document_title: 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs

question_text: who did the penguins beat in 2016 stanley cup

question_tokens: who did the penguins beat in 2016 stanley cup

text: 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs

text: Playoff seeds[edit]

text: This was the third year in which the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).

text: The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

text: Eastern Conference[edit]

text: Atlantic Division[edit]

text:
Florida Panthers, Atlantic Division champions – 103 points
Tampa Bay Lightning – 97 points
Detroit Red Wings – 93 points

text: Metropolitan Division[edit]

text:
Washington Capitals, Metropolitan Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 120 points
Pittsburgh Penguins – 104 points
New York Rangers – 101 points

text: Wild cards[edit]

text:
New York Islanders – 100 points
Philadelphia Flyers – 96 points

text: Western Conference[edit]

text: Central Division[edit]

text:
Dallas Stars, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 109 points
St. Louis Blues – 107 points
Chicago Blackhawks – 103 points

text: Pacific Division[edit]

text:
Anaheim Ducks, Pacific Division champions – 103 points
Los Angeles Kings – 102 points
San Jose Sharks – 98 points

text: Wild cards[edit]

text:
Nashville Predators – 96 points
Minnesota Wild – 87 points

text: Playoff bracket[edit]

text: In each round, teams compete 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 plays at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team is at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference, for a total of eight teams from each conference.

text: In the First Round, the lower seeded wild card in the conference plays against the division winner with the best record while the other wild card plays against the other division winner, and both wild cards are de facto #4 seeds. The other series match the second and third place teams from the divisions. In the first two rounds, home ice advantage is awarded to the team with the better seed; in the last two rounds, it is awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.

text:
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text:
First Round

Second Round

Conference Finals

Stanley Cup Finals

A1
Florida
2

WC
NY Islanders
4

WC
NY Islanders
1

A2
Tampa Bay
4

A2
Tampa Bay
4

A3
Detroit
1

A2
Tampa Bay
3

Eastern Conference

M2
Pittsburgh
4

M1
Washington
4

WC
Philadelphia
2

M1
Washington
2

M2
Pittsburgh
4

M2
Pittsburgh
4

M3
NY Rangers
1

M2
Pittsburgh
4

P3
San Jose
2

C1
Dallas
4

WC
Minnesota
2

C1
Dallas
3

C2
St. Louis
4

C2
St. Louis
4

C3
Chicago
3

C2
St. Louis
2

Western Conference

P3
San Jose
4

P1
Anaheim
3

WC
Nashville
4

WC
Nashville
3

P3
San Jose
4

P2
Los Angeles
1

P3
San Jose
4

text:
A1, A2, A3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Atlantic Division, respectively
M1, M2, M3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Metropolitan Division, respectively
C1, C2, C3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Central Division, respectively
P1, P2, P3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Pacific Division, respectively
WC – Wild Card teams

text: First round[edit]

text: Eastern Conference First Round[edit]

text: (A1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) New York Islanders[edit]

text: The Florida Panthers finished first in the Atlantic Division, earning 103 points. The New York Islanders finished as the Eastern Conference's first wild-card, earning 100 points. This was the first meeting between these two teams. Florida won two of the three games of the regular season series. This was the first time that a Stanley Cup playoff series was played at the Barclays Center. The series contained the two teams with the longest playoff win drought in the league (the Islanders had not won a series since 1993, and the Panthers since 1996).[6] Ironically, the team that both clubs defeated for their last respective playoff series victory were the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which Panthers' right winger Jaromir Jagr was a member.

text: The Islanders defeated the Panthers in six games and won a playoff series for the first time since 1993. John Tavares scored a goal and two assists for the Islanders in a 5–4 win in game one.[7] In game twp, Roberto Luongo recorded 41 saves in a 3–1 win to help the Panthers tie the series.[8] The Islanders came back from a two-goal deficit in the second period to win game three in overtime on Thomas Hickey's wrist shot.[9] In game four, Jaromir Jagr had an assist to reach 200 points overall in the playoffs. The Panthers won the game 2–1.[10] Games five and six both ended in double-overtime with identical scores of 2–1 and New York winning both games. In game five, Alan Quine scored the game-winner on a power play 16:00 into the second overtime. Thomas Greiss made 47 saves in the victory.[11] In game six, Tavares scored the first New York goal with 54 seconds left in the third period to send the game into overtime. In the second overtime, Tavares scored his second goal and the series winner.[12]

text:
April 14
New York Islanders

5–4

Florida Panthers
BB&T Center
Recap
[show]

Brock Nelson (1) – 06:39
Frans Nielsen (1) – pp – 16:46
First period
01:55 – Teddy Purcell (1)
13:51 – pp – Jussi Jokinen (1)

John Tavares (1) – 19:38
Second period
01:31 – Reilly Smith (1)

Kyle Okposo (1) – 02:33
Ryan Strome (1) – 06:01
Third period
06:56 – Reilly Smith (2)

Thomas Greiss 42 saves / 46 shots
Goalie stats
Roberto Luongo 21 saves / 26 shots

text:
April 15
New York Islanders

1–3

Florida Panthers
BB&T Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
04:32 – Reilly Smith (3)

No scoring
Second period
06:17 – Nick Bjugstad (1)

John Tavares (2) – 16:27
Third period
19:50 – en – Dmitry Kulikov (1)

Thomas Greiss 28 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Roberto Luongo 41 saves / 42 shots

text:
April 17
Florida Panthers

3–4
OT
New York Islanders
Barclays Center
Recap
[show]

Reilly Smith (4) – 02:25
First period
No scoring

Aleksander Barkov (1) – 01:11
Nick Bjugstad (2) – 07:23
Second period
05:21 – pp – Ryan Pulock (1)
11:48 – Shane Prince (1)
16:55 – pp – Frans Nielsen (2)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

No scoring
First overtime period
12:31 – Thomas Hickey (1)

Roberto Luongo 35 saves / 39 shots
Goalie stats
Thomas Greiss 36 saves / 39 shots

text:
April 20
Florida Panthers

2–1

New York Islanders
Barclays Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Teddy Purcell (2) – pp – 15:18
Second period
19:44 – pp – John Tavares (3)

