Mark Osborne (2) | ||||||
Gaetan Duchesne (1) – 15:04 | Third period | 03:25 – pp – Doug Gilmour (3) 11:11 – pp – Wendel Clark (2) | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 33 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 19 saves / 20 shots |
May 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–5 | San Jose Sharks | San Jose Arena | Recap | |||
Nikolai Borschevsky (1) – 07:50 | First period | 03:21 – Bob Errey (2) | ||||||
Nikolai Borschevsky (2) – pp – 16:59 | Second period | 00:29 – Jamie Baker (3) 01:58 – Ulf Dahlen (4) 14:25 – pp – Ulf Dahlen (5) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 17:38 – Ulf Dahlen (6) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 22 saves / 27 shots Damian Rhodes 0 saves / 0 shots |
Goalie stats | Arturs Irbe 19 saves / 21 shots |
May 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 8–3 | San Jose Sharks | San Jose Arena | Recap | |||
Dmitri Mironov (3) – pp – 10:15 Mike Eastwood (2) – 16:06 Dave Andreychuk (3) – 18:47 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
Wendel Clark (4) – 05:58 Doug Gilmour (4) – pp – 09:13 Mike Gartner (3) – 18:38 |
Second period | 04:48 – pp – Todd Elik (2) | ||||||
Dave Andreychuk (4) – sh – 00:32 Mark Osborne (3) – sh – 18:51 |
Third period | 09:05 – Todd Elik (3) 14:15 – sh – Rob Gaudreau (2) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Arturs Irbe 19 saves / 25 shots Jimmy Waite 7 saves / 9 shots |
May 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–5 | San Jose Sharks | San Jose Arena | Recap | |||
Dmitri Mironov (4) – pp – 07:07 | First period | 01:17 – Sergei Makarov (7) 13:01 – pp – Bob Errey (3) 15:03 – Sergei Makarov (8) | ||||||
Mike Gartner (4) – 06:34 | Second period | 02:33 – Johan Garpenlov (4) 14:21 – Todd Elik (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Felix Potvin 22 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Arturs Irbe 27 saves / 29 shots |
May 12 | San Jose Sharks | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 05:26 – Wendel Clark (5) | ||||||
Igor Larionov (4) – 08:43 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Jeff Norton (1) – 07:38 | Third period | 05:32 – pp – Wendel Clark (6) | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 08:53 – Mike Gartner (5) | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 20 saves / 22 shots |
May 14 | San Jose Sharks | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 08:58 – Wendel Clark (7) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:30 – Wendel Clark (8) | ||||||
Igor Larionov (5) – 05:21 Todd Elik (5) – 19:56 |
Third period | 03:19 – Mark Osborne (4) 12:15 – Doug Gilmour (5) | ||||||
Arturs Irbe 17 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 30 saves / 32 shots |
Toronto won series 4–3 | |
Conference finals
editEastern Conference final
edit(1) New York Rangers vs. (3) New Jersey Devils
editThis was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with New York winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals, which New York won in seven games. New York made their third Semifinals/Conference Final appearance since the league began using a 16-team or greater playoff format in 1980. They were defeated in five games by the Montreal Canadiens in their most recent Conference Finals appearance in 1986. New Jersey made their second appearance in the Conference Final. Their most recent appearance was in the 1988 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which New Jersey lost against the Boston Bruins in seven games. New York won all six games in this year's regular season series.
With a minute remaining in game one at Madison Square Garden, New York was leading 3–2. However, Devils forward Claude Lemieux tied the game on a scramble in front of New York goaltender Mike Richter. The Devils went on to win the game on Stephane Richer's breakaway goal at 15:23 of the second overtime. The Rangers evened the series winning game two in a 4–0 shutout. The series then turned to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for games three and four. Like game one, game three went into double overtime but this time it was New York who won 3–2 on Stephane Matteau's goal at 6:13 of the second overtime period. The Devils won game four by a final score of 3–1 and evened the series at 2–2. The Devils took the series lead with a 4–1 win at Madison Square Garden in game five.
