= 2001 = 2002 = 2003 = 2004 = 2006 = 2007 = 2008 = 2009 = 2010 =
Round One - Conference Quarterfinals
Western Conference
#1 Detroit Red Wings vs. #8 Nashville Predators
The Preds have now made the playoffs four times in a row, their first four tries for Lord Stanley, and this looks like a flashback to their first time, being eighth-seeded facing the nefarious Red Wings. They're hoping the outcome this time is different.
GAME ONE: NASHVILLE 1 at DETROIT 3 -April 10 | Higlights
Well, what's a hockey playoff series without a controversy over a questionable call? We got one already here in Game One where the score was tied until 6:54 of the third when a puck-clearing effort by Shea Weber was thwarted when it hit a linesman. According to the Predators that puck should have been out and/or the whistle should have been blown. The Red Wings, who scored on the play, naturally agreed with the officials who said that Henrik Zetterberg - who scored the tie-breaking goal - and Pavel Datsyuk prevented the clearing attempt. Zetterberg also got the empty-netter with 19 seconds left. Dan Ellis, in his playoff debut, loses, and Dominic Hasek, playing in his 116th playoff game, made only 19 saves for the win. The only goal he did allow was Jordin Tootoo's tying goal in the second, holding Nashville scoring threats Jason Arnott and Alexander Radulov shotless. Johan Franzen made it 1-0 Red Wings in the first.
GAME TWO: NASHVILLE 2 at DETROIT 4 -April 12 | Highlights
More bad luck for the Predators and more good luck for the Wings could have lead to another victory for Detroit and a 2-0 series lead. Again, the Wings got a lucky bounce to break a tie, Kris Draper getting the winning goal. Worse than that, Nick Lidstrom scored when perhaps the Wings should have been called for a penalty and Nashville had a goal waved off. Darren McCarty got things going in the first, with Lidstrom's power play goal in the second putting them up 2-0; Alexander Radulov with a power play goal and then Jordin Tootoo tied the game, but Draper's goal broke that tie all before the end of the period. Tomas Holmstrom added an insurance goal for the Wings in the third.
GAME THREE: DETROIT 3 at NASHVILLE 5 -April 14 | Highlights
What's one way to come from behind and beat Detroit and avoid an 0-3 series deficit? Score twice nine seconds apart in the third period! Jason Arnott scored with 3:58 left in the third, just nine seconds after Ryan Suter had tied the game at 3. Martin Erat scored an empty-netter with 41 seconds left to add insurance to their comeback win. The Red Wings had went up 2-0 on goals by Kris Draper and Jiri Hudler but the Preds came back with tallies by Alexander Radulov and David Legwand. Pavel Datsyuk had given Detroit the lead again only 40 seconds into the third but that lead was not to last.
GAME FOUR: DETROIT 2 at NASHVILLE 3 - April 16 | Highlights
Dan Hamhuis and Shea Weber scored in 32-second span in the first period to help their Predators even the series. Datsyuk scored at 6:24 of the second on the power play for Detroit but only 11 seconds later Greg De Vries made it 3-1 Nashville. Datsyuk scored again early in the third but the Predators held them off for the win. And to think... in Game Three the Wings were about four minutes away from a 3-0 series lead!
GAME FIVE: NASHVILLE 1 at DETROIT 2 (OT)-April 18 | Highlights
Johan Franzen went on a breakaway and scored only 1:48 into overtime to give his Red Wings the series lead again. Valtteri Filppula, who scored Detroit's first goal in the first period, poked and passed the puck to Franzen who went in alone and backhanded the puck past Dan Ellis. For a long time it looked like that Filppula goal was all Detroit had needed for the win until Radek Bonk silenced the Detroit crowd, tying the game with only 44 seconds left.
GAME SIX: DETROIT 3 at NASHVILLE 0 -April 20 | Highlights
Nobody thought Detroit advancing to Round Two was a long shot here, but that didn't stop the Red Wings from taking one. Nicklas Lidstrom took a shorthanded shot from beyond the red line and it bounced down the ice and past Dan Ellis to make it 1-0 Wings. Jiri Hudler scored early in the third to make it 2-0 and Brian Rafalski added an empty-netter with five second left. Chris Osgood stopped 20 shots for the shutout in his second straight playoff start, proving so far to be just as Asgood as Hasek. The Red Wings fly to Round Two and the Predators, who failed to get to the second round for the fourth time in a row, in front of their home fans for the fourth time in a row, go home to lick their wounds.
Red Wings win series 4 games to 2.
#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #7 Calgary Flames
The Sharks ended the season with an amazing 18 game point streak and then two meaningless losses to roar into the second seed, looked to put out some Flames with merely their resulting momentum breeze. But the Flames' Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff said "Hold on a minute there!"
GAME ONE: CALGARY 3 at SAN JOSE 2 -April 9 | Higlights
Stephane Yelle scored two goals, Miikka Kiprusoff made 37 saves and the underdog Flames handed the Sharks a meaningful loss, taking Game One. Dion Phaneuf got the other Flames goal, while Ryan Clowe scored twice for the Sharks, one of them in the final minute.
GAME TWO: CALGARY 0 at SAN JOSE 2 -April 10 | Higlights
Evgeni Nabokov wasn't going to let his former teammate and rival for San Jose's goaltending throne, Miikka Kiprusoff, show him up again as he shut out the Flames to even the series. Nabokov made 21 saves in his sixth career playoff shutout and Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell scored second period goals to get the win for San Jose.
GAME THREE: SAN JOSE 3 at CALGARY 4 -April 13
| Higlights
Owen Nolan scored his first playoff goal in six years against his former team to cap a rally and comeback win. After Ryane Clowe, Patrick Marleau, and Douglas Murray put the Sharks up 3-0 in the first, Calgary flamed back with Jarome Iginla (still in the first), Daymond Langkow (second), and Dion Phaneuf and Nolan (third). Curtis Joseph made 22 saves and after a shaky start closed things up so his team could get the win.
GAME FOUR: SAN JOSE 3 at CALGARY 2 -April 16 | Highlights
Calgary went up 2-1 on goals by Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf with San Jose's Ryane Clowe scoring a power play goal in between. But the Sharks bite in the third, Jonathan Cheechoo tying it up and, when it looked as if it was heading to overtime, Joe Thornton chose to score his first goal of the playoffs with only ten seconds left for the win!
