National Hockey League playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 16–June 7, 1997 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Colorado Avalanche |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Detroit Red Wings |
| Runner-up | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | Eric Lindros (Flyers) (26 points) |
| MVP | Mike Vernon (Red Wings) |
| ← 19961998 → | |
The 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 16, 1997, following the completion of the 1996–97 NHL season. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarter-finals, semi-finals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.
The playoffs ended on June 7, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in a four-game sweep to win their eighth Stanley Cup championship in their history, and their first in 42 years. Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's Most Valuable Player. This was the only time Ray Bourque missed the playoffs in his career. His team, the Boston Bruins, missed the playoffs for the first time since 1967, ending their 29-year consecutive playoffs appearances record.
Playoff seeds
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
- New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 104 points
- Buffalo Sabres, Northeast Division champions – 92 points
- Philadelphia Flyers – 103 points
- Florida Panthers – 89 points
- New York Rangers – 86 points
- Pittsburgh Penguins – 84 points
- Ottawa Senators – 77 points (31 wins, 8 points head-to-head vs. Montreal)
- Montreal Canadiens – 77 points (31 wins, 2 points head-to-head vs. Ottawa)
Western Conference
- Colorado Avalanche, Pacific Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 107 points
- Dallas Stars, Central Division champions – 104 points
- Detroit Red Wings – 94 points
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – 85 points
- Phoenix Coyotes – 83 points (38 wins)
- St. Louis Blues – 83 points (36 wins)
- Edmonton Oilers – 81 points (36 wins)
- Chicago Blackhawks – 81 points (34 wins)
Playoff bracket
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series, following 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). For any series played between Central and Pacific Division teams, the team with home ice advantage had the option of using a 2–3–2 format to reduce travel, with the sites for games five and six switched; if the 2–3–2 format was chosen, the team with home ice advantage then had the additional 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 record, and the five 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 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New Jersey | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Buffalo | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Ottawa | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Buffalo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Edmonton | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Dallas | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Edmonton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Colorado | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | St. Louis | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Anaheim | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Anaheim | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Phoenix | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference quarterfinals
(1) New Jersey Devils vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
Martin Brodeur became the fourth goaltender in league history to score a goal in game one, marking the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored a goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the fifth time overall.
| April 17 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–5 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:28 – Brian Rolston (1) 08:07 – pp – Shawn Chambers (1) | ||||||
| Shayne Corson – sh – 05:40 Benoit Brunet (1) – sh – 17:17 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:19 – Bill Guerin (1) 11:59 – sh – Brian Rolston (2) 19:15 – en – Martin Brodeur (1) | ||||||
| Jocelyn Thibault 30 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 28 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–4 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:56 – pp – John MacLean (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:29 – pp – John MacLean (2) 15:49 – pp – Bill Guerin (2) | ||||||
| Brian Savage (1) – 14:33 | Third period | 04:58 – Bobby Carpenter (1) | ||||||
| Jocelyn Thibault 37 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | New Jersey Devils | 6–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Molson Centre | Recap | |||
| Patrik Elias (1) – pp – 14:02 Bobby Holik (1) – 19:35 |
First period | 00:34 – Mark Recchi (1) 17:06 – Scott Thornton (1) | ||||||
| Valeri Zelepukin (1) – 04:58 Valeri Zelepukin (2) – 07:15 |
Second period | 02:39 – Mark Recchi (2) | ||||||
| Valeri Zelepukin (3) – pp – 07:50 Brian Rolston (3) – sh-en – 19:01 |
Third period | 04:37 – Saku Koivu (1) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Jocelyn Thibault 21 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | New Jersey Devils | 3–4 | 3OT | Montreal Canadiens | Molson Centre | Recap | ||
| Scott Niedermayer (1) – pp – 03:11 Patrik Elias (2) – 11:53 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:42 – Mark Recchi (3) | ||||||
| Lyle Odelein (1) – 18:24 | Third period | 02:41 – Turner Stevenson (1) 05:03 – Mark Recchi (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 07:37 – Patrice Brisebois (1) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 37 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Jose Theodore 56 saves / 59 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–4 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 17:32 – Kevin Dean (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:17 – pp – Bobby Holik (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:01 – sh – John MacLean (3) 11:08 – pp – Lyle Odelein (2) | ||||||
| Jose Theodore 45 saves / 49 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 24 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| New Jersey won series 4–1 | |
(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (7) Ottawa Senators
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This series marked the first appearance of a team representing Ottawa in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 67 years. The most recent team to represent Ottawa prior to this was the original Ottawa Senators, who lost in the Quarterfinal round in 1930.