Alex Petrovic (1) – 09:25
Third period
No scoring

Roberto Luongo 26 saves / 27 shots
Goalie stats
Thomas Greiss 27 saves / 29 shots

text:
April 22
New York Islanders

2–1
2OT
Florida Panthers
BB&T Center
Recap
[show]

Frans Nielsen (3) – 13:31
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
01:59 – Aleksander Barkov (2)

Alan Quine (1) – pp – 16:00
Second overtime period
No scoring

Thomas Greiss 47 saves / 48 shots
Goalie stats
Roberto Luongo 40 saves / 42 shots

text:
April 24
Florida Panthers

1–2
2OT
New York Islanders
Barclays Center
Recap
[show]

Jonathan Huberdeau (1) – 18:58
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
19:06 – John Tavares (4)

No scoring
Second overtime period
10:41 – John Tavares (5)

Roberto Luongo 50 saves / 52 shots
Goalie stats
Thomas Greiss 41 saves / 42 shots

text: New York won series 4–2

text: (A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A3) Detroit Red Wings[edit]

text: The Tampa Bay Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division, earning 97 points. The Detroit Red Wings earned 93 points to finish third in the Atlantic. This was the second meeting between these teams; their only previous meeting was in last year's Eastern Conference First Round which Tampa Bay won in seven games. The teams split their four-game regular season series this year.

text: The Lightning defeated the Red Wings in five games. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov scored twice and goalie Ben Bishop made 34 saves in a 3–2 win in game one.[13] Tyler Johnson recorded two goals in game two in a 5–2 win for the Lightning.[14] In game three, Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard was replaced with Petr Mrazek, who stopped all 16 shots in a 2–0 win.[15] In game four, Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Jonathan Drouin assisted on all three goals scored by Tampa Bay in a 3–2 win.[16] In the final game of the series, Alex Killorn scored with 1:43 left in the third period to give the Lightning a 1–0 lead and the series win.[17]

text: Game four was the last playoff game to be held at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings closed the arena after the 2016–17 season.

text:
April 13
Detroit Red Wings

2–3

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
06:23 – Nikita Kucherov (1)

Mike Green (1) – 02:11
Justin Abdelkader (1) – 04:07
Second period
09:29 – Nikita Kucherov (2)

No scoring
Third period
08:52 – Alex Killorn (1)

Jimmy Howard 31 saves / 34 shots
Goalie stats
Ben Bishop 34 saves / 36 shots

text:
April 15
Detroit Red Wings

2–5

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
15:17 – pp – Nikita Kucherov (3)

Dylan Larkin (1) – 03:30
Second period
06:46 – Brian Boyle (1)

Brad Richards (1) – pp – 04:27
Third period
06:32 – Tyler Johnson (1)
14:48 – Tyler Johnson (2)
17:16 – en – Alex Killorn (2)

Jimmy Howard 26 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Ben Bishop 30 saves / 32 shots

text:
April 17
Tampa Bay Lightning

0–2

Detroit Red Wings
Joe Louis Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
12:42 – Andreas Athanasiou (1)
17:22 – Henrik Zetterberg (1)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Ben Bishop 28 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Petr Mrazek 16 saves / 16 shots

text:
April 19
Tampa Bay Lightning

3–2

Detroit Red Wings
Joe Louis Arena
Recap
[show]

Nikita Kucherov (4) – pp – 05:41
First period
No scoring

Nikita Kucherov (5) – pp – 10:31
Second period
14:53 – Darren Helm (1)
19:50 – Gustav Nyquist (1)

Ondrej Palat (1) – pp – 17:01
Third period
No scoring

Ben Bishop 26 saves / 28 shots
Goalie stats
Petr Mrazek 30 saves / 33 shots

text:
April 21
Detroit Red Wings

0–1

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
18:17 – Alex Killorn (3)

Petr Mrazek 23 saves / 24 shots
Goalie stats
Ben Bishop 34 saves / 34 shots

text: Tampa Bay won series 4–1

text: (M1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers[edit]

text: The Washington Capitals earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 120 points. The Philadelphia Flyers finished as the Eastern Conference's second wild-card, earning 96 points. This was the fifth meeting between these teams; with both teams splitting the four previous series. They last met in the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Philadelphia won in seven games. These teams split the four-game regular season series.

text: The Capitals defeated the Flyers in six games. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby shut out the Flyers in game one, stopping all 19 shots he faced in a 2–0 win.[18] In game two, Holtby made 41 saves and a fluke goal[19] by Capitals forward Jason Chimera turned to be the game-winning goal in a 4–1 win.[20] The Capitals scored a franchise record five power play goals to rout the Flyers 6–1 in game three.[21] In game four, Philadelphia avoided elimination by switching goaltender Steve Mason, who gave up six goals in the previous game, to Michal Neuvirth who made 31 saves in a 2–1 win.[22] The Flyers forced a sixth game after Neuvirth made 44 saves in a 2–0 win in game five; the Flyers had 11 shots in a playoff win, the fewest ever in franchise history.[23][24] Nicklas Backstrom scored the only goal for the Capitals in game six for his team to move onto the second round.[25]

text:
April 14
Philadelphia Flyers

0–2

Washington Capitals
Verizon Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
16:21 – pp – John Carlson (1)

No scoring
Third period
16:36 – Jay Beagle (1)

Steve Mason 29 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Braden Holtby 19 saves / 19 shots

text:
April 16
Philadelphia Flyers

1–4

Washington Capitals
Verizon Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
14:09 – pp – John Carlson (2)

Jakub Voracek (1) – 09:37
Second period
02:26 – Jason Chimera (1)
17:21 – pp – Alexander Ovechkin (1)

No scoring
Third period
17:47 – Nicklas Backstrom (1)

Steve Mason 19 saves / 23 shots
Goalie stats
Braden Holtby 41 saves / 42 shots

text:
April 18
Washington Capitals

6–1

Philadelphia Flyers
Wells Fargo Center
Recap
[show]

Marcus Johansson (1) – pp – 04:43
First period
00:57 – Michael Raffl (1)

Alexander Ovechkin (2) – 08:50
Second period
No scoring

Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) – pp – 01:58
John Carlson (3) – pp – 07:37
Alexander Ovechkin (3) – pp – 14:58
Jay Beagle (2) – pp – 18:20
Third period
No scoring

