= 2001 = 2002 = 2003 = 2004 = 2006 = 2007 = 2008 = 2009 = 2010 = 2011 = 2012 = 2014 = 2015 = 2016 = 2017 = 2018 = 2019 = 2020 =
Round One - Conference Quarterfinals
Western Conference
#C1 Nashville Predators vs. #WC1 Dallas Stars
If Stars goalie Ben Bishop doesn’t get injured again - and plays more like he did in the second half of the season VS the first - Dallas might actually give Nashville a run for its money.
GAME ONE: DALLAS 3 at NASHVILLE 2 - April 10
Rookie Miro Heiskanen scored two for Dallas as they take Game One.
GAME TWO: DALLAS 1 at NASHVILLE 2 (OT) - April 13
Craig Smith scored 5:00 into overtime to lift the Preds to the 2-1 win and even up the series.
GAME THREE: NASHVILLE 3 at DALLAS 2 - April 15
Mikael Granlund scored the go-ahead goal for the Preds with 8:19 remaining to lift Nashville to the Game Three victory and series lead.
GAME FOUR: NASHVILLE 1 at DALLAS 5 - April 17
Dallas’ Roope Hintz scored his first two playoff goals to help the Stars get the Game Four win and even up the series.
GAME FIVE: DALLAS 5 at NASHVILLE 3 - April 20
Alexander Radulov and Jason Dickinson each tallied twice to get Dallas to the win and the series lead.
GAME SIX: NASHVILLE 1 at DALLAS 2 (OT) - April 22
John Klingberg scored with 2:58 left in OT, and the Dallas Stars head to Round Two!
Stars win series 4-2
#C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. #C3 St. Louis Blues
It’s a series of teams that flip-flopped each other. The Jets were one of the hottest teams in the first half of the season, then they ran out of jet fuel. The Blues, the literal worst team in the league on January 2nd, started kicking major ass in the second half, starting off with an 11-game winning streak - thanks mostly to amazing goaltending by rookie Jordan Binnington and Vladimir Tarasenko decided to score goals again. I, personally, have never seen a team turnaround like that before. Ever.
GAME ONE: ST. LOUIS 2 at WINNIPEG 1 - April 10
The Jets scored first but that’s the only goal they could score on Jordan WINNINGTON! Perron tied it up and Bozak scored in the third for the Blues win!
GAME TWO: ST. LOUIS 4 at WINNIPEG 3 - April 12
Oskar Sundqvist scored his first two NHL playoff goals and Ryan O'Reilly scored the game winner to help the Blues win Game 2 and take a 2-0 series lead.
GAME THREE: WINNIPEG 6 at ST. LOUIS 3 - April 14
Kyle Connor scored twice for the Jets as they pull off a 6-3 win in St. Louis. Hayes, Laine, Tanev, and Byfuglien also scored for Winnipeg. Perron, Tarasenko, and Steen tallied for St. Louis.
GAME FOUR: WINNIPEG 2 at ST. LOUIS 1 - April 16
Kyle Connor scored at 6:02 of overtime in Jets 2.0’s first overtime playoff winner ever to even up the series.
GAME FIVE: ST. LOUIS 3 at WINNIPEG 2 - April 18
It wasn’t technically an overtime win, but it may as well have been. Adam Lowry and Kevin Hayes got the Jets up 2-0 by the end of the first. But Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn tied the game up in the third. And then, with only 15 seconds to go, The Schwartz was with the Blues, as Jaden Schwartz scored the game winner!
GAME SIX: WINNIPEG 2 at ST. LOUIS 3 - April 20
The Schwartz was with the Blues again! And finally the home team wins a game in this series! Jaden Schwartz scores all three St. Louis goals with the hat trick for the 3-0 lead, and the Blues held on to win Game Six and the series!
Blues win series 4-2
#P1 Calgary Flames vs. #WC2 Colorado Avalanche
The Flames, the top team in the West by a significant margin, VS the Avalanche, who for the second year in a row barely made the playoffs. Yeah, good luck, Colorado, you’re going to need it.