| April 17 | Ottawa Senators | 1–3 | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:30 – sh – Brian Holzinger (1) | ||||||
| Daniel Alfredsson (1) – pp – 03:57 | Third period | 05:08 – Derek Plante (1) 14:09 – pp – Randy Burridge (1) | ||||||
| Ron Tugnutt 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 22 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Ottawa Senators | 3–1 | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | |||
| Andreas Dackell (1) – 02:48 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Duchesne (1) – pp – 08:37 | Second period | 09:34 – Randy Burridge (2) | ||||||
| Daniel Alfredsson (2) – pp – 00:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Tugnutt 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Dominik Hasek 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–2 | Ottawa Senators | Corel Centre | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Randy Burridge (3) – 13:27 | Second period | 15:31 – pp – Sergei Zholtok (1) 17:41 – pp – Alexei Yashin (1) | ||||||
| Darryl Shannon (1) – 11:51 Dixon Ward (1) – 19:40 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dominik Hasek 15 saves / 16 shots Steve Shields 11 saves / 12 shots |
Goalie stats | Ron Tugnutt 22 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Buffalo Sabres | 0–1 | OT | Ottawa Senators | Corel Centre | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 02:34 – Daniel Alfredsson (3) | ||||||
| Steve Shields 35 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Tugnutt 17 saves / 17 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Ottawa Senators | 4–1 | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | |||
| Shawn McEachern (1) – 16:14 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daniel Alfredsson (4) – 01:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daniel Alfredsson (5) – sh – 00:28 Randy Cunneyworth (1) – 13:56 |
Third period | 01:19 – Donald Audette (1) | ||||||
| Ron Tugnutt 24 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Steve Shields 22 saves / 26 shots Andrei Trefilov 4 saves / 4 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–0 | Ottawa Senators | Corel Centre | Recap | |||
| Brian Holzinger (2) – 03:25 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alexei Zhitnik (1) – 07:46 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jason Dawe (1) – 15:44 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Shields 31 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Tugnutt 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Ottawa Senators | 2–3 | OT | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | ||
| Shawn McEachern (2) – pp – 10:50 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:03 – pp – Donald Audette (2) | ||||||
| Wade Redden (1) – 00:45 | Third period | 06:29 – Derek Plante (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:24 – Derek Plante (3) | ||||||
| Ron Tugnutt 28 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Steve Shields 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| Buffalo won series 4–3 | |
(3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) Pittsburgh Penguins
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams; with Philadelphia winning the only previous series in the 1989 Patrick Division Finals in seven games.
| April 17 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:45 – Pat Falloon (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 00:39 – John LeClair (1) 19:28 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (1) | ||||||
| Jaromir Jagr (1) – 05:00 | Third period | 08:51 – pp – Eric Lindros (1) 18:17 – Pat Falloon (2) | ||||||
| Ken Wregget 33 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 27 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Mario Lemieux (1) – 10:59 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jaromir Jagr (2) – 04:44 | Third period | 03:23 – Joel Otto (1) 05:52 – John LeClair (2) 13:40 – Trent Klatt (1) | ||||||
| Ken Wregget 36 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 28 saves /30 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| Mikael Renberg (1) – 07:54 | First period | 07:19 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (3) 16:29 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (4) | ||||||
| Pat Falloon (3) – pp – 10:33 Eric Lindros (2) – 13:46 John LeClair (3) – pp – 19:48 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dainius Zubrus (1) – 18:28 | Third period | 19:44 – Greg Johnson (1) | ||||||
| Garth Snow 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Wregget 48 saves / 52 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| Shjon Podein (1) – 01:45 | First period | 01:09 – Ian Moran (1) 13:22 – sh – Eddie Olczyk (1) 18:28 – sh – Petr Nedved (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:56 – Mario Lemieux (2) | ||||||
| Garth Snow 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Wregget 37 saves /38 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–6 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Kevin Hatcher (1) – pp – 05:37 Mario Lemieux (3) – 15:34 |
First period | 00:14 – Eric Lindros (3) 17:38 – sh – Rod Brind'Amour (2) 18:32 – sh – Rod Brind'Amour (3) | ||||||
| Ron Francis (1) – pp – 02:37 | Second period | 07:30 – John LeClair (4) 10:28 – Trent Klatt (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:55 – en – Vinny Prospal (1) | ||||||
| Ken Wregget 39 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 15 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
(4) Florida Panthers vs. (5) New York Rangers
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Game 5 was the final playoff game played at Miami Arena.