Braden Holtby 31 saves / 32 shots
Goalie stats
Steve Mason 21 saves / 27 shots

text:
April 20
Washington Capitals

1–2

Philadelphia Flyers
Wells Fargo Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
05:51 – pp – Shayne Gostisbehere (1)

No scoring
Second period
03:51 – Andrew MacDonald (1)

T. J. Oshie (1) – 02:38
Third period
No scoring

Braden Holtby 23 saves / 25 shots
Goalie stats
Michal Neuvirth 31 saves / 32 shots

text:
April 22
Philadelphia Flyers

2–0

Washington Capitals
Verizon Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Ryan White (1) – 07:52
Second period
No scoring

Chris VandeVelde (1) – en – 19:29
Third period
No scoring

Michal Neuvirth 44 saves / 44 shots
Goalie stats
Braden Holtby 9 saves / 10 shots

text:
April 24
Washington Capitals

1–0

Philadelphia Flyers
Wells Fargo Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Nicklas Backstrom (2) – 08:59
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Braden Holtby 26 saves / 26 shots
Goalie stats
Michal Neuvirth 28 saves / 29 shots

text: Washington won series 4–2

text: (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (M3) New York Rangers[edit]

text: The Pittsburgh Penguins finished second in the Metropolitan Division, earning 104 points. The New York Rangers earned 101 points in the regular season to finish third in the Metropolitan. This was the seventh meeting between these teams, and the third meeting in three consecutive seasons, with Pittsburgh losing the last two but winning four of the six overall. They last met in last year's Eastern Conference First Round, which the Rangers won in five games. Pittsburgh won three of the four games of the regular season series.

text: The Penguins defeated the Rangers in five games. Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist scored a hat trick in a 5–2 win in game one.[26] J. T. Miller had three assists to help the Rangers win 4–2 in game two.[27] In game three, Pittsburgh scored three times after New York took a 1–0 lead to win 3–1.[28] Evgeni Malkin scored two power play goals and Matt Murray made 31 saves in game four for the Penguins in a 5–0 win.[29] In game five, after the Penguins' four-goal second period, of which Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault pulled Henrik Lundqvist, who had given up six goals on 23 shots. The Penguins ended the series with a 6–3 victory. It was the first time the Rangers were eliminated in the opening round since 2011, snapping a five-year advancement streak. This was also the first playoff series in which two goaltenders on the same team played in and subsequently won their playoff debut, with Jeff Zatkoff winning game one and Matt Murray winning game three.[30]

text:
April 13
New York Rangers

2–5

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
19:42 – Patric Hornqvist (1)

No scoring
Second period
18:56 – Sidney Crosby (1)

Derek Stepan (1) – pp – 03:10
Derek Stepan (2) – 10:11
Third period
05:31 – sh – Tom Kuhnhackl (1)
08:02 – pp – Patric Hornqvist (2)
17:10 – en – Patric Hornqvist (3)

Henrik Lundqvist 10 saves / 11 shots
Antti Raanta 16 saves / 19 shots
Goalie stats
Jeff Zatkoff 35 saves / 37 shots

text:
April 16
New York Rangers

4–2

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Keith Yandle (1) – 12:38
Derick Brassard (1) – 12:56
Mats Zuccarello (1) – 16:52
Second period
03:21 – pp – Phil Kessel (1)

Chris Kreider (1) – 00:39
Third period
05:42 – pp – Phil Kessel (2)

Henrik Lundqvist 29 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Jeff Zatkoff 24 saves / 28 shots

text:
April 19
Pittsburgh Penguins

3–1

New York Rangers
Madison Square Garden
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Sidney Crosby (2) – pp – 19:18
Second period
00:39 – sh – Rick Nash (1)

Matt Cullen (1) – 04:16
Kris Letang (1) – en – 19:47
Third period
No scoring

Matt Murray 16 saves / 17 shots
Goalie stats
Henrik Lundqvist 28 saves / 30 shots

text:
April 21
Pittsburgh Penguins

5–0

New York Rangers
Madison Square Garden
Recap
[show]

Eric Fehr (1) – 01:09
Sidney Crosby (3) – pp – 07:11
Conor Sheary (1) – 16:12
First period
No scoring

Evgeni Malkin (1) – pp – 04:00
Second period
No scoring

Evgeni Malkin (2) – pp – 03:28
Third period
No scoring

Matt Murray 31 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Henrik Lundqvist 14 saves / 18 shots
Antti Raanta 13 saves / 14 shots

text:
April 23
New York Rangers

3–6

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

Rick Nash (2) – 01:02
Dominic Moore (1) – 10:35
First period
09:50 – Carl Hagelin (1)
11:39 – pp – Phil Kessel (3)

No scoring
Second period
05:21 – Bryan Rust (1)
09:26 – Matt Cullen (2)
16:18 – Conor Sheary (2)
19:01 – Bryan Rust (2)

Chris Kreider (2) – pp – 05:38
Third period
No scoring

Henrik Lundqvist 17 saves / 23 shots
Antti Raanta 5 saves / 5 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 38 saves / 41 shots

text: Pittsburgh won series 4–1

text: Western Conference First Round[edit]

text: (C1) Dallas Stars vs. (WC2) Minnesota Wild[edit]

text: The Dallas Stars finished first in the Central Division, earning 109 points. The Minnesota Wild finished as the Western Conference's second wild-card, earning 87 points. This was the first meeting in the playoffs between Minnesota's current NHL franchise and its former NHL franchise (then known as the North Stars). Dallas won four of the five games of the regular season series.

text: The Stars defeated the Wild in six games. Jamie Benn scored a goal and two assists and goalie Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves for the Stars in game one in a 4–0 victory.[31] Jamie Benn scored the game winner in game two in a 2–1 win for the Stars to take a 2–0 lead in the series.[32] In game three, after Patrick Sharp scored two goals in the first period for the Stars, the Wild scored four consecutive goals to take the lead. Jason Pominville scored two of the Wild goals in a 5–3 win.[33] Antti Niemi made 28 saves to help the Stars take a 3–1 series lead in a 3–2 win in game four.[34] The Wild avoided elimination in game five when forward Mikko Koivu scored his second goal of the game at 4:55 of the first overtime period, in a 5–4 win.[35] In Game 6, the Stars took a four-goal lead before the Wild attempted a late comeback by scoring three goals in under five minutes during the third period. Alex Goligoski scored the eventual series-winner for Dallas halfway through the third period as the Stars hung on for a 5–4 victory.[36]

text:
April 14
Minnesota Wild

0–4

Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
03:53 – Radek Faksa (1)
12:17 – Jason Spezza (1)