Despite the fact that his team trailed in the series 3–2, Rangers captain Mark Messier made a highly publicized guarantee that New York would win game six. After trailing New Jersey by a score of 2–1 after two periods Messier himself scored a third-period hat trick to rally the Rangers to a 4–2 victory. Rangers coach Mike Keenan said of the guarantee, "Mark was sending a message to his teammates that he believed together we could win. He put on an amazing performance to make sure it happened."[6]
Game seven played at Madison Square Garden, was a goaltending battle between New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and New York's Mike Richter. Brian Leetch gave the Rangers a 1–0 lead in the second period. Richter shut out the Devils for over 59 minutes before conceding a goal to Devils forward Valeri Zelepukin with just 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The two teams played into double overtime for the third time in the series and for the second time in the series it was Stephane Matteau who scored the game winner. Matteau scored on a wrap-around at 4:24 of the second overtime period as the Rangers won the game 2–1 and the series 4–3. Many consider this one of the greatest hockey playoff series of all time.[7]
May 15 | New Jersey Devils | 4–3 | 2OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
John MacLean (6) – 18:16 | First period | 03:39 – Sergei Zubov (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 17:50 – Sergei Nemchinov (1) | ||||||
Bill Guerin (1) – 05:50 Claude Lemieux (6) – 19:17 |
Third period | 11:05 – pp – Steve Larmer (4) | ||||||
Stephane Richer (6) – 15:23 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 44 saves / 48 shots |
May 17 | New Jersey Devils | 0–4 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 01:13 – Mark Messier (7) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 00:47 – Sergei Nemchinov (2) 06:11 – Glenn Anderson (1) 08:38 – pp – Adam Graves (8) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 36 saves / 40 shots Chris Terreri 1 save / 1 shots |
Goalie stats | Mike Richter 16 saves / 16 shots |
May 19 | New York Rangers | 3–2 | 2OT | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | ||
Adam Graves (9) – 02:43 | First period | 05:38 – Viacheslav Fetisov (1) | ||||||
Steve Larmer (5) – pp – 09:35 | Second period | 15:50 – pp – Valeri Zelepukin (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Stephane Matteau (4) – 06:13 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 47 saves / 50 shots |
May 21 | New York Rangers | 1–3 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 10:17 – pp – Stephane Richer (7) 16:54 – Bill Guerin (2) | ||||||
Stephane Matteau (5) – pp – 08:47 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 13:18 – Valeri Zelepukin (4) | ||||||
Glenn Healy 13 saves / 14 shots Mike Richter 9 saves / 11 shots |
Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 22 shots |
May 23 | New Jersey Devils | 4–1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
Bernie Nicholls (3) – sh – 06:49 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Peluso (1) – 02:36 Bernie Nicholls (4) – pp – 10:37 Tom Chorske (4) – 13:58 |
Third period | 16:33 – Esa Tikkanen (4) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 22 saves / 26 shots |
May 25 | New York Rangers | 4–2 | New Jersey Devils | Brendan Byrne Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 08:03 – Scott Niedermayer (2) 17:32 – Claude Lemieux (7) | ||||||
Alexei Kovalev (5) – 18:19 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Mark Messier (8) – 02:48 Mark Messier (9) – 12:12 Mark Messier (10) – sh – 18:15 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 32 saves / 35 shots |
May 27 | New Jersey Devils | 1–2 | 2OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 09:31 – Brian Leetch (6) | ||||||
Valeri Zelepukin (5) – 19:52 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second overtime period | 04:24 – Stephane Matteau (6) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 46 saves / 48 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 31 saves / 32 shots |
New York won series 4–3 | |
Western Conference final
edit(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks
editThis was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. Toronto made their second consecutive and second overall Conference Final appearance. They were defeated in seven games by the Los Angeles Kings in the previous year. Vancouver made their second appearance in the Conference Final. Their most recent appearance was in the 1982 Clarence Campbell Conference Final, which Vancouver won against the Chicago Black Hawks in five games. These teams split their four-game regular season series. This remains the last Conference Finals series to be played entirely in Canada by two Canadian-based teams.
Toronto won Game 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens on Peter Zezel's goal at 16:55 of the first overtime period. After that, however, the Maple Leafs could not seem to slow down the bigger, more powerful Canucks. Vancouver edged Toronto 4–3 in Game 2 and then shut out the Maple Leafs at the Pacific Coliseum in Games 3 and 4 by scores of 4–0 and 2–0 respectively. Down three games to one and facing elimination, the Maple Leafs played much better in Game 5. They pushed Vancouver to double overtime, but Vancouver forward Greg Adams beat Leafs goaltender Felix Potvin just 14 seconds into the second overtime period to give the Canucks a 4–3 win and a 4–1 series win.