| April 17 | New York Rangers | 0–3 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:06 – pp – Johan Garpenlov (1) 13:13 – pp – Kirk Muller (1) 15:07 – Rob Niedermayer (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 25 saves /28 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves /34 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | New York Rangers | 3–0 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Wayne Gretzky (1) – 13:15 Esa Tikkanen (1) – pp – 14:58 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Luc Robitaille (1) – 03:29 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 31 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 41 saves / 44 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Florida Panthers | 3–4 | OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 13:12 – Mike Eastwood (1) 17:09 – Luc Robitaille (2) | ||||||
| Johan Garpenlov (2) – pp – 01:16 Ray Sheppard (1) – 02:58 Robert Svehla (1) – pp – 16:32 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:41 – Luc Robitaille (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 16:29 – Esa Tikkanen (2) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 41 saves / 45 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 36 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Florida Panthers | 2–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Rob Niedermayer (2) – pp – 13:23 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:07 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (2) 06:46 – Wayne Gretzky (3) 09:30 – Wayne Gretzky (4) | ||||||
| David Nemirovsky (1) – 01:40 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 21 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | New York Rangers | 3–2 | OT | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | ||
| Mark Messier (1) – 00:39 | First period | 14:17 – Mike Hough (1) | ||||||
| Mark Messier (2) – 19:44 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:37 – pp – Ray Sheppard (2) | ||||||
| Esa Tikkanen (3) – 12:02 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 38 saves /40 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 30 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| New York won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference quarterfinals
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks
This was the second consecutive and second overall playoff meeting between these two teams; with Colorado winning last year's series in six games.
| April 16 | Chicago Blackhawks | 0–6 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:54 – Mike Keane (1) 09:23 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (1) 12:48 – pp – Peter Forsberg (1) 19:00 – Peter Forsberg (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:14 – Mike Ricci (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:31 – Claude Lemieux (1) | ||||||
| Jeff Hackett 19 saves / 24 shots Chris Terreri 13 saves / 14 shots |
Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 22 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–3 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| James Black (1) – 17:53 | First period | 03:53 – Mike Keane (1) 05:06 – Sandis Ozolinsh (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:30 – Claude Lemieux (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jeff Hackett 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–4 | 2OT | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 09:38 – Eric Daze (1) | ||||||
| Keith Jones (1) – 10:59 | Second period | 13:51 – Tony Amonte (1) | ||||||
| Rene Corbet (1) – 15:25 Claude Lemieux (3) – 17:28 |
Third period | 04:00 – Eric Daze (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | Sergei Krivokrasov (1) – 11:03 | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 53 saves / 57 shots | Goalie stats | Jeff Hackett 48 saves / 51 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–6 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Keith Jones (2) – 09:31 Joe Sakic (1) – 14:17 |
First period | 03:34 – Tony Amonte (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:53 – Bob Probert (1) 06:57 – Ethan Moreau (1) 10:16 – pp – Bob Probert (2) 17:53 – Steve Dubinsky (1) | ||||||
| Aaron Miller (1) – 16:00 | Third period | 14:28 – sh-en – Tony Amonte (3) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 25 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Jeff Hackett 29 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Chicago Blackhawks | 0–7 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:53 – pp – Claude Lemieux (4) 09:14 – Mike Keane (3) 16:49 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:12 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (2) 16:44 – Jon Klemm (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:01 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (3) 15:13 – pp – Keith Jones (3) | ||||||
| Jeff Hackett 16 saves / 21 shots Chris Terreri 12 saves / 14 shots |
Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 25 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Colorado Avalanche | 6–3 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Joe Sakic (2) – pp – 18:37 | First period | 02:46 – Keith Carney (1) 10:18 – Gary Suter (1) 17:28 – sh – Tony Amonte (4) | ||||||
| Valeri Kamensky (4) – 00:28 Joe Sakic (3) – 15:10 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Valeri Kamensky (5) – pp – 08:00 Claude Lemieux (5) – pp – 09:25 Adam Deadmarsh (1) – 17:00 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Jeff Hackett 23 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–2 | |
(2) Dallas Stars vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 1991 Clarence Campbell Conference Final where the Minnesota North Stars defeated Edmonton in five games. This was the Oilers' last playoff series victory against the Stars until 2024 as they lost the next five series against Dallas.