No scoring
Third period
14:16 – pp – Patrick Eaves (1)
16:00 – en – Jamie Benn (1)

Devan Dubnyk 28 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Kari Lehtonen 22 saves / 22 shots

text:
April 16
Minnesota Wild

1–2

Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
03:54 – Antoine Roussel (1)

Marco Scandella (1) – pp – 12:42
Third period
10:23 – Jamie Benn (2)

Devan Dubnyk 26 saves / 28 shots
Goalie stats
Kari Lehtonen 25 saves / 26 shots

text:
April 18
Dallas Stars

3–5

Minnesota Wild
Xcel Energy Center
Recap
[show]

Patrick Sharp (1) – 00:26
Patrick Sharp (2) – 04:10
First period
19:10 – Chris Porter (1)

No scoring
Second period
06:04 – Erik Haula (1)
19:13 – Jason Pominville (1)

Colton Sceviour (1) – 13:45
Third period
06:26 – pp – Mikko Koivu (1)
18:46 – en – Jason Pominville (2)

Kari Lehtonen 20 saves / 24 shots
Goalie stats
Devan Dubnyk 14 saves / 17 shots

text:
April 20
Dallas Stars

3–2

Minnesota Wild
Xcel Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Ales Hemsky (1) – pp – 09:11
Patrick Eaves (2) – pp – 13:24
Jason Spezza (2) – 18:51
Second period
05:01 – Jason Pominville (3)
10:14 – Charlie Coyle (1)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Antti Niemi 28 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Devan Dubnyk 19 saves / 22 shots

text:
April 22
Minnesota Wild

5–4
OT
Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

Mikael Granlund (1) – 03:32
Jordan Schroeder (1) – 05:16
First period
17:18 – Johnny Oduya (1)

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

Nino Niederreiter (1) – 01:50
Mikko Koivu (2) – 16:51
Third period
01:00 – Jamie Benn (3)
08:28 – Jason Spezza (3)
08:56 – Alex Goligoski (1)

Mikko Koivu (3) – 04:55
First overtime period
No scoring

Devan Dubnyk 37 saves / 41 shots
Goalie stats
Antti Niemi 19 saves / 24 shots

text:
April 24
Dallas Stars

5–4

Minnesota Wild
Xcel Energy Center
Recap
[show]

John Klingberg (1) – pp – 05:56
Jason Spezza (4) – 09:07
Patrick Sharp (3) – 18:11
First period
No scoring

Jamie Benn (4) – 19:36
Second period
No scoring

Alex Goligoski (2) – 10:28
Third period
03:48 – pp – Jared Spurgeon (1)
04:04 – Jonas Brodin (1)
08:39 – pp – Jared Spurgeon (2)
15:13 – Jason Pominville (4)

Kari Lehtonen 25 saves / 29 shots
Goalie stats
Devan Dubnyk 19 saves / 24 shots

text: Dallas won series 4–2

text: (C2) St. Louis Blues vs. (C3) Chicago Blackhawks[edit]

text: The St. Louis Blues finished second in the Central Division earning 107 points. The Chicago Blackhawks earned 103 points to finish third in the Central. This was the twelfth playoff meeting between these two rivals with Chicago winning eight of the eleven previous series. Their most recent meeting was the 2014 Western Conference First Round, which Chicago won in six games. St. Louis won three of the five games of the regular season series.

text: The Blues defeated the Blackhawks in seven games after giving up a 3–1 series lead. In game one, neither team scored in regulation; David Backes scored 9:04 into the first overtime for the Blues as goalie Brian Elliott made 35 saves in the win.[37] In game two, Patrick Kane had two assists to help the Blackhawks win 3–2.[38] The Blues recovered in game three, as Elliot made 44 saves in a 3–2 win.[39] Game four saw Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford go after Blues rookie forward Robby Fabbri after the forward was bumped into the goaltender by Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. Five penalties were assessed and the Blackhawks scored on the power play that followed.[40] Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for the Blues as they won the game 4–3.[41] Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw was given a one-game suspension and a $5,000 fine after he used a homophobic slur.[42][43] In game five, the Blues overcame a 3–1 deficit in the third period to send the game to overtime. In double-overtime, Patrick Kane scored the game-winner for the Blackhawks who avoided elimination with a 4–3 win.[44] The Blackhawks came back from a 3–1 deficit in game six, scoring five unanswered goals in a 6–3 victory to force a seventh game.[45] In game seven, the Blues took a two-goal lead in the first period before the Blackhawks tied the game on goals by Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw. In the third period, Troy Brouwer scored the series-winner as the Blues advanced past the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a 3–2 win.[46]

text:
April 13
Chicago Blackhawks

0–1
OT
St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

No scoring
First overtime period
09:04 – David Backes (1)

Corey Crawford 17 saves / 18 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 35 saves / 35 shots

text:
April 15
Chicago Blackhawks

3–2

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Duncan Keith (1) – 19:55
Second period
15:20 – Vladimir Tarasenko (1)

Andrew Shaw (1) – pp – 15:41
Artemi Panarin (1) – en – 18:34
Third period
19:58 – Kevin Shattenkirk (1)

Corey Crawford 29 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 26 saves / 28 shots

text:
April 17
St. Louis Blues

3–2

Chicago Blackhawks
United Center
Recap
[show]

Colton Parayko (1) – pp – 12:11
First period
02:18 – pp – Brent Seabrook (1)

No scoring
Second period
01:04 – Artem Anisimov (1)

Patrik Berglund (1) – 05:15
Jaden Schwartz (1) – pp – 13:22
Third period
No scoring

Brian Elliott 44 saves / 46 shots
Goalie stats
Corey Crawford 33 saves / 36 shots

text:
April 19
St. Louis Blues

4–3

Chicago Blackhawks
United Center
Recap
[show]