GAME ONE: COLORADO 0 at CALGARY 4 - April 11
Calgary was on fire as Matthew Tkachuk had two goals and goalie Mike Smith made 26 saves for the shutout as the Flames took Game One.
GAME TWO: COLORADO 3 at CALGARY 2 (OT) - April 13
Nathan MacKinnon scored 8:27 into overtime to get the win for Colorado and knot up the series.
GAME THREE: CALGARY 2 at COLORADO 6 - April 15
Cale Makar scored in his NHL debut for Colorado. But that’s not all. Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Erik Johnson, Matt Nieto and Mikko Rantanen each had a goal and an assist, and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for the Avalanche of a win.
GAME FOUR: CALGARY 2 at COLORADO 3 (OT)- April 17
Mikko Rantanen scored 10:23 into overtime to help the ‘Lanche put out the Flames in Game Four and take the commanding 3-1 series lead.
GAME FIVE: COLORADO 5 at CALGARY 1 - April 19
Rantanen and Colin Wilson each had two goals and an assist, and Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie each had three assists for Colorado as they douse the Flames.
Avalanche win series 4-1
#P4 San Jose Sharks vs. #P5 Vegas Golden Knights
In their sophomore season the Knights are in the damn playoffs again. Seriously, what the hell? I just can’t with this.
GAME ONE: VEGAS 2 at SAN JOSE 5 - April 10
Brent Burns and Evander Kane each had a goal and an assist in the Sharks’ Game One win.
GAME TWO: VEGAS 5 at SAN JOSE 3 - April 12
Vegas scored two shorthanded goals and one on the power play to get the win and even up the series.
GAME THREE: SAN JOSE 3 at VEGAS 6 - April 14
Mark Stone scored the first hat trick of his NHL career as he helped the Knights get the Game 3 win.
GAME FOUR: SAN JOSE 0 at VEGAS 5 - April 16
Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the shutout and Max Pacioretty had four points for Vegas as they take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
GAME FIVE: VEGAS 2 at SAN JOSE 5 - April 18
Tomas Hertl scored two goals, Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, and Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Sharkies as they avoided elimination with the Game Five win.
GAME SIX: SAN JOSE 2 at VEGAS 1 (2OT) - April 21
San Jose’s Tomas Hertl scored a shorthanded goal 11:17 into double overtime to force a Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: VEGAS 4 at SAN JOSE 5 (OT) - April 23
The Knights weren’t so golden as they picked a terrible time to take a 5-minute major penalty. After being up 3-0 the Sharks took advantage of Cody Eakin's major penalty in the 3rd period for cross-checking Joe Pavelski and scored 4 goals on that power play! Jonathan Marchessault did tie the game for Vegas with 47 seconds remaining. But Barclay Goodrow scored 18:19 into overtime so the Sharks could swim into Round Two.
Sharks win series 4-3
Eastern Conference
#A1 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets
If you would travel back in time to the 1990’s or early 2000’s and told me that someday the Lightning would not only win the President’s Trophy but also tie the all-time record for season wins, I would have told you to fuck right off. In 2019 in Round One it’s the Tampa Bay Lightning VS the BJs.
GAME ONE: COLUMBUS 4 at TAMPA BAY 3 - April 10
The Jackets shocked the world by coming from behind an 0-3 deficit and winning Game One!
GAME TWO: COLUMBUS 5 at TAMPA BAY 1 - April 12
Could this be the curse of the President's Trophy? Matt Duchene had a goal and three assists, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning for the shocking 2-0 series lead.
GAME THREE: TAMPA BAY 1 at COLUMBUS 3 - April 14
“Oh my!” George Takei might say if he followed ice hockey. Without Kucherov, who was suspended for his dirty hit against Blue Jacket Markus Nutivaara (who was out because injury from the hit) also find themselves without a win in the series. And close to being swept! Duchene, Bjorkstrand, and Atkinson scored for Columbus who is very close to winning their first-ever playoff series, the only team left in the league never to have done so yet.