| April 16 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–5 | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | |||
| Todd Marchant (1) – sh – 03:16 Kelly Buchberger (1) – 14:58 |
First period | 12:24 – Joe Nieuwendyk (1) 12:54 – Jere Lehtinen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Doug Weight (1) – 06:52 | Third period | 02:42 – Bob Bassen (1) 17:29 – Mike Modano (1) 18:57 – en – Brent Gilchrist (1) | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–0 | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | |||
| Mike Grier (1) – pp – 14:51 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mariusz Czerkawski (1) – 00:43 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Boris Mironov (1) – pp – 02:50 Ryan Smyth (1) – 07:07 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 25 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 17 saves / 21 shots Arturs Irbe 4 saves / 4 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Dallas Stars | 3–4 | OT | Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton Coliseum | Recap | ||
| Mike Modano (2) – sh – 04:53 Benoit Hogue (1) – pp – 18:53 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Nieuwendyk (1) – 08:07 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 16:00 – Doug Weight (2) 17:44 – pp – Andrei Kovalenko (1) 17:56 – Mike Grier (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 09:15 – Kelly Buchberger (2) | ||||||
| Andy Moog 37 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 39 saves / 42 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Dallas Stars | 4–3 | Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton Coliseum | Recap | |||
| Mike Modano (1) – pp – 13:15 | First period | 10:13 – pp –Andrei Kovalenko (1) | ||||||
| Dave Reid (1) – 02:20 | Second period | 08:23 – pp – Jason Arnott (1) | ||||||
| Brent Gilchrist (2) – 01:53 Jamie Langenbrunner (1) – 05:31 |
Third period | 18:47 – Ryan Smyth (2) | ||||||
| Andy Moog 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–0 | 2OT | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ryan Smyth (3) – 00:22 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 43 saves / 43 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 27 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Dallas Stars | 3–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton Coliseum | Recap | |||
| Jere Lehtinen (2) – 03:49 | First period | 13:25 – Mike Grier (3) | ||||||
| Bob Bassen (2) – 14:43 | Second period | 19:42 – Mariusz Czerkawski (2) | ||||||
| Mike Modano (4) – 14:42 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Andy Moog 33 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 38 saves / 41 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–3 | OT | Dallas Stars | Reunion Arena | Recap | ||
| Rem Murray (1) – 01:45 | First period | 01:38 – Benoit Hogue (2) | ||||||
| Boris Mironov (2) – pp – 07:24 Andrei Kovalenko (3) – 19:40 |
Second period | 11:22 – pp – Pat Verbeek (1) 13:27 – Bob Bassen (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Todd Marchant (2) – 12:26 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 38 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 29 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| Edmonton won series 4–3 | |
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) St. Louis Blues
This was the second consecutive and fifth overall playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the four previous series. Detroit won last year's Western Conference Semifinals in seven games. Game three was Craig McTavish's final game and the last NHL game ever with a helmetless player.
| April 16 | St. Louis Blues | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Geoff Courtnall (1) – 12:44 Pierre Turgeon (1) – pp – 19:22 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Grant Fuhr 30 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | St. Louis Blues | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Marc Bergevin (1) – 04:24 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:05 – sh – Kris Draper (1) 07:09 – Larry Murphy (1) | ||||||
| Grant Fuhr 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 22 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| Kris Draper (2) – 02:40 | First period | 17:09 – Brett Hull (1) | ||||||
| Brendan Shanahan (1) – pp – 00:39 Steve Yzerman (1) – pp – 15:22 |
Second period | 06:36 – pp – Joe Murphy (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 24 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Grant Fuhr 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–4 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:50 – Geoff Courtnall (2) 18:51 – Pavol Demitra (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:10 – pp – Geoff Courtnall (3) 09:23 – Chris Pronger (1) | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 19 saves / 23 shots Chris Osgood 4 saves / 4 shots |
Goalie stats | Grant Fuhr 28 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | St. Louis Blues | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Al MacInnis (1) – pp – 11:02 | First period | 03:22 – Steve Yzerman (2) | ||||||
| Jim Campbell (1) – pp – 12:14 | Second period | 05:02 – pp – Vyacheslav Kozlov (1) 07:58 – Darren McCarty (1) 13:15 – Brendan Shanahan (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:32 – pp – Larry Murphy (2) | ||||||
| Grant Fuhr 28 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 19 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–1 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| Vyacheslav Kozlov (2) – pp – 08:45 | First period | 02:12 – Brett Hull (2) | ||||||
| Brendan Shanahan (3) – pp – 01:07 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Kirk Maltby (1) – 08:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 24 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Grant Fuhr 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–2 | |
(4) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim vs. (5) Phoenix Coyotes
This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was the first time the cities of Anaheim and Phoenix were represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
| April 16 | Phoenix Coyotes | 2–4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:57 – pp – Teemu Selanne (1) 16:01 – Paul Kariya (1) | ||||||
| Jeremy Roenick (1) – 03:27 Keith Tkachuk (1) – pp – 16:48 |
Second period | 14:15 – Teemu Selanne (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:13 – en – Paul Kariya (2) | ||||||
| Nikolai Khabibulin 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Guy Hebert 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Phoenix Coyotes | 2–4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | |||
| Teppo Numminen (1) – pp – 09:23 | First period | 10:46 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:03 – pp – J. J. Daigneault (1) | ||||||
| Keith Tkachuk (2) – 03:55 | Third period | 13:26 – J. J. Daigneault (2) 19:53 – en – Teemu Selanne (3) | ||||||