Vladimir Tarasenko (2) – 14:02
First period
No scoring

Vladimir Tarasenko (3) – pp – 17:31
Second period
09:12 – Andrew Shaw (2)
13:09 – pp – Duncan Keith (2)

Jaden Schwartz (2) – pp – 01:36
Alexander Steen (1) – 04:46
Third period
14:40 – Duncan Keith (3)

Brian Elliott 39 saves / 42 shots
Goalie stats
Corey Crawford 16 saves / 20 shots

text:
April 21
Chicago Blackhawks

4–3
2OT
St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Marian Hossa (1) – sh – 11:32
Artem Anisimov (2) – 15:24
Artemi Panarin (2) – 19:59
Second period
12:29 – pp – Jaden Schwartz (3)

No scoring
Third period
06:57 – Robby Fabbri (1)
14:50 – David Backes (2)

Patrick Kane (1) – 03:07
Second overtime period
No scoring

Corey Crawford 43 saves / 46 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 31 saves / 35 shots

text:
April 23
St. Louis Blues

3–6

Chicago Blackhawks
United Center
Recap
[show]

Scottie Upshall (1) – 06:18
Alex Pietrangelo (1) – 08:51
Vladimir Tarasenko (4) – 11:00
First period
03:47 – Andrew Ladd (1)

No scoring
Second period
04:13 – pp – Artem Anisimov (3)
12:21 – Trevor van Riemsdyk (1)
16:18 – Dale Weise (1)

No scoring
Third period
16:53 – pp – Andrew Shaw (3)
17:40 – en – Marian Hossa (2)

Brian Elliott 30 saves / 35 shots
Goalie stats
Corey Crawford 24 saves / 27 shots

text:
April 25
Chicago Blackhawks

2–3

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

Marian Hossa (3) – 18:30
First period
01:00 – Jori Lehtera (1)
13:43 – Colton Parayko (2)

Andrew Shaw (4) – pp – 03:20
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
08:31 – Troy Brouwer (1)

Corey Crawford 23 saves / 26 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 31 saves / 33 shots

text: St. Louis won series 4–3

text: (P1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC1) Nashville Predators[edit]

text: The Anaheim Ducks finished first in the Pacific Division, earning 103 points. The Nashville Predators finished as the Western Conference's first wild-card, earning 96 points. This was the second meeting between these teams in the playoffs; their only previous series was the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which Nashville won in six games. Nashville won two of the three games of the regular season series.

text: For the fourth straight year, the Ducks were eliminated in a seventh game at home after having a 3–2 series lead. James Neal scored 35 seconds into game one and Pekka Rinne made 27 saves for the Predators' 3–2 win.[47] In game two, Rinne again made 27 saves in another 3–2 win to take their first ever 2–0 series lead.[48] Before game three, Anaheim replaced goaltender John Gibson with Frederik Andersen who stopped all 27 shots he faced in a 3–0 Ducks victory.[49] Andersen made 30 saves in a 4–1 victory in game four to tie the series.[50] Three players for the Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf, David Perron, and Sami Vatanen, had two points in a 5–2 win in game five to stake the Ducks to a 3–2 series lead.[51] The Predators forced their first ever seventh game after Rinne made 26 saves in a 3–1 win.[52] In game seven, Rinne stopped 36 shots for the Predators in a 2–1 win to advance to the second round.[53]

text:
April 15
Nashville Predators

3–2

Anaheim Ducks
Honda Center
Recap
[show]

James Neal (1) – 00:35
First period
17:39 – pp – Ryan Getzlaf (1)

Colin Wilson (1) – 07:55
Second period
00:48 – Ryan Kesler (1)

Filip Forsberg (1) – 10:25
Third period
No scoring

Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 29 shots
Goalie stats
John Gibson 30 saves / 33 shots

text:
April 17
Nashville Predators

3–2

Anaheim Ducks
Honda Center
Recap
[show]

Mattias Ekholm (1) – 19:04
First period
14:20 – Andrew Cogliano (1)

Craig Smith (1) – 09:55
Shea Weber (1) – pp – 19:21
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
17:18 – Nate Thompson (1)

Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 29 shots
Goalie stats
John Gibson 24 saves / 27 shots

text:
April 19
Anaheim Ducks

3–0

Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena
Recap
[show]

Jamie McGinn (1) – 10:05
First period
No scoring

Rickard Rakell (1) – 11:33
Chris Stewart (1) – 17:06
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Frederik Andersen 27 saves / 27 shots
Goalie stats
Pekka Rinne 18 saves / 21 shots

text:
April 21
Anaheim Ducks

4–1

Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena
Recap
[show]

Ryan Getzlaf (2) – 01:02
First period
No scoring

Nate Thompson (2) – 17:04
Jamie McGinn (2) – 18:56
Second period
11:26 – Mike Fisher (1)

Andrew Cogliano (2) – 16:52
Third period
No scoring

Frederik Andersen 30 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Pekka Rinne 21 saves / 25 shots

text:
April 23
Nashville Predators

2–5

Anaheim Ducks
Honda Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Ryan Johansen (1) – 14:13
Second period
14:35 – David Perron (1)
16:23 – Ryan Garbutt (1)

Miikka Salomaki (1) – 13:29
Third period
08:34 – Sami Vatanen (1)
16:37 – pp – Cam Fowler (1)
18:14 – en – Ryan Kesler (2)

Pekka Rinne 27 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Frederik Andersen 27 saves / 29 shots

text:
April 25
Anaheim Ducks

1–3

Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Ryan Kesler (3) – pp – 19:46
Second period
08:10 – Mattias Ekholm (2)
17:45 – James Neal (2)

No scoring
Third period
19:50 – en – Shea Weber (2)

Frederik Andersen 23 saves / 25 shots
Goalie stats
Pekka Rinne 26 saves / 27 shots

text:
April 27
Nashville Predators

2–1

Anaheim Ducks
Honda Center
Recap
[show]

Colin Wilson (2) – 06:19
Paul Gaustad (1) – 15:53
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
01:45 – pp – Ryan Kesler (4)