GAME FIVE: CALGARY 3 at SAN JOSE 4 -April 17 | Highlights
Patrick Marleau, with a goal in the second, and Jonathan Cheechoo with two goals in the third stacked the Sharks to a lead that despite their best efforts the Flames couldn't overcome. After Jarome Iginla made it 1-0 Calgary on the power play in the second, San Jose's Joe Pavelski tied it up with one of his own. But after Marleau's goal and Cheechoo's two, Calgary tried to come back with goals by Daymond Langkow and David Moss in the third.
GAME SIX: SAN JOSE 0 at CALGARY 2 -April 20 | Highlights
Miika Kiprusoff snuffed all 21 shots he faced, Owen Nolan and Daymond Langkow put biscuits in the basket for Cal-gary, and the Flames force a Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: CALGARY 3 at SAN JOSE 5 -April 22 | Highlights
Ron Wilson sent Jeremy Roenick a text message, saying he was counting on him for big things for Game 7. Well, the aging center got the message all right. He scored two goals and two assists to help his San Jose Sharks beat the Calgary Flames in Game Seven and move on to Round Two! He even tied a franchise record for points in a playoff game. It was Joe Thornton on the power play that got things going for the Sharkies, with Calgary's Jarome Iginla scoring his own power play goal to even things up. Owen Nolan put the Flames up 2-1, but then it was mostly Sharks: Roenick, then Roenick again on the power play, then Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi all scored before the second period was up. Calgary did get one more little spark in the third when Wayne Primeau tallied, but then the flame went out for the year.
Oh, and even as a backup, Curtis Joseph continues his quest to never win a Stanley Cup.
Sharks win series 4 games to 3.
#3 Minnesota Wild vs. #6 Colorado Avalanche
The last time these two met in the playoffs, in 2003 - the Wild's first run - they came back and won the series to go onto the West Finals. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as the Avs are lower-seeded. Will there be another upset, this time by Colorado to get revenge?
GAME ONE: COLORADO 3 at MINNESOTA 2 (OT)-April 9 | Highlights
Joe Sakic, Colorado's 38-year-old captain tipped in a rebound for the winner 11:11 into overtime and the Avs take Game One. That was his eighth career overtime playoff goal, which is an NHL record. Kurt Sauer and Ryan Smyth - on the power play - had put the Avs up 2-0 but Minnesota came back to tie it with Mikko Koivu and a power play goal of their own with Todd Fedoruk in the third.
GAME TWO: COLORADO 2 at MINNESOTA 3 (OT) -April 11 | Highlights
The Wild, up 2-1 on goals by Pavol Demitra and Mikko Koivu, let that lead slip away when Colorado's Milan Hejduk (that's pronounced HEY-DUKE, by the way) scored in the final minute of regulation to tie it. But Minnesota still prevailed in overtime on a goal by Keith Carney to even the series. The Avalanche opened up the scoring in the first on a tally by Peter Forsberg, who also assisted on that tying goal.
GAME THREE: MINNESOTA 3 at COLORADO 2 (OT)-April 14 | Highlights
Looks like these two teams are so evenly matched that it takes overtime, and lucky bounces, to get the wins in this series. Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored in the extra session after taking a pass from Brian Rolston, who had scooped the puck from the side of the net after it bounced off the backboards after it appeared there was going to be an icing call. Rolston had two points that night, picking up a shorthanded goal in the second to go up 2-1 along with a previous tally by Mikko Koivu. Joe Sakic tied the game at 2 in the third. Andrew Brunette had put Colorado up 1-0 in the first.
GAME FOUR: MINNESOTA 1 at COLORADO 5 -April 17 | Highlights
Jose Theodore stopping 24 of 25 shots and Colorado scoring three goals in the first evens the series. Andrew Brunette, Wojtek Wolski, and Tyler Arnason stoked the Avs to a 3-0 lead in the first, followed by two power play goals in the second by Ruslan Salei and Milan Hejduk (not pronounced "Hedge duck"). Mikko Koivu scored a shorthanded goal for Minnesota in the third.
GAME FIVE: COLORADO 3 at MINNESOTA 2 -April 17 | Highlights
A strong third period and a strong performance by Jose Theodore helped the Avs take the series lead. Andrew Brunette scored a power play goal for the Avs to get things going, followed by a power play goal by Pierre-Marc Bouchard to tie things up. Colorado broke that tie with another power play goal, Wojtek Wolski, and then followed that up by an even-strength tally from Paul Stastny. Theodore was excellent in the third to hang on for the win, only allowing Brian Rolston's goal with three seconds left.
GAME SIX: MINNESOTA 1 at COLORADO 2 -April 19 | Highlights
Ben Guite (shorthanded) and Ryan Smyth score here for the Avs to get the game and series win. Jose Theodore made 34 saves, only allowing Aaron Voros' tally 36 seconds into the second which had tied it at 1.
Avalanche win series 4 games to 2.
#4 Anaheim Ducks vs. #5 Dallas Stars
The Ducks looked to shoot for the Stars to defend the Stanley Cup. Momentum was expected to play a role here, as the Ducks steamed into the playoffs riding a 20-5-1 record while the Stars petered into it 4-8-2, abandoning hope of winning their division in the process.
GAME ONE: DALLAS 4 at ANAHEIM 0 -April 10 | Higlights
The power play and the powerful play of Marty Turco is what Dallas needed to get a 4-0 shutout victory and 1-0 series lead. Four power play goals by Steve Ott, Loui Eriksson, Jere Lehtinen, and Brenden Morrow and an acrobatic 23-save performance by Turco disappointed the home crowd of the defending Cup champions.
GAME TWO: DALLAS 5 at ANAHEIM 2 -April 12
| Higlights
The Ducks are seeing Stars after being beaten up again on home ice. Now, after dropping a 5-2 decision to their opponents, Anaheim must head to Dallas down 2-0 in the series. The Stars shined on goals by Mike Ribeiro, Jere Lehtinen, two quick ones by Mike Modano and Brad Richards less than a minute apart in the third, and Loui Erikssone capped the scoring in third. The Ducks finally got two goals from Teemu Selanne and Travis Moen which had tied it at 2 in the second.
GAME THREE: ANAHEIM 4 at DALLAS 2 -April 15 | Highlights
Chris Pronger finally showed up, scoring two power play goals, leading the Ducks to a 4-2 win on enemy ice, avoiding the perilous 0-3 series deficit. Todd Marchant and Ryan Getzlaf - the first two goals of the game - also scored for Anaheim. Dallas got two power play goals from Brenden Morrow in the third in the comeback attempt.