| Nikolai Khabibulin 31 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Guy Hebert 36 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 1–4 | Phoenix Coyotes | America West Arena | Recap | |||
| Paul Kariya (3) – pp – 18:49 | First period | 01:18 – Darrin Shannon (1) 08:50 – Darrin Shannon 14:01 – Keith Tkachuk (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:28 – Mike Gartner (1) | ||||||
| Guy Hebert 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 0–2 | Phoenix Coyotes | America West Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:45 – Bob Corkum (1) 19:54 – en – Teppo Numminen (2) | ||||||
| Guy Hebert 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Nikolai Khabibulin 32 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Phoenix Coyotes | 5–2 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | |||
| Keith Tkachuk (4) – 14:46 | First period | 17:37 – Teemu Selanne (4) | ||||||
| Jeremy Roenick (2) – 07:17 Teppo Numminen (3) – 09:12 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bob Corkum (2) – 14:10 Keith Tkachuk (5) – en – 19:39 |
Third period | 06:52 – pp – Teemu Selanne (5) | ||||||
| Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Guy Hebert 19 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 3–2 | OT | Phoenix Coyotes | America West Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Paul Kariya (4) – pp – 06:12 Brian Bellows (1) – 19:01 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:00 – Darrin Shannon (3) 17:44 – pp – Keith Tkachuk (6) | ||||||
| Paul Kariya (5) – 07:29 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Guy Hebert 19 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Nikolai Khabibulin 36 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Phoenix Coyotes | 0–3 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:11 – Dave Karpa (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:12 – Steve Rucchin (1) 08:19 – Joe Sacco (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Nikolai Khabibulin 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Guy Hebert 31 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| Anaheim won series 4–3 | |
Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with New York winning both previous series. They last met in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, where New York won in seven games.
| May 2 | New York Rangers | 0–2 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:45 – pp – Scott Niedermayer (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:56 – en – John MacLean (4) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | New York Rangers | 2–0 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| Brian Leetch (1) – pp – 18:21 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Russ Courtnall (1) – en – 19:15 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 32 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 20 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | New Jersey Devils | 2–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Randy McKay (1) – 06:04 | First period | 03:57 – Wayne Gretzky (5) 05:24 – Esa Tikkanen (4) | ||||||
| Steve Thomas (1) – 07:26 | Second period | 06:41 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 33 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | New Jersey Devils | 0–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:49 – pp – Adam Graves (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:36 – Wayne Gretzky (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:02 – en – Esa Tikkanen (6) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 35 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | New York Rangers | 2–1 | OT | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | ||
| Esa Tikkanen (7) – 07:53 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:02 – pp – Brian Rolston (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Adam Graves (2) – 14:08 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 46 saves / 47 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| New York won series 4–1 | |
(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams; with Philadelphia winning all three previous series. They last met in the 1995 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where Philadelphia won in five games.
| May 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–3 | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dan Kordic (1) – 11:23 Mikael Renberg (2) – pp – 19:59 |
Second period | 05:10 – Michal Grosek (1) 06:00 – Brad May (1) 17:26 – pp – Donald Audette (3) | ||||||
| Rod Brind'Amour (4) – 10:00 Shjon Podein (2) – 19:12 Rod Brind'Amour (5) – en – 19:54 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Garth Snow 29 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Steve Shields 42 saves / 46 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–1 | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | |||
| Mikael Renberg (3) – 04:47 Chris Therien (1) – 16:49 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:18 – Jason Dawe (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Garth Snow 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Steve Shields 35 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Darryl Shannon (2) – pp – 14:55 | First period | 08:18 – pp – Eric Lindros (4) 11:51 – pp – Dale Hawerchuk (1) 18:57 – Rod Brind'Amour (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:48 – en – Eric Desjardins (1) | ||||||
| Steve Shields 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 15 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Buffalo Sabres | 5–4 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | ||
| Donald Audette (2) – pp – 04:27 | First period | 10:15 – pp – Dainius Zubrus (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:03 – Dale Hawerchuk (2) | ||||||
| Derek Plante (4) – pp – 03:34 Michal Grosek (2) – 04:28 Dixon Ward (2) – sh – 11:53 |
Third period | 05:28 – Trent Klatt (3) 13:26 – Mikael Renberg (4) | ||||||
| Ed Ronan (1) – 06:24 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Shields 39 saves / 43 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 20 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | 6–3 | Buffalo Sabres | Marine Midland Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| John LeClair (5) – 05:27 Eric Lindros (5) – 08:32 Eric Lindros (6) – 09:13 Dainius Zubrus (3) – 14:51 |
Second period | 10:07 – Michal Grosek (3) 14:19 – pp – Randy Burridge (4) 19:59 – pp – Randy Burridge (5) | ||||||
| Shjon Podein (3) – 06:00 Dainius Zubrus (4) – en – 19:48 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Steve Shields 34 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference semifinals
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Avalanche and Oilers. The Avalanche defeated the Oilers in five games to return to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row.