Pekka Rinne 36 saves / 37 shots
Goalie stats
Frederik Andersen 18 saves / 20 shots

text: Nashville won series 4–3

text: (P2) Los Angeles Kings vs. (P3) San Jose Sharks[edit]

text: The Los Angeles Kings finished second in the Pacific Division, earning 102 points. The San Jose Sharks earned 98 points to finish third in the Pacific. This was the fourth meeting between these two teams, with Los Angeles winning two of the three previous meetings. They last met in the 2014 Western Conference First Round, which Los Angeles came back from a 3–0 deficit to defeat the Sharks in seven games. San Jose won three of the five games of the regular season series.

text: The Sharks defeated the Kings in five games. In game one, Joe Pavelski scored twice including the game-winner to help the Sharks win 4–3.[54] Sharks goalie, and former Kings backup goalie, Martin Jones allowed one goal on 27 shots in game two in a 2–1 win.[55] Game three in San Jose required overtime with the game tied 1–1 after regulation time, before Tanner Pearson scored the game-winner for the Kings at 3:47 of the first overtime.[56] In game four, all three Sharks goals came on the power play before the Kings tried to make a comeback cutting the deficit to 3–2, but that was the final score of the game.[57] In Game 5, the Sharks took a 3–0 lead until the Kings scored three goals to tie the game in the second period. Early in the third period, San Jose rookie Joonas Donskoi's second goal of the game, broke the tie to give the Sharks a 4–3 lead; Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson provided insurance goals as the Sharks ended the series with a 6–3 victory.[58]

text:
April 14
San Jose Sharks

4–3

Los Angeles Kings
Staples Center
Recap
[show]

Joe Pavelski (1) – pp – 06:25
First period
02:53 – Jake Muzzin (1)

Brent Burns (1) – 06:50
Tomas Hertl (1) – 17:48
Second period
07:30 – pp – Jeff Carter (1)
17:18 – sh – Trevor Lewis (1)

Joe Pavelski (2) – 00:17
Third period
No scoring

Martin Jones 21 saves / 24 shots
Goalie stats
Jonathan Quick 19 saves / 23 shots

text:
April 16
San Jose Sharks

2–1

Los Angeles Kings
Staples Center
Recap
[show]

Joe Pavelski (3) – 03:37
First period
No scoring

Logan Couture (1) – pp – 08:44
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
14:59 – pp – Vincent Lecavalier (1)

Martin Jones 26 saves / 27 shots
Goalie stats
Jonathan Quick 21 saves / 23 shots

text:
April 18
Los Angeles Kings

2–1
OT
San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

Anze Kopitar (1) – pp – 08:10
First period
00:30 – Joe Thornton (1)

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Tanner Pearson (1) – 03:47
First overtime period
No scoring

Jonathan Quick 29 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 22 saves / 24 shots

text:
April 20
Los Angeles Kings

2–3

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
02:09 – pp – Brent Burns (2)
09:21 – pp – Joe Pavelski (4)

Trevor Lewis (2) – 02:49
Luke Schenn (1) – 06:44
Third period
01:40 – pp – Patrick Marleau (1)

Jonathan Quick 26 saves / 29 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 26 saves / 28 shots

text:
April 22
San Jose Sharks

6–3

Los Angeles Kings
Staples Center
Recap
[show]

Joonas Donskoi (1) – 01:08
Chris Tierney (1) – 11:21
First period
No scoring

Matt Nieto (1) – 04:05
Second period
07:44 – Anze Kopitar (2)
11:26 – Jeff Carter (2)
16:36 – Kris Versteeg (1)

Joonas Donskoi (2) – 03:58
Joe Pavelski (5) – 12:24
Melker Karlsson (1) – en – 19:38
Third period
No scoring

Martin Jones 19 saves / 22 shots
Goalie stats
Jonathan Quick 22 saves / 27 shots

text: San Jose won series 4–1

text: Second round[edit]

text: Eastern Conference Second Round[edit]

text: (A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC1) New York Islanders[edit]

text: This was the second playoff meeting between these teams; their only previous series was in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Tampa Bay won in five games. This was the first series in the current playoff format in which a wild-card team had more points than its opponent during the regular season and did not have home ice advantage. New York won two of the three games of the regular season series.

text: The Lightning defeated the Islanders in five games. The Islanders took game one by a score of 5–3 with two goals scored by Shane Prince.[59] Tyler Johnson scored two goals in a 4–1 victory for the Lightning in game two to tie the series.[60] Games three and four both ended in overtime with Lightning victories as well as Nikita Kucherov scoring the tying goal in the third period. In game three, Kucherov scored with 39 seconds left in the third period to send it to overtime. In overtime, Brian Boyle scored the game-winner for a 5–4 win.[61] In game four, Kucherov scored 7:49 into the third period to tie the game. Jason Garrison scored the game-winner for the Lightning 1:49 into overtime in a 2–1 win.[62] Victor Hedman scored twice and Ben Bishop stopped all 28 shots for the Lightning in game five to move on to the Conference Finals for the second season in a row and third in six seasons.[63][64]

text:
April 27
New York Islanders

5–3

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

Travis Hamonic (1) – 05:44
Shane Prince (2) – 17:28
Shane Prince (3) – 19:57
First period
03:05 – Ondrej Palat (2)

John Tavares (6) – pp – 08:59
Second period
No scoring

Cal Clutterbuck (1) – en – 19:05
Third period
07:41 – Nikita Kucherov (6)
17:28 – Valtteri Filppula (1)

Thomas Greiss 33 saves / 36 shots
Goalie stats
Ben Bishop 9 saves / 13 shots
Andrei Vasilevskiy 8 saves / 8 shots

text:
April 30
New York Islanders

1–4

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

Nikolay Kulemin (1) – pp – 15:15
First period
06:03 – Tyler Johnson (3)
11:55 – Jonathan Drouin (1)

No scoring
Second period
11:59 – pp – Victor Hedman (1)

No scoring
Third period
17:42 – en – Tyler Johnson (4)

Thomas Greiss 27 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Ben Bishop 19 saves / 20 shots

text:
May 3
Tampa Bay Lightning

5–4
OT
New York Islanders
Barclays Center
Recap
[show]

Ryan Callahan (1) – pp – 19:47
First period
07:55 – Josh Bailey (1)

Victor Hedman (2) – 08:10
Second period
14:50 – Nick Leddy (1)