GAME FOUR: TAMPA BAY 3 at COLUMBUS 7 - April 16
Somebody should cook some Impossible Burgers in Columbus, Ohio, because the Blue Jackets did what should have been impossible: sweep the best team in the NHL! And won their first-ever playoff series.
Blue Jackets win series 4-0
#A2 Boston Bruins vs. #A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
After many, many years of the Leafs putting on a clinic on How To Suck At All Aspects of Ice Hockey, Toronto is finally back to winning and back to the playoffs and maybe a series win. But Boston had TROUBLE bruin’.
GAME ONE: TORONTO 4 at BOSTON 1 - April 11
Mitchell Marner scored twice to help the Leafs take the 1-0 series lead.
GAME TWO: TORONTO 1 at BOSTON 4 - April 13
Tuukka Rask made 30 saves, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs to even up the series.
GAME THREE: BOSTON 2 at TORONTO 3 - April 15
Auston Matthews and Andreas Johnsson each had a goal and an assist in Toronto’s Game Three victory.
GAME FOUR: BOSTON 6 at TORONTO 4 - April 17
Brad Marchand has a goal and two assists for Boston as they win Game Four and tie up the series.
GAME FIVE: TORONTO 2 at BOSTON 1 - April 19
The Leafs tallied twice in the third and held on for the Game Five victory, pushing Boston to the brink.
GAME SIX: BOSTON 4 at TORONTO 2 - April 21
Brad Marchand scored two goals and an assist to help Boston force Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: TORONTO 1 at BOSTON 5 - April 23
Tuukka Rask made 32 saves, and Sean Kuraly and Joakim Nordstrom each had a goal and an assist for Boston as they de-Leafed the NHL playoffs.
Bruins win series 4-3
#M1 Washington Capitals vs. #WC1 Carolina Hurricanes
The question on everybody’s minds as the Wild Card Carolina faced the defending Stanley Cup champs: would the Hurricanes blow.... or would they suck?
GAME ONE: CAROLINA 2 at WASHINGTON 4 - April 11
Nicklas Backstrom scored two goals in Washington’s Game One win.
GAME TWO: CAROLINA 3 at WASHINGTON 4 (OT) - April 13
Brooks Orpik scored 1:48 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 Win and 2-0 series lead.
GAME THREE: WASHINGTON 0 at CAROLINA 5 - April 15
Carolina’s Warren Foegele had three points in this lopsided tilt.
GAME FOUR: WASHINGTON 1 at CAROLINA 2 - April 18
Petr Mrazek made 30 saves and Warren Foegele and Teuvo Teravainen scored for the ‘Canes to even up the series. Alexander Ovechkin scored, and Braden Holtby made 22 saves for the Caps.
GAME FIVE: CAROLINA 0 at WASHINGTON 6- April 20
Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom had four points, and Braden Holtby made 30 saves for the shutout rout. Nic Dowd had a penalty shot goal for the Caps as well. Other Washington scoring action included Backstrom having two goals and two assists, and Alex Ovechkin’s goal and two assists.
GAME SIX: WASHINGTON 2 at CAROLINA 5 - April 22
Jordan Staal scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period while the ‘Canes were on their way to winning 5-2 and forcing Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: CAROLINA 4 at WASHINGTON 3 (2OT) - April 24
(With this win, that means that for the first time ever, ALL FOUR wild cards made the second round!) After the ‘Canes rallied to tie the game, Brock McGinn scored 11:05 into the second overtime to give them the win and the second round berth, sending the defending Cup champs to an early trip to the golf course.
Hurricanes win series 4-3
#M2 New York Islanders vs. #M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
It was a match-up of offense VS defense in this series, as only a few teams scored more goals than the Penguins in the regular season, and exactly zero teams allowed fewer goals than the Islanders.
GAME ONE: PITTSBURGH 3 at NEW YORK ISLANDERS 4 (OT)- April 10
Josh Bailey scored in overtime to get New York the Game One Win.