Both teams would meet again in the first round of next year's playoffs, where the Oilers came back from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Avalanche in seven games.
| May 2 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–5 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:10 – Eric Lacroix (1) 09:08 – Claude Lemieux (6) | ||||||
| Kelly Buchberger (3) – 04:00 | Second period | 12:28 – Peter Forsberg (3) 16:16 – Sandis Ozolinsh (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:39 – pp – Peter Forsberg (4) | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 32 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 35 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Edmonton Oilers | 1–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:52 – pp – Scott Young (1) | ||||||
| Doug Weight (3) – 04:19 | Second period | 06:39 – Valeri Kamensky (6) 11:35 – pp – Claude Lemieux (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:51 – Rene Corbet (2) | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 20 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 42 saves / 43 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–4 | Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton Coliseum | Recap | |||
| Peter Forsberg (5) – 02:25 | First period | 03:20 – Kelly Buchberger (4) 19:48 – Jason Arnott (2) | ||||||
| Valeri Kamensky (7) – pp – 07:29 Claude Lemieux (8) – 11:24 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:57 – Kelly Buchberger (5) 16:15 – Ryan Smyth (4) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 34 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 21 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–2 | OT | Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton Coliseum | Recap | ||
| Valeri Kamensky (8) – 03:06 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sandis Ozolinsh (4) – pp – 18:40 | Second period | 07:08 – sh – Todd Marchant (3) 12:47 – pp – Ryan Smyth (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Claude Lemieux (9) – 08:35 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Curtis Joseph 38 saves / 41 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:56 – Joe Sakic (4) | ||||||
| Todd Marchant (4) – sh – 09:38 Jason Arnott (3) – 17:52 |
Second period | 04:56 – Adam Deadmarsh (2) | ||||||
| Andrei Kovalenko (4) – pp – 13:49 | Third period | 00:35 – Claude Lemieux (10) 18:52 – pp – Adam Deadmarsh (3) | ||||||
| Curtis Joseph 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–1 | |
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
This was the first playoff meeting between the Red Wings and Ducks. The Red Wings swept the Ducks to return to the Western Conference Finals for the third year in a row.
Despite ending in a sweep, three of the four games played required at least one overtime period, the longest being Game 2 which went into triple overtime.
| May 2 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 1–2 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Paul Kariya (6) – pp – 19:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:01 – Sergei Fedorov (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 00:59 – Martin Lapointe (1) | ||||||
| Guy Hebert 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 19 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 2–3 | 3OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:34 – Steve Yzerman (3) | ||||||
| Jari Kurri (1) – 04:18 Teemu Selanne (6) – 16:53 |
Third period | 12:14 – Doug Brown (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 01:31 – pp – Vyacheslav Kozlov (3) | ||||||
| Guy Hebert 30 saves / 31 shots Mikhail Shtalenkov 38 saves / 40 shots |
Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 49 saves / 51 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–3 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | |||
| Vyacheslav Kozlov (4) – pp – 15:47 | First period | 11:19 – pp – Paul Kariya (7) 12:09 – pp – Teemu Selanne (7) | ||||||
| Igor Larionov (1) – pp – 13:03 Doug Brown (2) – 16:28 |
Second period | 05:12 – Ted Drury (1) | ||||||
| Sergei Fedorov (2) – 03:34 Vyacheslav Kozlov (5) – 03:58 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 20 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Mikhail Shtalenkov 44 saves / 49 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | 2OT | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | ||
| Doug Brown (3) – 18:25 | First period | 03:01 – Joe Sacco (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:23 – pp – Brian Bellows (2) | ||||||
| Nicklas Lidstrom (1) – 09:09 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brendan Shanahan (4) – 17:03 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 35 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Mikhail Shtalenkov 70 saves / 73 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–0 | |
Conference finals
See also: NHL conference finalsEastern Conference final
(3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) New York Rangers
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Philadelphia having won five of the nine previous series. Their most recent meeting was in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals which Philadelphia won in four games. The Rangers made their third Conference Final appearance and first since defeating New Jersey in seven games in 1994. Philadelphia made their fifth Conference Final appearance and first since losing to New Jersey in six games in 1995.
New York out shot Philadelphia in Game 1 25–21, but the Flyers ended up winning 3–1. Wayne Gretzky had his second hat-trick of the playoffs in Game 2 as the Rangers edged the Flyers 5–4. With the series tied at 1–1, the two teams moved to Madison Square Garden in New York for Games 3 and 4. This time, it was the Flyers' Eric Lindros who scored a hat-trick as Philadelphia won 6–3. In Game 4, Lindros broke a 2–2 tie with just seven seconds remaining in regulation, and the Flyers won 3–2. The Rangers scored twice in 26 seconds in the first period to take a 2–1 lead. The Flyers scored three unanswered goals and won the game 4–2 and the series 4–1. This was the last playoff game for both Gretzky and Mark Messier, as neither of the players' teams made the post-season for the rest of their careers.