Vladislav Namestnikov (1) – 03:25
Nikita Kucherov (7) – 19:21
Third period
02:27 – pp – Josh Bailey (2)
11:23 – Cal Clutterbuck (2)

Brian Boyle (2) – 02:48
First overtime period
No scoring

Ben Bishop 35 saves / 39 shots
Goalie stats
Thomas Greiss 36 saves / 41 shots

text:
May 6
Tampa Bay Lightning

2–1
OT
New York Islanders
Barclays Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
04:20 – pp – Kyle Okposo (2)

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

Nikita Kucherov (8) – 07:49
Third period
No scoring

Jason Garrison (1) – 01:34
First overtime period
No scoring

Ben Bishop 27 saves / 28 shots
Goalie stats
Thomas Greiss 20 saves / 22 shots
Jean-Francois Berube 2 saves / 2 shots

text:
May 8
New York Islanders

0–4

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
13:49 – Victor Hedman (3)
18:41 – Brian Boyle (3)

No scoring
Second period
04:22 – pp – Victor Hedman (4)

No scoring
Third period
04:40 – Nikita Kucherov (9)

Thomas Greiss 21 saves / 25 shots
Goalie stats
Ben Bishop 28 saves / 28 shots

text: Tampa Bay won series 4–1

text: (M1) Washington Capitals vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins[edit]

text: This was the ninth playoff meeting between these teams, with Pittsburgh winning seven of the eight previous series. Their most recent meeting was in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which Pittsburgh won in seven games. Pittsburgh won three of the five games of the regular season series.

text: The Penguins defeated the Capitals in six games. T. J. Oshie scored a hat-trick, his third goal being in overtime, in game one for the Capitals in a 4–3 win.[65] Former Capitals forward Eric Fehr scored the game-winner in the third period for the Penguins to take game two by a score of 2–1.[66] Matt Murray made 47 saves for the Penguins in game three for a 3–2 victory.[67] In game four, Patric Hornqvist scored the game-winner for the Penguins in overtime as well as an assist in a 3–2 win.[68] The Capitals avoided elimination in game five, with Braden Holtby stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced in a 3–1 win.[69] In game six, Pittsburgh took a 3–0 lead with two goals from Phil Kessel before the Capitals tied the game 3–3 late in the third period. In overtime, Nick Bonino scored the series-winner 6:32 into the first overtime period to send the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Eastern Conference Final.[70]

text:
April 28
Pittsburgh Penguins

3–4
OT
Washington Capitals
Verizon Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
10:13 – Andre Burakovsky (1)

Ben Lovejoy (1) – 10:40
Evgeni Malkin (3) – 11:37
Second period
12:10 – T. J. Oshie (2)

Nick Bonino (1) – 08:42
Third period
03:23 – T. J. Oshie (3)

No scoring
First overtime period
09:33 – T. J. Oshie (4)

Matt Murray 31 saves / 35 shots
Goalie stats
Braden Holtby 42 saves / 45 shots

text:
April 30
Pittsburgh Penguins

2–1

Washington Capitals
Verizon Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Carl Hagelin (2) – 07:08
Second period
No scoring

Eric Fehr (2) – 15:32
Third period
04:08 – pp – Marcus Johansson (2)

Matt Murray 23 saves / 24 shots
Goalie stats
Braden Holtby 33 saves / 35 shots

text:
May 2
Washington Capitals

2–3

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
06:37 – Patric Hornqvist (4)
07:37 – Tom Kuhnhackl (2)

No scoring
Second period
15:03 – Carl Hagelin (3)

Alexander Ovechkin (4) – 08:02
Justin Williams (1) – 19:04
Third period
No scoring

Braden Holtby 20 saves / 23 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 47 saves / 49 shots

text:
May 4
Washington Capitals

2–3
OT
Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

Jay Beagle (3) – 02:58
First period
09:16 – Trevor Daley (1)

John Carlson (4) – 16:19
Second period
03:07 – Matt Cullen (3)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

No scoring
First overtime period
02:34 – Patric Hornqvist (5)

Braden Holtby 30 saves / 33 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 34 saves / 36 shots

text:
May 7
Pittsburgh Penguins

1–3

Washington Capitals
Verizon Center
Recap
[show]

Chris Kunitz (1) – pp – 07:08
First period
04:04 – pp – Alexander Ovechkin (5)

Second period
04:00 – pp – T. J. Oshie (5)
09:58 – Justin Williams (2)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Matt Murray 16 saves / 19 shots
Goalie stats
Braden Holtby 30 saves / 31 shots

text:
May 10
Washington Capitals

3–4
OT
Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
05:41 – Phil Kessel (4)

T. J. Oshie (6) – pp – 18:30
Second period
07:05 – pp – Phil Kessel (5)
07:38 – pp – Carl Hagelin (4)

Justin Williams (3) – 07:23
John Carlson (5) – pp – 13:01
Third period
No scoring

No scoring
First overtime period
06:32 – Nick Bonino (2)

Braden Holtby 37 saves / 41 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 36 saves / 39 shots

text: Pittsburgh won series 4–2

text: Western Conference Second Round[edit]

text: (C1) Dallas Stars vs. (C2) St. Louis Blues[edit]

text: This was the thirteenth playoff meeting between these teams; the two teams have split the twelve previous series. They last met in the 2001 Western Conference Semifinals, which St. Louis won in a four-game sweep. St. Louis won four of the five games of the regular season series.

text: The Blues defeated the Stars in seven games. In game one, Radek Faksa scored with 4:44 left in the third period to give the Dallas Stars a 2–1 win.[71] In game two, Dallas scored two goals in the third period to tie the game 3–3 after being down 3–1. In overtime, Blues' captain David Backes scored a power play goal to tie the series at a game apiece.[72] Alexander Steen scored twice and Vladimir Tarasenko scored a goal and two assists to help the Blues rout the Stars 6–1 in game three.[73] Jamie Benn had two assists in game four as well as the overtime-game-winner by Cody Eakin for the Stars in a 3–2 win.[74] In game five, Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist and Brian Elliott made 27 saves in a 4–1 victory to take a 3–2 series lead.[75] Dallas scored three goals in the first period in game six prompting St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock to replace Elliott who had only stopped four shots. Dallas won the game 3–2 to force a seventh game.[76] In game seven, Troy Brouwer, Paul Stastny, and Robby Fabbri had a goal and two assists for the Blues in a 6–1 victory to win the series.