GAME FOUR: ANAHEIM 1 at DALLAS 3 -April 17 | Highlights
The Stanley Cup champions are on the brink after Marty Turco snuffed every Anaheim attempt at a goal until the final seconds of the game. Joel Lundqvist, Stu Barnes, and Steve Ott scored for Dallas while the Ducks' lone goal came 7.6 seconds left when Mathieu Schneider slid one past Turco for Anaheim's first third period goal of the series.
GAME FIVE: DALLAS 2 at ANAHEIM 5 -April 18 | Highlights
Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and an assist and Anaheim is just ducky to be living to play another game. Corey Perry scored first for the Ducks followed by a tying goal by Mattias Norstrom. But then came Getzlaf's and Selanne's power play goals for the 3-1 lead. Mike Ribeiro tallied for Dallas in the third but then the Ducks scored two insurance goals with Sean O'Donnell and Todd Marchant's empty-netter with 1:24 remaining.
GAME SIX: ANAHEIM 1 at DALLAS 4 -April 20 | Highlights
After five long years without a playoff series win, the Stars almost made it look too easy with their four-goal third period to come from behind and win Game Six and advance to the next round. After Corey Perry put the Ducks up early in the second, Stephane Robidas - with a power play goal - Stu Barnes, and Loui Eriksson scored unanswered goals for Dallas in the third. Longtime Star Mike Madano capped it with an empty-net goal, also a power play goal, with three seconds left. Marty Turco only had to make 17 saves to finally win a game to send his team to the next round after bearing the brunt of blame for 1st round exits in '04, '06, and '07. "Duck you, Anaheim," says Dallas, "we're goin' to Round Two!"
Stars win series 4 games to 2.
Eastern Conference
#1 Montreal Canadiens vs. #8 Boston Bruins
The Canadiens looked to keep the Bruins in Ruins as history was a major factor here, as two Original Six teams faced each other for the 31st time in the playoffs. But it didn't look to be as exciting as the media had hoped, with the season series between the two being very lopsided, as Boston lost all 8 meetings to the Habs, being outscored 39-16, which is not surprising since the Canadiens were the highest-scoring team in the league with 262 total goals. And it also didn't help that the postseason record between the two was 23-7, also in Montreal's favor.
GAME ONE: BOSTON 1 at MONTREAL 4 -April 10 | Higlights
It's brotherly love in Game 1 for the Habs. Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn scored 1:28 apart in the opening minutes of their playoff debuts, in addition to Bryan Smolinski and Tom Kostopoulos scoring in the second and third periods, respectively, and Montreal took Game One. Shane Hnidy tallied for Boston in the first.
GAME TWO: BOSTON 2 at MONTREAL 3 (OT) -April 12 | Higlights
Roman Hamrlik and Sergei Kostitsyn stoked Montreal to a 2-0 lead in the first and second periods, but the Bruins came back like bears in the third to tie it up with a goal by Peter Schaefer and power play goal from David Krejci. But Alex Kovalev scored a power play goal of his own in overtime and the Habs prevailed anyway.
GAME THREE: MONTREAL 1 at BOSTON 2 (OT) -April 13 | Higlights
For the first time all season, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, Marc Savard coming off the bench on a delayed penalty to score 9:25 into overtime. Boston had the game's only lead, too, going up 1-0 in the first on a goal by Milan Lucic. Tom Kostopoulos tied it at 1 in the second.
GAME FOUR: MONTREAL 1 at BOSTON 0 -April 15 | Highlights
20-year-old rookie goaltender Carey Price - with his 27-save performance and first playoff shutout - and a second period power play goal by Patrice Brisebois get the Habs one step closer to Round Two. Boston netminder Tim Thomas made 27 saves as well, but unfortunately not 28.
GAME FIVE: BOSTON 5 at MONTREAL 1 -April 17
The Bruins stave off elimination by taking advantage of a costy mistake by Habs goalie Price. Glen Metropolit scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period after Price wrecklessly caused a turnover, then Zdeno Chara and Marco Sturm scored power play goals and Vladimir Sobotka capped the scoring with a few minutes left. Alex Kovalev had Montreal's lone goal, the first goal in the first. Boston's Phil Kessel tied the game at 1 in the second.
GAME SIX: MONTREAL 4 at BOSTON 5 -April 19 | Highlights
Underdog Boston overcame three one-goal deficits to win Game Six and force a Seventh. Marco Sturm scored the winner with 2:37 left. Christopher Higgins put the Habs up 1-0, followed by Phil Kessel tying it up for Boston, the Habs went up again with Tomas Plekanec, yet again Boston came back with Vladimir Sobotka early in the third. And again the Habs went up with Francis Bouillon, and then Boston came back again with Milan Lucic. That pattern broke when this time it was Boston who took the lead with another tally from Kessel. And then Christopher Higgins tied it for the Habs. FINALLY Sturm ended all that goal-scoring silliness to put Boston up for good.
GAME SEVEN: BOSTON 0 at MONTREAL 5 -April 21 | Highlights
Carey Price, looking shaky the past few games, stopped all 25 shots he faced for his second shutout of the series as the Canadiens ordered another round with a 5-0 win over Boston. Michael Komisarek, Mark Streit, Andrei Kostitsyn, then Kostitsyn again on the power play, and then Sergei Kostitsyn all scored to get to Autour de Deux!
Canadiens win series 4 games to 3.
#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #7 Ottawa Senators
OK, let's try this again, say the Penguins, who were left scratching their heads after the quick, mostly one-sided series between the two teams last year. They looked for revenge this time, as it was the Sens who were the underdogs in 2008.
GAME ONE: OTTAWA 0 at PITTSBURGH 4 -April 9 | Higlights
Gary Roberts, who has 14 of his 32 playoff goals against Ottawa some of them while helping the Toronto Maple Leafs eliminate them in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, had two again this night to help the Penguins down the Sens in Game One. Petr Sykora and Evgeni Malkin had the other two Pittsburgh goals and Marc-Andre Fleury had 26 saves for his first career playoff shutout.