May 16 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Dave Babych (2) – 08:52 | Second period | 04:26 – pp – Dave Andreychuk (5) | ||||||
Trevor Linden (9) – pp – 19:30 | Third period | 00:38 – Peter Zezel (1) | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 16:55 – Peter Zezel (2) | ||||||
Kirk McLean 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 31 saves / 33 shots |
May 18 | Vancouver Canucks | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
Pavel Bure (10) – 18:43 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Jeff Brown (3) – pp – 09:55 Murray Craven (3) – 10:31 |
Second period | 04:38 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (5) 06:21 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (6) | ||||||
Jyrki Lumme (2) – pp – 15:46 | Third period | 04:37 – pp – Dave Ellett (3) | ||||||
Kirk McLean 37 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 35 saves / 39 shots |
May 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–4 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 13:25 – Pavel Bure (11) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 04:56 – pp – Greg Adams (3) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 15:49 – Pavel Bure (12) 19:37 – pp – Martin Gelinas (4) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 29 saves / 29 shots |
May 22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–2 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 17:35 – Cliff Ronning (4) 19:27 – Pavel Bure (13) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 19 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 29 saves / 29 shots |
May 24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–4 | 2OT | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | ||
Mike Eastwood (3) – 07:54 Doug Gilmour (6) – pp – 11:37 Wendel Clark (9) – 12:19 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 01:34 – Murray Craven (4) 09:37 – Nathan LaFayette (2) 17:57 – pp – Greg Adams (4) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
No scoring | Second overtime period | 00:14 – Greg Adams (5) | ||||||
Felix Potvin 43 saves / 47 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 31 saves / 34 shots |
Vancouver won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
editThis was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was Vancouver's second appearance in the Finals; in their last Finals appearance they were swept by the Islanders in 1982. The Rangers were making their tenth appearance in the Finals and first since losing in five games to Montreal in 1979. The Rangers last won the Stanley Cup in 1940. With the Rangers having 112 points against Vancouver's 85, the 27 point difference was the largest point differential between two teams in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1982 when 41 points separated the New York Islanders (118) and Vancouver (77).[8][9] New York won both games in this year's regular season series.
In a back and forth series that went the maximum seven games, one lengthy drought ended and another began. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup for their fourth title in franchise history, and first since 1940,[1] while the Canucks were the last Canadian team to play for the Stanley Cup until the 2004 Calgary Flames.[10] This was the longest streak that Canadian teams did not qualify for the Finals from 1995 to 2003 (9 years).[11] Prior to this the longest streak of Canadian teams missing the Finals was just three years.[12]
May 31 | Vancouver Canucks | 3–2 | OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 03:32 – Steve Larmer (6) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Bret Hedican (1) – 05:45 Martin Gelinas (5) – 19:00 |
Third period | 08:29 – Alexei Kovalev (6) | ||||||
Greg Adams (6) – 19:26 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Kirk McLean 52 saves / 54 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots |
June 2 | Vancouver Canucks | 1–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
Sergio Momesso (3) – 14:04 | First period | 06:22 – Doug Lidster (1) | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 11:42 – sh – Glenn Anderson (2) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 19:55 – Brian Leetch (7) | ||||||
Kirk McLean 37 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 28 saves / 29 shots |
June 4 | New York Rangers | 5–1 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
Brian Leetch (8) – 13:39 Glenn Anderson (3) – 19:19 |
First period | 01:03 – Pavel Bure (14) | ||||||
Brian Leetch (9) – 18:32 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Steve Larmer (7) – 00:25 Alexei Kovalev (7) – pp – 13:03 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 24 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 20 saves / 25 shots |
June 7 | New York Rangers | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 13:25 – pp – Trevor Linden (10) 16:19 – Cliff Ronning (5) | ||||||