GAME TWO: PITTSBURGH 1 at NEW YORK ISLANDERS 3 - April 12
New York’s Jordan Eberle scored the tiebreaking goal in the third to extend their series lead.
GAME THREE: NEW YORK ISLANDERS 4 at PITTSBURGH 1 - April 14
The Penguins are waddling to the brink, as the Islanders defeated them again to take the 3-0 series lead. Robin Lehner made 25 saves for New York as they are ready to order another round!
GAME FOUR: NEW YORK ISLANDERS 3 at PITTSBURGH 1 - April 16
New York’s Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored and Robin Lehner made 32 saves for the Islanders as they complete the sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Islanders win series 4-0
Round Two - Conference Semifinals
Western Conference
#C3 St. Louis Blues vs. #WC1 Dallas Stars
With both teams bringing stingy defenses and hot goalies (Bishop VS Binnington) would this series be stingy with the goals?
GAME ONE: DALLAS 2 at ST. LOUIS 3 - April 25
Blues star forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice to help St. Louis take game one!
GAME TWO: DALLAS 4 at ST. LOUIS 2 - April 27
Hinting at the fact that they’d tie up the series, Dallas’ Roope Hintz had two goals and an assist.
GAME THREE: ST. LOUIS 4 at DALLAS 3 - April 29
After a wild third period, the Blues came out on top and held on for the win and regained the series lead.
GAME FOUR: ST. LOUIS 2 at DALLAS 4 - May 1
Ben Bishop stops 27 of 29 St. Louis shots to help Dallas even up the series.
GAME FIVE: DALLAS 2 at ST. LOUIS 1 - May 3
Ben Bishop made 38 saves for the Dallas Stars as they win 2-1 and take the series lead for the first time.
GAME SIX: ST. LOUIS 4 at DALLAS 1 - May 5
Jaden Schwartz and Sammy Blais (in his first career NHL playoff game) scored 33 seconds apart in the third on St. Louis’ way to winning the game and evening up the series and forcing Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: DALLAS 1 at ST. LOUIS 2 (2OT)- May 7
Play Gloria! The Blues triumphed at 5:50 of double overtime as Pat Maroon scored to lift the Blues to Round Three and eliminate the Stars! Despite making a career high 52 saves, Ben Bishop could not get the win. Jordan Binnington only had to make 29 saves, as the Blues defense mostly stifled the Stars offense after the first period, where Vince Dunn scored for the Blues and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Stars.
Blues win series 4-3.
#P2 San Jose Sharks vs. #WC2 Colorado Avalanche
Would the wild-card Avalanche, who are thrilled to have made the second round, be able to bury the Sharks?
GAME ONE: COLORADO 2 at SAN JOSE 5 - April 26
San Jose’s Brent Burns had a goal and three assists on their way to the 1-0 series lead.
GAME TWO: COLORADO 4 at SAN JOSE 3 - April 28
Tyson Barrie had a goal and two assists to help Colorado win Game Two.
GAME THREE: SAN JOSE 4 at COLORADO 2 - April 30
Logan Couture got his first Stanley Cup Playoff hat trick for the Sharks in the Game Three win.
GAME FOUR: SAN JOSE 0 at COLORADO 3 - May 2
Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves for the Colorado Avalanche in the shutout win.
GAME FIVE: COLORADO 1 at SAN JOSE 2 - May 4
Tomas Hertl scored for the second time at 6:26 of the third to lift San Jose to the 2-1 win and 3-2 series lead.
GAME SIX: SAN JOSE 3 at COLORADO 4 (OT)- May 6
Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog scored at 2:32 of overtime to keep the Avalanche alive and force Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: COLORADO 2 at SAN JOSE 3 - May 8
The Sharks held on for the 3-2 win to eliminate Colorado and head to the third round.
Sharks win series 4-3
Eastern Conference
#A2 Boston Bruins vs. #WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets
Would the Blue Jackets continue their impossible playoff run? Spoiler Alert: NO.
GAME ONE: COLUMBUS 2 at BOSTON 3 (OT) - April 25
Charlie Coyle scored 5:15 into overtime to give the Boston Bruins the Game One win and hand Columbus its first post-season loss!