GAME TWO: OTTAWA 3 at PITTSBURGH 5 -April 11
| Higlights
This series is the Pitts so far for the Senators. They did have a great comeback, though. After the Pens went up 3-0 on a goal by Sergei Gonchar and two from Petr Sykora, the Sens came back with tallies from Shean Donovan, Cory Stillman, and Cody Bass. But the Penguins had enough of that, Ryan Malone scoring a power play goal with less than two minutes to go and then adding an empty-netter with 6.5 seconds remaining, on Pittsburgh's 54th shot on goal, the most ever in a playoff game by the Penguins. Sydney Crosby hasn't had a goal yet but did score 4 assists in this game. The injured Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson was out with an injury.
GAME THREE: PITTSBURGH 4 at OTTAWA 1 -April 14 | Higlights
Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Marian Hossa all scored in the third period in front of a stunned Ottawa crowd, continuing to get sweet revenge for the pounding Pittsburgh had received the year before at the hands of the Sens. Ottawa had went up 1-0 in the second on a tally by Nick Foligno, but Maxime Talbot tied it up for Pittsburgh about four minutes later.
GAME FOUR: PITTSBURGH 3 at OTTAWA 1 -April 16 | Highlights
Jarkko Ruutu broke a 1-1 tie late in the second and Sydney Crosby added an empty-netter for insurance near the end of the third as the Penguins swept the Senators for the first time in Ottawa's 11 consecutive playoff appearances. Earlier in the second Evgeni Malkin opened up the scoring with a power play goal, followed by Ottawa's lone goal by Cory Stillman. The Senate is no longer in session!
Penguins win series 4 games to 0.
#3 Washington Capitals vs. #6 Philadelphia Flyers
A rare series indeed, with both teams having not made the playoffs the previous season. With the Caps being in the postseason mix for the first time since 2002, this meant that Alexander Ovechkin, who scored 65 goals in 07-08, finally got to see what he could do in the extra sessions. The Flyers, still stinging from being manhandled by Buffalo in 2006, which had sent them on their short skid that lead them to last place in 06-07, were glad to be in the playoffs. Isn't a rebuilding team supposed to take more than one year?
GAME ONE: PHILADELPHIA 4 at WASHINGTON 5 -April 11 | Higlights
Alex Ovechkin was Broadstreet Bullied in his playoff debut, but, even though held shotless until late in the game, he came through, scoring the tie-breaking goal to get the Game One win, stealing the puck away from defenseman Lasse Kukkonen and sliding it past goalie Martin Biron. It capped a comeback from a 4-2 deficit. Donald Brashear, David Steckle, and Mike Green (2 goals) also scored for the Caps. The Flyers got goals from Vaclav Prospal, Daniel Briere, Vaclav Prospal again, then Daniel Briere again.
GAME TWO: PHILADELPHIA 2 at WASHINGTON 0 -April 13 | Higlights
There were no heroics from Ovechkin this time, or any other offense for that matter from Washington, as Martin Biron stopped all 24 shots he faced to shut out the Caps. R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter scored in the first for Philly.
GAME THREE: WASHINGTON 3 at PHILADELPHIA 6 -April 15 | Highlights
Philly's Flying high in this home-ice rout of the Caps, getting goals from Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell, Sami Kapanen, Daniel Briere again, and then their two Mikes, Richards and Knuble. Washington got goals from Eric Fehr, Brooks Laich, and their own Mike - Mike Green - in between.
GAME FOUR: WASHINGTON 3 at PHILADELPHIA 4 (2OT)-April 17 | Highlights
Mike Knuble scored 6:40 into the second overtime period to stun Washington and extend Philly's series lead. Philly's Jeff Carter scored twice in the opening period with power play goals by Washington players Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin in between them. Steve Eminger gave the Caps a 3-2 lead in the second but Daniel Briere scored a power play goal midway through the third to tie things up.
GAME FIVE: PHILADELPHIA 2 at WASHINGTON 3 -April 19 | Highlights
Nicklas Backstrom - on the power play - and Sergei Federov stoked the Caps to a 2-0 lead and added a power play goal in the third by Alexander Semin to stay alive. Vaclav Prospal and Alexander Semin each scored a power play goal for Philly.
GAME SIX: WASHINGTON 4 at PHILADELPHIA 2 -April 21 | Highlights
Everybody had high hopes for Alexander Ovechkin and, after being quiet most of the series, he finally started playing like an MVP again. He scored the game-winning goal early in the third period and then added a power play goal for insurance later to force a Game Seven! After Philly went up 2-0 on power play goals by Mike Richards and Daniel Briere, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin scored for the Caps to tie the game.
GAME SEVEN: PHILADELPHIA 3 at WASHINGTON 2 (OT) -April 22 | Highlights
Joffrey Lupul banged in a juicy rebound during a power play 6:06 into overtime to put finally a cap on the Caps and fly the Flyers to Round Two. Washington did score first, Nicklas Backstrom netting a power play goal in the first, but Scottie Upshall scored with the extra man as well for Philly, then Sami Kapanen made it 2-1 Flyers. Alexander Ovechkin tried to be the hero again, tying the game late in the third, but his effort was for naught.
Flyers win series 4 games to 3.
#4 New Jersey Devils vs. #5 New York Rangers
Not a lot of goals were expected in this series, as in the eight games the two faced each other on the season only 29 goals were scored. The Rangers looked to get revenge after being trounced out of their first playoff appearance in nearly ten years in 2006, at the hand of the Devils of course, but it would probably be done with tight checking and great goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist, who would need to outshine the great Martin Brodeur.
GAME ONE: NEW YORK RANGERS 4 at NEW JERSEY 1 -April 9 | Higlights
In his first postseason game against his former team, Scott Gomez showed the Devils it wasn't a good idea to let him get away, scoring three assists in the process. Brendan Shanahan opened up the scoring, New Jersey's Paul Martin tied it up on the power play, but then it was all Rangers, with Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery, and Nigel Dawes rounding out the scoring.
GAME TWO: NEW YORK RANGERS 2 at NEW JERSEY 1 -April 11
| Higlights
Henrik Lundqvist held New Jersey to only one goal again with Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery scoring in the third to put his team up 2-0. John Madden made it 2-1 with 1:23 left but the Devils could not get the equalizer.