Brian Leetch (10) – 04:03 Sergei Zubov (5) – pp – 19:44 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Alexei Kovalev (8) – pp – 15:05 Steve Larmer (8) – 17:56 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Mike Richter 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 23 saves / 27 shots |
June 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 6–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Jeff Brown (4) – 08:10 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Geoff Courtnall (6) – 00:26 Pavel Bure (15) – 02:48 Dave Babych (3) – 09:31 Geoff Courtnall (7) – 12:20 Pavel Bure (16) – 13:04 |
Third period | 03:27 – Doug Lidster (2) 06:20 – Steve Larmer (9) 09:02 – Mark Messier (11) | ||||||
Kirk McLean 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 31 saves / 37 shots |
June 11 | New York Rangers | 1–4 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific Coliseum | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 09:42 – pp – Jeff Brown (5) | ||||||
Alexei Kovalev (9) – pp – 14:42 | Second period | 12:29 – Geoff Courtnall (8) | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 08:35 – Jeff Brown (6) 18:28 – Geoff Courtnall (9) | ||||||
Mike Richter 27 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Kirk McLean 28 saves / 29 shots |
June 14 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 11:02 – Brian Leetch (11) 14:45 – pp – Adam Graves (10) | ||||||
Trevor Linden (11) – sh – 05:21 | Second period | 13:29 – pp – Mark Messier (12) | ||||||
Trevor Linden (12) – pp – 04:50 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Kirk McLean 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 28 saves / 30 shots |
New York won series 4–3 | |
Playoff statistics
editSkaters
editThese are the top ten skaters based on points.[13]
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brian Leetch | New York Rangers | 23 | 11 | 23 | 34 | +19 | 6 |
Pavel Bure | Vancouver Canucks | 24 | 16 | 15 | 31 | +8 | 40 |
Mark Messier | New York Rangers | 23 | 12 | 18 | 30 | +14 | 33 |
Doug Gilmour | Toronto Maple Leafs | 18 | 6 | 22 | 28 | +3 | 42 |
Trevor Linden | Vancouver Canucks | 24 | 12 | 13 | 25 | +3 | 18 |
Alexei Kovalev | New York Rangers | 23 | 9 | 12 | 21 | +5 | 18 |
Geoff Courtnall | Vancouver Canucks | 24 | 9 | 10 | 19 | +10 | 51 |
Sergei Zubov | New York Rangers | 22 | 5 | 14 | 19 | +10 | 0 |
Claude Lemieux | New Jersey Devils | 20 | 7 | 11 | 18 | +4 | 44 |
Igor Larionov | San Jose Sharks | 14 | 5 | 13 | 18 | -1 | 10 |
Goaltenders
editThis 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.[14]
Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | 7 | 3 | 4 | 261 | 13 | 1.61 | .950 | 2 | 483:34 |
Martin Brodeur | New Jersey Devils | 17 | 8 | 9 | 531 | 38 | 1.95 | .928 | 1 | 1170:40 |
Mike Richter | New York Rangers | 23 | 16 | 7 | 623 | 49 | 2.07 | .921 | 4 | 1417:29 |
Kirk McLean | Vancouver Canucks | 24 | 15 | 9 | 820 | 59 | 2.29 | .928 | 4 | 1543:45 |
Felix Potvin | Toronto Maple Leafs | 18 | 9 | 9 | 520 | 46 | 2.46 | .912 | 3 | 1123:57 |
References
edit- Notes
- ^ a b Cole, Stephen (2004). The Best of Hockey Night in Canada. Toronto: McArthur & Company. p. 128. ISBN 1-55278-408-8.
- ^ Dillman, Lisa (April 4, 1994). "Gretzky Dislikes Hopeless Feeling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Playoff Formats". NHL. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "STANLEY CUP ALTERATIONS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "1994 Eastern Conference Quarter-finals — New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ Morrison 2008, p. 106
- ^ "1994 Eastern Conference Finals — New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ Jamieson, Jim (May 31, 1994). "Paper rout for Rangers". Vancouver Province. p. A54.
The 27-point differential is the greatest, ironically, between Stanley Cup finalists since the last time the Canucks made the trip to this mega-city 12 springs ago.
- ^ Olson, Arv (June 1, 1994). "1982 Canucks were unlikeliest of heroes". The Vancouver Sun. p. E3.
- ^ "Flames reach Stanley Cup finals". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 20, 2004. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
Calgary is the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup finals since the 1994 Vancouver Canucks...lost...to the New York Rangers.
- ^ Goold, Derrick (May 29, 2004). "Calgary is Crazed as Playoff Finals Return to Canada". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. OT9.
The 10 years since Vancouver lost game seven to the New York Rangers to now is the longest span Canada has ever gone without a visit from the finals.
- ^ "1994 Stanley Cup Finals — New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ NHL.com - Skater Stats
- ^ NHL.com - Goalie Stats
- Bibliography
- Morrison, Scott (2008). Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day. Toronto: Key Porter Books. ISBN 978-1-55470-086-8.