GAME TWO: COLUMBUS 3 at BOSTON 2 (2OT) - April 27
Matt Duchene scored a power-play goal 3:42 into the second overtime to give the BJs an evened-up series.
GAME THREE: BOSTON 1 at COLUMBUS 2 - April 30
Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves, and the Columbus Blue Jackets win Game Three.
GAME FOUR: at BOSTON 4 at COLUMBUS 1 - May 2
Patrice Bergeron scored twice to help the Bruins even up the series.
GAME FIVE: COLUMBUS 3 at BOSTON 4 - May 4
David Pastrnak scored his second goal of the game with 1:28 left in the game to help Boston win and take the series lead.
GAME SIX: BOSTON 3 at COLUMBUS 0 - May 6
Tuukka Rask made 39 saves to shut out the Blue Jackets and help launch Boston into the Conference Finals. David Krejci had goal and an assist, and Marcus Johansson and David Backes scored for Boston who is in the third round for the first time since 2013.
Bruins win series 4-2
#M2 New York Islanders vs. #WC1 Carolina Hurricanes
Well, the Hurricanes didn’t blow, or suck, in the first round. But would they in the second?
GAME ONE: CAROLINA 1 at NEW YORK ISLANDERS 0 (OT) - April 26
Jordan Staal scored 4:04 into overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-0 shutout win to take Game One. Petr Mrazek made 31 saves for Carolina; Lehner made 31 for New York.
GAME TWO: CAROLINA 2 at NEW YORK ISLANDERS 1 - April 28
Even though the Hurricanes were dropping like flies to injuries throughout the game, including goalie Mrazek, they still managed a 2-1 win. Carolina’s Warren Foegele and Nino Niederreiter each scored in a span of 48 seconds early in the third. Mathew Barzal finally scored a goal for New York that gave them a 1-0 lead in the first.
GAME THREE: NEW YORK ISLANDERS 2 at CAROLINA 5
Justin Williams scored a tiebreaking goal in period Three to help the Canes win Game Three to lead the series Three to nothing.
GAME FOUR: NEW YORK ISLANDERS 2 at CAROLINA 5 - May 3
Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen each had a goal and an assist, and Curtis McElhinney made 26 saves for the Hurricanes, who, for the first time ever, sweep a playoff series.
Hurricanes win series 4-0
Round Three - Conference Finals
Western Conference
#P2 San Jose Sharks vs. #C3 St. Louis Blues
It’s a rematch of Round 3 from 2016! Would the Blues get revenge and continue their hockey Cinderella story? Or would the Sharks’ bite be bigger than their bark?
GAME ONE: ST. LOUIS 3 at SAN JOSE 6 - May 11
Timo Meier and Logan Couture each had two goals and an assist for the Sharks’ Game One win.
GAME TWO: ST. LOUIS 4 at SAN JOSE 2 - May 13
Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second, his first playoff goal in 31 games, to help the Blues win 4-2 and even the series. Jaden Schwartz, Vince Dunn, and Oskar Sundqvist also scored for the Blues. Logan Couture scored twice for the Sharks.
GAME THREE: SAN JOSE 5 at ST. LOUIS 4 (OT) - May 15
Fucking hand pass.
GAME FOUR: SAN JOSE 1 at ST. LOUIS 2 - May 17
With no idiot officials working the game this time, Blues won fair and square, evening up the series. Ivan Barbashev and Tyler Bozak scored first-period goals for the Blues and Jordan Binnington had a near-perfect game with 29 saves.
GAME FIVE: ST. LOUIS 5 at SAN JOSE 0 - May 19
And the Blues have never been this close to the Fourth Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. St. Louis is one win away from the Finals after their 5-0 shutout victory where Jaden Schwartz scored another playoff hat trick, and Vladimir Tarasenko scored the first-ever successful playoff penalty shot goal in St. Louis Blues history. Binnington made 21 saves for the shutout.