GAME THREE: NEW JERSEY 4 at NEW YORK RANGERS 3 -(OT) April 13 | Higlights
John Madden scored 6:01 into overtime to cut the series lead for his Devils, the puck actually going off of New York's Marc Stall's skate and into his own net. Patrik Elias and Zach Parise each scored a power play goal in the second period to take the lead for the Devils but Brandon Dubinsky tied things up in the third for the Rangers. He also had a goal in the first to tie things at 1, and those were his first two playoff goals by the way, followed by a 5-on-3 power play goal by Sean Avery to put the Rangers up 2-1 (Avery's infamous stick-waving in front of Brodeur's face before that goal is the genesis for The Sean Avery Rule). New Jersey's Sergei Brylin opened up the scoring in the first.
GAME FOUR: NEW JERSEY 3 at NEW YORK RANGERS 5 -April 16 | Highlights
This time Marc Staal scored in his own net for the game winner. Then Scott Gomez, who had also made it 1-0 New York on the power play in the first, scored an empty-netter later to seal the deal. The two teams traded goals in the second, Patrick Elias for NJ, then Martin Straka for NY, then Elias again for NJ on the power play, then Chris Drury for NY. Mike Mottau's tally for the Devils early in the third tied the game at 3. But then came Staal's goal that lifted the Rangers to the win and 3-1 commanding series lead.
GAME FIVE: NEW YORK RANGERS 5 at NEW JERSEY 3 -April 18 | Highlights
The Rangers trailed for 18 seconds in the first period before scoring four straight times en route to a Game Five and series victory. Brian Gionta put New Jersey up 1-0 in the first, but before the period was out they were down 3-1 on goals by Michal Rozsival (again, right after Gionta's goal), Jaromir Jagr, and Scott Gomez. Chris Drury scored what would be the game-winner early in the second, followed by a Devilish comeback attempt by Bryce Salvador and Patrick Elias. Brandon Dubinsky scored an empty-netter with about a minute left.
Rangers win series 4 games to 1.
Round Two - Conference Semifinals
Western Conference
#1 Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 Colorado Avalanche
With the playoff history between these two teams, going all the way back to the first year Colorado had the team and they eliminated the Red Wings en route to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, factoring in that it's been six years since they last met, this series looked to be from every hard core hockey fan's wet dreams. From '96 to 2002 they met five times in the postseason, with the Avs winning three of those five. But without Patrick Roy, or Scotty Bowman, or Steve Yzerman, would 2008's matchup between the two teams really be all that?
GAME ONE: COLORADO 3 at DETROIT 4 -April 24 | Highlights
Johan Franzen scored two goals and had an assist to help Detroit build a 3-goal lead on their way to winning Game One. Colorado's Paul Stastny scored first, but before the opening period was out the Wings were leading 3-1 on goals by Zetterberg, Cleary, and Franzen on the power play. Franzen scored again in the second, and that would be the game winning goal because the Avs came roaring back before the period was out and almost tied it with tallies from John-Michael Liles and Milan Hejduk.
GAME TWO: COLORADO 1 at DETROIT 5 -April 26 | Highlights
Detroit put The Hurt on the Avs in this Saturday matinee. At around 4 minutes in the first and second periods, Johan Franzen again was the hero for the Motor City, scoring power play goals to get the Wings up 2-0. Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg would put them up 4-0 before Colorado's Ian Laperriere broke Chris Osgood's shutout bid in the third. Franzen got the hat trick, shorthanded, banging a puck out of the air, in the third. That was his first NHL hat trick and the first playoff hat trick for Detroit since Darren McCarty scored one - against Colorado - in 2002. Colorado's Jose Theodore was yanked for the second straight game after giving up four goals on 20 shots and replaced by Peter Budaj who stopped all 12 shots he faced.
GAME THREE: DETROIT 4 at COLORADO 3 -April 29 | Highlights
Pavel Datsyuk scored twice and Johan Franzen picked up his sixth goal of the series as the Wings turned the Avalanche into a little mudslide. Henrik Zetterberg scored what would be the game-winner on the power play in the second. After the Avs went up 1-zip on a tip-in by Cody McLeod in the first Datsyuk, Franzen, and Datsyuk again tallied to make it 3-1. Andrew Brunette scored two power play goals - one before and one after Zetterberg's goal - to give Colorado some life.
GAME FOUR: DETROIT 8 at COLORADO 2 -May 1 | Highlights
The Red Wings simply destroyed the Avalanche, turning them over and spanking their asses right in front of their fans. It was a good ol' fashioned ass-whuppin delivered Red Wings style as they scored no less than 8 goals to complete the sweep. It started off like any normal game between the two foes as the Wings scored first with Mikael Samuelsson early in the first and the Avs tied it up with a power play goal by Tyler Arnason a few minutes later. But before the period was out the Wings were up 3-1 on goals by Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen. Then the Wings dealt a crushing blow in the second with Zetterberg scoring twice and then Franzen completing a hat trick with a shorthanded goal and a power play goal. Mikael Samuelsson finished the drubbing in the third. John-Michael Liles scored a futile 5-on-3 power play goal for the Avs with about ten minutes left to go.
Red Wings win series 4 games to 0.
#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #5 Dallas Stars
Coming into the series, Dallas had a bit of a rest after surprising and eliminating the defending Cup champs, the Ducks, while San Jose fought tooth and nail to get to the second round, playing - and winning - the first-ever Game Seven on their home ice. Would rest versus endurance be a factor here?GAME ONE: DALLAS 3 at SAN JOSE 2 (OT)-April 25 | Highlights
Brenden Morrow scored his second goal 4:39 into overtime to give his Stars the 3-2 win and 1-0 series lead. They had lead 2-1 but the San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo tied the game with a few minutes left in regulation. Mike Modano also scored for the Stars. Milan Michalek was San Jose's other goal scorer.
GAME TWO: DALLAS 5 at SAN JOSE 2 -April 27 | Highlights
The Sharks fall here, literally, to Dallas, as Joe Pavelski nudged the puck to Brad Richards as he fell on his ass; Richards used that puck to score 32 seconds into the third for the 2-2 tying goal. Maybe it was bad luck, maybe it was karma for Dallas, After that, the Sharks were seeing Stars. Mike Modano on the power play scored and Niklas Hagman scored two insurance tallies to complete the rout of the Sharks in the third. San Jose got goals from Pavelski and Milan Michalek in the first and second periods with a goal from Dallas' Mike Ribeiro in between.