| May 16 | New York Rangers | 1–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:28 – Dainius Zubrus (5) 04:39 – pp – Janne Niinimaa (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Luc Robitaille (4) – 19:50 | Third period | 08:34 – Eric Lindros (6) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 18 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | New York Rangers | 5–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Doug Lidster (1) – 05:09 Wayne Gretzky (7) – pp – 07:35 Wayne Gretzky (8) – pp – 09:34 |
First period | 04:11 – pp – John LeClair (6) | ||||||
| Wayne Gretzky (9) – 09:30 Mark Messier (3) – 13:45 |
Second period | 06:45 – Paul Coffey (1) 07:34 – Rod Brind'Amour (7) 15:11 – Shjon Podein (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 5 saves / 10 shots Ron Hextall 12 saves / 12 shots | ||||||
| May 20 | Philadelphia Flyers | 6–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Eric Lindros (7) – 07:33 Petr Svoboda (1) – 12:03 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eric Lindros (8) – 06:35 Trent Klatt (4) – 14:59 Rod Brind'Amour (8) – 16:52 Eric Lindros (9) – en – 19:22 |
Third period | 00:43 – pp – Russ Courtnall (2) 04:02 – Russ Courtnall (3) 14:21 – Wayne Gretzky (10) | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 19 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 23 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Mikael Renberg (5) – pp – 07:08 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Druce (1) – sh – 16:47 Eric Lindros (10) – pp – 19:53 |
Third period | 01:41 – sh – Esa Tikkanen (8) 17:52 – Brian Leetch (2) | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 39 saves / 42 shots | ||||||
| May 25 | New York Rangers | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Alexander Karpovtsev (1) – pp – 12:30 Esa Tikkanen (9) – pp – 12:56 |
First period | 05:18 – pp – Eric Lindros (11) 15:53 – pp – John LeClair (7) 19:06 – Rod Brind'Amour (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:43 – Rod Brind'Amour (10) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 17 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
Western Conference final
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with Colorado winning the only previous series. This was a rematch of the previous season's Western Conference Final, which Colorado won in six games. This was Detroit's third straight and fifth overall Conference Finals appearance, while it was Colorado's fourth trip to Conference Final. The rivalry between the two teams was as heated as ever after the events of a brawl during a game on March 26 still fresh.
The Red Wings played a determined Game 1 as Brendan Shanahan broke a scoreless tie at 1:13 of the third period to give Detroit a 1–0 lead. Joe Sakic scored just 27 seconds later and Mike Ricci added another at 6:13 gave Colorado a 2–1 lead that they would not relinquish. In Game 2, Colorado led 2–0 but Detroit pulled to within one on a power-play goal by Igor Larionov at 16:51 of the second period. The Red Wings then went on to score three times in the third period to win 4–2 and tie the series at one game apiece. In Game 3, the Red Wings got two goals from Vyacheslav Kozlov and went on to win 2–1. Detroit also won Game 4, 6–0. Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon made 19 saves in the shutout and Igor Larionov and Kirk Maltby both scored twice. Detroit now led the series three games to one. Embarrassed and frustrated after such a lopsided loss in Game 4, Colorado came right back in Game 5 with a 6–0 win of their own, with Patrick Roy stopping all 32 shots he faced. Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic both scored two goals in the victory. In Game 6, the Red Wings looked to close out the series. Sergei Fedorov's goal at 6:11 of the third period gave Detroit a 2–0 lead. Scott Young pulled Colorado to within one on a goal at 14:48, but the Avalanche could not score the equalizer, and Brendan Shanahan sealed the game and series for Detroit with an empty net goal at 19:30.
| May 15 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–2 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brendan Shanahan (5) – 01:13 | Third period | 01:40 – Joe Sakic (5) 06:13 – Mike Ricci (2) | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 17 saves / 19 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 34 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| May 17 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 18:37 – pp – Scott Young (2) | ||||||
| Igor Larionov (2) – pp – 16:51 | Second period | 16:09 – Claude Lemieux (11) | ||||||
| Sergei Fedorov (3) – pp – 02:10 Steve Yzerman (4) – 16:00 Darren McCarty (2) – 18:43 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 15 saves / 17 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 36 saves / 40 shots | ||||||
| May 19 | Colorado Avalanche | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:12 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (6) | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (6) – pp – 14:47 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:20 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (7) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 27 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 22 | Colorado Avalanche | 0–6 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:52 – pp – Igor Larionov (3) 07:15 – Igor Larionov (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:24 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (8) 16:54 – pp – Sergei Fedorov (4) 19:13 – Kirk Maltby (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:25 – Kirk Maltby (3) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 20 saves / 25 shots Craig Billington 12 saves / 13 shots |
Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 19 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–6 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:46 – Claude Lemieux (12) 11:04 – Claude Lemieux (13) 15:34 – Joe Sakic (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:23 – Stephane Yelle (1) 10:57 – Joe Sakic (8) 18:04 – Scott Young (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 7 saves / 11 shots Chris Osgood 15 saves / 17 shots |
Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 32 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| May 26 | Colorado Avalanche | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:29 – Martin Lapointe (2) | ||||||
| Scott Young (4) – 14:48 | Third period | 06:11 – Sergei Fedorov (5) 19:30 – en – Brendan Shanahan (6) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 39 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 15 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–2 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
Main article: 1997 Stanley Cup FinalsThis was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. Detroit made their twentieth appearance in the Finals and second in the past three years. Their last appearance was in 1995, where they were upset by the New Jersey Devils in a sweep. Philadelphia made their seventh appearance in the Finals and first since 1987 when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. Detroit last won the Stanley Cup in 1955, while Philadelphia last won the Stanley Cup in 1975. The Red Wings swept the Flyers to win their first Stanley Cup since 1955 and eighth overall, ending what was the longest Stanley Cup title drought in the league at that time.