GAME SIX: SAN JOSE 1 at ST. LOUIS 5 - May 21
PLAY GLORIA!! AFTER 49 YEARS THE BLUES GO BACK TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL, AND TO THE FOURTH ROUND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!! Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn each scored a power-play goal, Ryan O'Reilly had three assists, and Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for the Blues. San Jose, who can now practice hand-passes on the golf course, got their lone goal from Dylan Gambrell, his first-ever NHL goal, that had made it 2-1.
Blues win series 4-2
Eastern Conference
#A2 Boston Bruins vs. #WC1 Carolina Hurricanes
So, the Hurricanes didn’t blow, or suck, in the first or second rounds. But would they in the third?
GAME ONE: CAROLINA 2 at BOSTON 5 - May 9
Marcus Johansson and Patrice Bergeron scored power play goals 28 seconds apart in the third to help Boston win Game One.
GAME TWO: CAROLINA 2 at BOSTON 6 - May 12
Matt Grzelcyk scored two goals for the Bruins in their Game Two win.
GAME THREE: BOSTON 2 at CAROLINA 1 - May 14
Tuukka Rask made 35 saves for the Bruins and Chris Wagner and Brad Marchand tallied for the Boston win and commanding 3-0 series lead.
GAME FOUR: BOSTON 4 at CAROLINA 0 - May 16
Tuukka Rask made 24 saves for the shutout, and David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron each had three points in Game Four as Boston sends Carolina golfing in the clean sweep.
Bruins win series 4-0
Round Four - Stanley Cup Finals
Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues
It will be a looooonnnnnng-awaited Stanley Cup rematch between these two teams, as the Blues were swept by the Bruins in St. Louis’ last trip to the Finals, way back in 1970. Boston, after sweeping the third round, were sitting around waiting for well over a week before Game One here. Would the Blues, back in the Finals after 49 years, in the Fourth Round the first time ever, be able to take advantage of their rustiness?
GAME ONE: ST. LOUIS 2 at BOSTON 4 - May 27
St. Louis, in its first Stanley Cup Finals game since 1970, jumped out to a 2-0 lead by early in the second. But sloppy play and taking ill-advised penalties lead to the Blues continuing their Finals losing streak that had started in the late-60’s.
GAME TWO: ST. LOUIS 3 at BOSTON 2 (OT) - May 29
And you can play Gloria! Just 3:51 into the extra period, Carl Gunnarsson scored on a delayed penalty for St. Louis to give them their very first Stanley Cup Finals win ever!
GAME THREE: BOSTON 7 at ST. LOUIS 2 - June 1
Well, that game didn’t go exactly as planned. Did it?
GAME FOUR: BOSTON 2 at ST. LOUIS 4 - June 3
Ryan O'Reilly scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period, in the Blues’ first home win of the Stanley Cup Finals ever.
GAME FIVE: ST. LOUIS 2 at BOSTON 1 - June 6
And with goals by Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron, and an amazing 38-save performance by Jordan Binnington, the Blues held on for the Game Five win and they are now ONE win away from their first-ever Stanley Cup!!!
GAME SIX: BOSTON 5 at ST. LOUIS 1 - June 9
St. Louis would have to wait a few more days at least to win the Cup as Boston scored five goals, including an empty-netter and a lucky bouncer, to force Game Seven.
GAME SEVEN: ST. LOUIS 4 at BOSTON 1 - June 12
PLAY GLORIA!!!! THE ST. LOUIS BLUES WIN THEIR FIRST STANLEY CUP!!!! Jordan Binnington made 32 saves, some of them freaking amazing; Alex Pietrangelo and Ryan O'Reilly each had a goal and an assist; and Schenn and Zach Sanford scored for St. Louis who wins its first Stanley Cup since entering the league in 1967!
Blues win series 4-3
ST. LOUIS BLUES WIN THE STANLEY CUP
Conn Smythe Trophy
most valuable player in the 2019 playoffs:
Ryan O’Reilly (STL) GP: 26 G: 8; A: 15 P: 23; +/-: +2; GWG: 2.