GAME THREE: SAN JOSE 1 at DALLAS 2 (OT) -April 29 | Highlights
Talk about unlikely. Dallas' Mattias Norstrom, a stay-at-home defenseman who had only scored 18 goals in his 14 regular seasons and one other goal in 47 playoff appearances, scored 4:37 into overtime to give his Stars the win and the commanding 3-0 series lead. Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov was impressive and had already made several great saves in OT but was screened well on the shot and it surprised Norstrom more than anybody else that it found its way in. Patrick Marleau made it 1-0 Sharks when he scored an unassisted short-handed goal with 35 seconds left in the first period after being denied a power play goal 4 minutes into the game by an idiot ref with a triggerhappy whistle. Sergei Zubov tied the game for Dallas in the first minute of the third.
GAME FOUR: SAN JOSE 2 at DALLAS 1 -April 30 | Highlights
The Sharks here avoid the sweep here with a tight 2-1 game and, despite all the doubts before the game, they're headed back to the Shark Tank! Jere Lehtinen made it 1-0 Stars in the second, but, eerily similar to a play in the previous game, later in the period Patrick Marleau scored a shorthanded goal to tie it up. Milan Michalek scored a power play goal early in the third to win the game for San Jose and keep the team alive. Nabokov snuffed 17 of 18 shots whilst Marty Turco, who had to work harder but still lost, snuffed 22.
GAME FIVE: DALLAS 2 at SAN JOSE 3 (OT)-May 2 | Highlights
Joe Pavelski scored 65 seconds into overtime to keep his Sharks alive to play another day. It was the finish of a rally where San Jose overcame being down 2-0 where Milan Michalek and Brian Campbell tied it up in the third. Jere Lehtinen on the power play and Brenden Morrow scored for Dallas in the second.
GAME SIX: SAN JOSE 1 at DALLAS 2 (4OT)-May 4 | Highlights
It took the eighth longest game in NHL history to get the Dallas Stars back in the Conference Finals (5 hours and 14 minutes). Brenden Morrow scored a power play goal 9:03 into the fourth overtime by deflecting a pass from Stephane Robidas to finally put away the Sharks and end their pesky bid to be the third team in history to come back from 3-0 and win a series. Dallas had scored first with Antti Miettinen in the second and San Jose's Ryan Clowe had tied it in the third. Both goalies were fantastic, Turco making 61 saves of 62 shots and Nabokov making 53 saves of 55.
Stars win series 4 games to 2.
Eastern Conference
#1 Montreal Canadiens vs. #6 Philadelphia Flyers
If the season series is any indication of how this playoff series will go, Montreal would be enjoying Round Trois in a few weeks' time, because these two teams only met four times during the regular season and the Canadiens won all of them... outscoring Philly 15-6. But the Flyers work hard and "Get 'ir Dun!" as we saw when they dispatched Alexander Ovechkin - the league's leading scorer - and his favored Capitals in Round One.
GAME ONE: PHILADELPHIA 3 at MONTREAL 4 (OT)-April 24 | Highlights
Only 48 seconds into overtime Tom Kostopoulos, off of his own rebound right off of a face-off, scored for the Habs to put his team up 1-0 in the series. This is after Alex Kovalev tied the game for the Canadiens with only about 29 seconds left in regulation. That was the second time he'd tied the game up, doing it shorthanded in the second period to make it 2-2. It was Joffrey Lupul, though, that made his second tying effort necessary only 19 seconds into the third on the power play. Andrei Kostitsyn also scored for the Habs; R.J. Umberger and James Dowd had made it 2-0 Philly in the first.
GAME TWO: PHILADELPHIA 4 at MONTREAL 2 -April 26 | Highlights
R.J. Umberger scored twice and Martin Biron made 34 saves to help Philly tie up the series. Jeff Carter and Daniel Briere also scored for the Flyers, while Montreal got goals from Andrei Markov and Saku Koivu, his first of the playoffs, a successful wrap-around attempt on the power play.
GAME THREE: MONTREAL 2 at PHILADELPHIA 3 -April 28 | Highlights
R.J. Umberger is the hero again for the Flyers as they beat the Canadiens again to steal home ice advantage and the series lead. Umberger, Scottie Upshall and Mike Richards made it 3-0 Flyers, while Martin Biron was fantastic, making 32 saves. He only allowed power play goals by Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu in the third period as the Habs tried to tie it up.
GAME FOUR: MONTREAL 2 at PHILADELPHIA 4 -April 30 | Highlights
Les Habitants are on les brink after the Flyers double up on Montreal on the scoreboard in Game Four. Danny Briere, sticking it to his former team once again, scored the winning goal on the power play with 3:38 left, giving his Flyers a commanding series lead. R.J. Umberger scored yet again, opening up offense in the second period on the power play, followed by Scott Hartnell in the third to make it 2-0. Then the floodgates opened in the final frame, as the Habs tied it up with tallies from Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu, but that was followed by Briere's goal and an empty-netter by Umberger again with two seconds left.
GAME FIVE: PHILADELPHIA 6 at MONTREAL 4 -May 3 | Highlights
Scottie Upshall scored with 3:04 remaining in the third period for the game and series winning goal as Philly sent the Habs packing.
Flyers win series 4 games to 1.
#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 New York Rangers
This would be an interesting series, as Past meets Present and Future with the Penguins. Jaromir Jagr, the former dynamic young superstar of Pittsburgh, now plays for the Rangers, squaring off against his former team's present young star - and undoubtedly future superstar - Sidney Crosby. Crosby, together with another future superstar, Evgeni Malkin, looks to be as dangerous of a pair as Jagr and Mario Lemieux were back in the day, and they were looking to dispatch the Blueshirts as quickly as they had the Senators in Round One.
GAME ONE: NEW YORK RANGERS 4 at PITTSBURGH 5 -April 25 | Highlights
It was quite a comeback by the Penguins. New York, on a power play goal by Martin Straka in the first and two even-strength goals by Chris Drury and Sean Avery in the second, built up a 3-0 lead. But Jarkko Ruut and Pascal Dupuis in the second and Marian Hossa and Petr Sykora in the third put Pittsburgh up 4-3. Scott Gomez tied the game up for the Rangers later but Evgeni Malkin on the power play gave the Penguins the lead again and the win.
GAME TWO: NEW YORK RANGERS 0 at PITTSBURGH 2 -April 27 | Highlights
It was a back-and-forth goalie contest between Marc-André Fleury and Henrik Lundqvist this night, which the Penguins won. Lindqvist saved 30 of 31 shots and Fleury snuffed all 26 shots he faced for the shutout. Jordan Staal on the power play was the only player to beat Henrik and Adam Hall scored an empty-netter.