With the loss, the Flyers' record in the Stanley Cup Finals fell to 2-5. The Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup three more times after this in 1998, 2002, and 2008. The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals began a streak of playoff success for Detroit-based teams over their Philadelphia counterparts. After the Red Wings' victory, the NBA's Detroit Pistons would defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA playoffs in 2003, 2005, and 2008.
| May 31 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Kirk Maltby (4) – sh – 06:38 Joe Kocur (1) – 15:56 |
First period | 07:37 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (11) | ||||||
| Sergei Fedorov (6) – 11:41 | Second period | 17:11 – John LeClair (8) | ||||||
| Steve Yzerman (5) – 00:56 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| June 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Center | Recap | |||
| Brendan Shanahan (7) – 01:37 Steve Yzerman (6) – pp – 09:22 |
First period | 17:42 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (12) 18:58 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (13) | ||||||
| Kirk Maltby (5) – 02:39 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brendan Shanahan (8) – 09:56 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Garth Snow 24 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| June 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–6 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| John LeClair (9) – pp – 07:03 | First period | 09:03 – pp – Steve Yzerman (7) 11:05 – Sergei Fedorov (7) 19:00 – Martin Lapointe (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:12 – pp – Sergei Fedorov (8) 19:17 – Brendan Shanahan (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:08 – pp – Martin Lapointe (4) | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 23 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 21 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| June 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:27 – Nicklas Lidstrom (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:02 – Darren McCarty (3) | ||||||
| Eric Lindros (12) – 19:45 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 26 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Vernon 26 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–0 | |
Playoff statistics
Skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Lindros | Philadelphia Flyers | 19 | 12 | 14 | 26 | +7 | 40 |
| Joe Sakic | Colorado Avalanche | 17 | 8 | 17 | 25 | +5 | 14 |
| Claude Lemieux | Colorado Avalanche | 17 | 13 | 10 | 23 | +7 | 32 |
| Valeri Kamensky | Colorado Avalanche | 17 | 8 | 14 | 22 | -1 | 16 |
| Rod Brind'Amour | Philadelphia Flyers | 19 | 13 | 8 | 21 | +9 | 10 |
| John LeClair | Philadelphia Flyers | 19 | 9 | 12 | 21 | +5 | 10 |
| Wayne Gretzky | New York Rangers | 15 | 10 | 10 | 20 | +5 | 2 |
| Sergei Fedorov | Detroit Red Wings | 20 | 8 | 12 | 20 | +5 | 12 |
| Brendan Shanahan | Detroit Red Wings | 20 | 9 | 8 | 17 | +8 | 43 |
| Peter Forsberg | Colorado Avalanche | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | -6 | 10 |
Goaltenders
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Brodeur | New Jersey Devils | 10 | 5 | 5 | 268 | 19 | 1.73 | .929 | 2 | 658:48 |
| Mike Vernon | Detroit Red Wings | 20 | 16 | 4 | 494 | 36 | 1.76 | .927 | 1 | 1229:12 |
| Ron Tugnutt | Ottawa Senators | 7 | 3 | 4 | 169 | 14 | 1.98 | .917 | 1 | 424:37 |
| Guy Hebert | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 9 | 4 | 4 | 255 | 18 | 2.02 | .929 | 1 | 533:31 |
| Mike Richter | New York Rangers | 15 | 9 | 6 | 488 | 33 | 2.11 | .932 | 3 | 938:39 |
See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1996 NHL Entry Draft
- 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- NHL All-Star Game
- NHL All-Rookie Team
- 1997 in sports
- 1996–97 NHL season
References
External links
| Preceded by1996 Stanley Cup playoffs | Stanley Cup playoffs | Succeeded by1998 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| 1996–97 NHL season | |
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