GAME THREE: PITTSBURGH 5 at NEW YORK RANGERS 3 -April 29 | Highlights
The Rangers are on the ropes as Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins down New York and keep their perfect playoff 7-0 winning streak alive. Only hours after Malkin was announced a Hart Trophy finalist he demonstrated why he lead the NHL in goals and points. After Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa and NY's Martin Straka made it 1-1 in the first, Georges Laraque (asssited by Malkin) and then Malkin on the power play made it 3-1. Ryan Callahan and Jaromir Jagr tied the game in the second, though, but Malkin again scored the go-ahead goal on the power play. Ryan Malone added insurance to that early in the third.
GAME FOUR: PITTSBURGH 0 at NEW YORK RANGERS 3 -May 1 | Highlights
Holy Penguin, Batman, Pittsburgh lost a playoff game! Jaromir Jagr scored twice, the second time on the power play and in the empty net, with a power play goal by Brandon Dubinsky in between 'em. Henrik Lundqvist was stellar, making 29 saves for the shutout and to keep his Rangers alive, pleasing the home crowd that wasn't ready to say Goodbye yet.
GAME FIVE: NEW YORK RANGERS 2 at PITTSBURGH 3 (OT) -May 4 | Highlights
After the Penguins gave up a two-goal lead, Marian Hossa scored his second goal of the game 7:10 into overtime and the Pens prevailed anyway to win the game and the series. In the second period, Hossa on the power play and Evgeni Malkin made it 2-0 Pittsburgh but Lauri Korpikoski and Nigel Dawes tied it in the third. The Penguins advance and the Rangers go to clean out their lockers.
Penguins win series 4 games to 1.
Round Three - Conference Finals (Stanley Cup Semifinals)
Western Conference
#1 Detroit Red Wings vs. #5 Dallas Stars
It seems like the late-90's again: The Red Wings, with Chris Osgood in goal, versus Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. However, the author of this node is getting out his crystal ball and predicting, even though he hates the Wings, that they will manhandle the Stars, maybe not as severely as they did the Avalanche but worse than what they did to the Predators.
GAME ONE: DALLAS 1 at DETROIT 4 - May 8 | Highlights
Power play goals by Johan Franzen, Brian Rafalski and Tomas Holmstrom propelled Detroit to the Game One win. Valtteri Filppula scored the fourth goal for Detroit. Brenden Morrow finally got Dallas on the board with a wrister with a minute and change to go.
GAME TWO: DALLAS 1 at DETROIT 2 - May 10 | Highlights
Detroit stuck it to Dallas today - literally. Right at the very end of the game, 20:00 of the third, Mike Ribeiro got a five minute match penalty for slashing Wings goalie Chris Osgood after he poked Ribeiro with his stick, something that could get the netminder suspended. That, coupled with the loss of Johan Franzen, Detroit's most prolific player in the playoffs, for a few games with concussion-like symptoms wouldn't be good. Detroit won anyway to go up 2-0 in the series. After Darren Helm made it 1-0 Detroit, Stéphane Robidas tied the game on the power play. Then Henrik Zetterberg scored on the power play, too, to put the Wings up for good. And all that scoring was in the first period.
GAME THREE: DETROIT 5 at DALLAS 2 - May 12 | Highlights
Hats off to Detroit as Pavel Datsyuk scored his first career hat trick to help his Wings win the game and take the commanding 3-0 series lead. In their franchise best ninth playoff win in a row the Red Wings outshined the Stars and put Dallas on the brink. Pavel's were the first two Wings goal with a Nicklas Grossman Dallas tally in between. Brad Richards tied it in the second but then it was all Red Wings as Jiri Hudler, Henrik Zetterberg (shorthanded) and Datsyuk scored.
GAME FOUR: DETROIT 1 at DALLAS 3 - May 14 | Highlights
Dallas stays alive here, finally putting together a solid effort along with the Wings playing undisciplined, taking too many penalties when they had the chance for the sweep. Marty Turco turned in a good performance, making 33 saves, only allowing Zetterberg's tally less than a minute into the third that tied the game at 1. Loui Eriksson had put Dallas up 1-0 in the second and Mike Modano scored the game-winner on the power play 5 minutes and change into the third and Brenden Morrow added some insurance almost ten minutes later.
GAME FIVE: DALLAS 2 at DETROIT 1 - May 17 | Highlights
The Stars - and Marty Turco - shine again in Detroit and Dallas stays alive yet another day. Not only did Turco stop 38 shots, he helped set up the two Dallas goals with his great passing skills, actually getting an official assist and point on the game-winning goal. Trever Daley scored first in the first to put Dallas up 1-0. Jiri Hudler tied it up for the Wings before the period was out. It was 6:04 into the second, though, that Dallas took the lead for good on Joel Lundqvist's snap shot goal. Detroit netminder Osgood stopped 19 of 21 shots.
GAME SIX: DETROIT 4 at DALLAS 1 - May 19 | Highlights
Dallas Drake and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist, and Kris Draper and Pavel Datsyuk scored the first two goals for Detroit, as the Red Wings advance to the Finals for the first time since 2002. Stéphane Robidas scored for Dallas early in the third on the power play to make it 4-1, but unlike in the series as a whole, the Stars weren't mounting a comeback tonight.
Red Wings win series 4 games to 2.
Eastern Conference
#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #6 Philadelphia Flyers
After the lockout, being destroyed by the Sabres in 2006 and being in dead last place in the league last season, somehow the Flyers are back in the East Finals four years after their last trip. And the Penguins, after spending considerable time in the league's basement themselves, have returned for the first time since 2001 back when Super Mario was still on the frontlines. Would the hard hat, hard working Flyers be able to defeat the (so far) easy-riding Penguins, who'd only had to play 9 postseason games?
GAME ONE: PHILADELPHIA 2 at PITTSBURGH 4 - May 9 | Highlights
After Petr Sykora scored the first goal of the series, putting the Pens up 1-0, the Flyers came back and made it 2-1 on two goals from MIke Richards, R.J. Umberger assisting on both. But the Wonder Kids would strike, Sydney Crosby tying the game and Evgeni Malkin would score the go-ahead goal for the Penguins to give them the lead again. And that was all before the first period even ended! Malkin added another beauty, a shorthanded goal in the second, for insurance.
GAME TWO: PHILADELPHIA 2 at PITTSBURGH 4 - May 11 | Highlights
Sydney Crosby opened up the scoring in the first, but the Flyers tied it up 2-2 by the end of the second with a power play goal by Jeff Carter and a shorthanded tally by Mike Richards, with a goal by Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa inbetween. But Maxime Talbot scored the go-ahead goal in the third and Jordan Staal added an empty-netter to seal the deal and get the Penguins two wins away from their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1992.
GAME THREE: PITTSBURGH 4 at PHILADELPHIA 1 - May 13 | Highlights
The Penguins are just one win away from a trip to the Finals after a 4-1 win on enemy ice. Ryan Whitney, who hadn't scored since February, got a power play goal in the first, followed by a tally by Marian Hossa. R.J. Umberger halfed that lead with Philly's lone goal in the first, but Pittsburgh, after a scoreless second, got insurance from Ryan Malone in the third and an empty-netter by Hossa.
GAME FOUR: PITTSBURGH 2 at PHILADELPHIA 4 - May 15 | Highlights
Like the Wings over in the West, the Penguins, with a chance to sweep, faltered and let the Flyers stay alive with a 4-2 Game 4 win. Joffrey Lupul, Danny Briere, and Jeff Carter, the latter two on the power play, stoked Philly to a 3-0 lead in the first. Jordan Staal scored twice in the third for the Penguins but the Flyers held on and capped the scoring with an empty netter from Joffrey Lupul with less than a minute left. Martin Biron played his best game of the series, making 36 saves, to help hand the Penguins only their second loss in the playoffs so far.
GAME FIVE: PHILADELPHIA 0 at PITTSBURGH 6 - May 18 | Highlights
The Penguins opened up a can of whoopass on the Flyers, soundly defeating them and moving onto the next round. Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone, waiting as a fan and a player for sixteen years for the Penguins to make it to the Cup Finals again, scored twice on the power play, joined by goals from Malkin, Hossa, Staal and Dupuis. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 25 shots he faced and stood poised, with the rest of his team, to face either the Red Wings or Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Penguins win series 4 games to 1.
Round Four - Stanley Cup Finals
Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Red Wings return to the finals for the first time since winning the Cup in 2002, while the Penguins make their way back to the big dance for the first time since winning the Cup in 1992.
GAME ONE: PITTSBURGH 0 at DETROIT 4 - May 24 | Highlights
It looks as if Mikael Samuelsson doesn't need much assistance in the Stanley Cup Finals. He scored two without any helpers on Detroit's way to a 4-0 shutout Game One win. They were the first two goals of the game, in the second and third periods, respectively, followed by a shorthanded tally by Dan Cleary and a power play goal by Henrik Zetterberg with less than a minute to go. Pittsburgh's offense, which had been powerful until now, was shut down by Detroit's defense and Chris Osgood, who only had to stop 19 shots to get the shutout. Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, so far the leader of all playoff goaltenders with 12 wins, only stopped 32 of 36 shots.
GAME TWO: PITTSBURGH 0 at DETROIT 3 - May 26 | Highlights
Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom scored in the first and Valtteri Filppula added a third-period tally to help Detroit to a 3-0 Game Two win and 2-0 series lead. Osgood and the Wings shut the Penguins out again, who have yet to score in the series. Maybe this wasn't as evenly matched as most had thought. The loss left the Penguins whining about obstruction and Osgood diving to draw penalties. Maybe Hasek is giving him some tips from the bench.
GAME THREE: DETROIT 2 at PITTSBURGH 3 - May 28 | Highlights
Pittsburgh finally got some offense going as they downed the Red Wings 3-2 in a must-win situation. Thanks largely to Captain Sid "The Kid" Crosby, the Penguins avoided an 0-3 series deficit, him scoring the first two goals of the game... and, for the Penguins, the series. Johan Franzen scored a power play goal to make it 2-1, but Adam Hall scored what would be the game winner early in the third. Mikael Samuelsson scored again for Detroit.
GAME FOUR: DETROIT 2 at PITTSBURGH 1 - May 31 | Highlights
With a 2-1 win at Mellon Arena the Red Wings took a commanding lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins scored first with Marian Hossa on the power play but Lidstrom and Hudler made it 2-1 Wings and Osgood snuffed 22 of 23 shots to hold off Pittsburgh's Wonderkids and extend their series lead. Fleury was also good, but not good enough, stopping 28 of 30.
GAME FIVE: PITTSBURGH 4 at DETROIT 3 (3OT) - June 2 | Highlights
Petr Sykora, with a rocket that beat Osgood, scored 9:57 into the third overtime period on the upswing of a 4-minute double minor power play to bring the series back to Pittsburgh. Marian Hossa and Adam Hall had put the Penguins up 2-0 in the first. But Darren Helm in the second and Pavel Datsyuk (power play) and Brian Rafalski in the third put the Wings up 3-2. Maxime Talbot scored with 35 seconds left, though, to tie the game up and send it into that long overtime.
GAME SIX: DETROIT 3 at PITTSBURGH 2 - June 4 | Highlights
Detroit trickled the game winner in and held on, Pittsburgh almost scoring twice in the final two seconds, to win Lord Stanley's Cup. Brian Rafalski on the power play in the first put Detroit up 1-0 and Valtteri Filppula backhanded one in the net in the second to make the score 2-zip. Evgeni Malkin halfed that lead later in that period, but Henrik Zetterberg, early in the third, scored the game-winner, the puck slipping between Fleury's pads, most of the players on the ice thinking that he had it. However, before a Penguins defenseman could stop it, it trickled across the goal line. Marian Hossa scored to make it 3-2 on the power play, and with their goalie pulled, with 1:27 left. But they could not get the equalizer, almost putting the puck past Osgood twice in the final two seconds. A second after a scare for the Wings, and a spark of hope for Pittsburgh and its fans, the Red Wings stormed the ice to celebrate, and thus another hockey season comes to a close.
Red Wings win series 4 games to 2.
DETROIT RED WINGS WIN THE STANLEY CUP
Conn Smythe Trophymost valuable player in the 2008 playoffs:
Henrik Zetterberg (DET); 13G, 14A (27P), +16, 22GP
Source: nhl.com
And special thanks to avalyn for some late-night score updates and some ghost writing.