text:
April 29
St. Louis Blues

1–2

Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
09:36 – Antoine Roussel (2)

Kevin Shattenkirk (2) – 11:32
Third period
15:16 – Radek Faksa (2)

Brian Elliott 40 saves / 42 shots
Goalie stats
Kari Lehtonen 31 saves / 32 shots

text:
May 1
St. Louis Blues

4–3
OT
Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

Patrik Berglund (2) – 04:11
Joel Edmundson (1) – 07:02
Troy Brouwer (2) – pp – 18:40
First period
03:36 – Alex Goligoski (3)

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
04:35 – Mattias Janmark (1)
17:24 – Jamie Benn (5)

David Backes (3) – pp – 10:58
First overtime period
No scoring

Brian Elliott 31 saves / 34 shots
Goalie stats
Kari Lehtonen 2 saves / 5 shots
Antti Niemi 19 saves / 20 shots

text:
May 3
Dallas Stars

1–6

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

Colton Sceviour (2) – 04:44
First period
05:41 – Alexander Steen (2)
16:10 – pp – David Backes (4)

No scoring
Second period
02:34 – Troy Brouwer (3)
03:50 – Vladimir Tarasenko (5)
18:03 – pp – Alexander Steen (3)

No scoring
Third period
18:06 – David Backes (5)

Antti Niemi 9 saves / 12 shots
Kari Lehtonen 24 saves / 27 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 25 saves / 26 shots

text:
May 5
Dallas Stars

3–2
OT
St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
10:17 – Vladimir Tarasenko (6)

Radek Faksa (3) – 04:05
Patrick Sharp (4) – pp – 05:14
Second period
13:06 – pp – Paul Stastny (1)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Cody Eakin (1) – 02:58
First overtime period
No scoring

Kari Lehtonen 24 saves / 26 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 25 saves / 28 shots

text:
May 7
St. Louis Blues

4–1

Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

Robby Fabbri (2) – 06:00
First period
10:58 – Alex Goligoski (4)

Dmitrij Jaskin (1) – 10:31
Troy Brouwer (4) – 17:42
Second period
No scoring

Paul Stastny (2) – en – 18:20
Third period
No scoring

Brian Elliott 27 saves / 28 shots
Goalie stats
Kari Lehtonen 18 saves / 21 shots

text:
May 9
Dallas Stars

3–2

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

Mattias Janmark (2) – 04:53
Vernon Fiddler (1) – 05:13
Jason Spezza (5) – pp – 16:49
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
07:29 – Alexander Steen (4)

No scoring
Third period
08:59 – Patrik Berglund (3)

Kari Lehtonen 35 saves / 37 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 4 saves / 7 shots
Jake Allen 7 saves / 7 shots

text:
May 11
St. Louis Blues

6–1

Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
Recap
[show]

Robby Fabbri (3) – pp – 05:23
Paul Stastny (3) – 18:22
Patrik Berglund (4) – 19:56
First period
No scoring

David Backes (6) – 03:50
Troy Brouwer (5) – 15:06
Second period
No scoring

Vladimir Tarasenko (7) – en – 15:20
Third period
05:15 – Patrick Eaves (3)

Brian Elliott 31 saves / 32 shots
Goalie stats
Kari Lehtonen 5 saves / 8 shots
Antti Niemi 8 saves / 10 shots

text: St. Louis won series 4–3

text: (P3) San Jose Sharks vs. (WC1) Nashville Predators[edit]

text: This was the third playoff meeting between these teams, with San Jose winning both previous series. They last met in the 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which San Jose won in five games. Nashville won two of the three games of the regular season series.

text: The Sharks defeated the Predators in seven games. The home team won every game in the series. Logan Couture scored two goals in game one for the Sharks in a 5–2 win.[77] In game two, Martin Jones made 37 saves for the Sharks in a 3–2 win.[78] Shea Weber scored a goal and an assist and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves in a 4–1 win for the Predators in Game 3.[79] The Predators played in their longest playoff game in game four going 11:12 into triple overtime. Mike Fisher scored his second goal of the game to end overtime and tie the series with a 4–3 win.[80] Joe Pavelski scored twice for the Sharks in game five who took a 3–2 series lead with a 5–1 win.[81] In game six, the Predators came back from an early 2–0 deficit, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, rookie Viktor Arvidsson scored the game-winner to force a seventh game in a 4–3 win.[82] In game seven, Martin Jones stopped all 20 shots and Logan Couture scored a goal and two assists in a 5–0 win to send the Sharks onto the Western Conference Final.[83]

text:
April 29
Nashville Predators

2–5

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Mike Fisher (2) – pp – 04:33
Second period
No scoring

Ryan Johansen (2) – 18:11
Third period
02:37 – pp – Tomas Hertl (2)
11:49 – Joel Ward (1)
15:40 – pp – Logan Couture (2)
18:31 – en – Logan Couture (3)
19:10 – en – Tommy Wingels (1)

Pekka Rinne 33 saves / 36 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 29 saves / 31 shots

text:
May 1
Nashville Predators

2–3

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
18:36 – pp – Logan Couture (4)

Mattias Ekholm (3) – 12:56
Ryan Johansen (3) – 19:55
Third period
17:20 – Joe Pavelski (6)
19:04 – en – Joe Thornton (2)

Pekka Rinne 22 saves / 24 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 37 saves / 39 shots

text:
May 3
San Jose Sharks

1–4

Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena
Recap
[show]

Patrick Marleau (2) – 13:13
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
05:11 – pp – James Neal (3)
14:44 – Shea Weber (3)

Third period
06:55 – Colin Wilson (3)
15:49 – pp – Filip Forsberg (2)

Martin Jones 21 saves / 25 shots
Goalie stats
Pekka Rinne 26 saves / 27 shots

text:
May 5
San Jose Sharks

3–4
3OT
Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena
Recap
[show]

Brent Burns (3) – 03:08
First period
00:41 – Colin Wilson (4)
09:50 – Mike Fisher (3)

Joonas Donskoi (3) – 14:09
Second period
No scoring

Brent Burns (4) – pp – 06:48
Third period
15:39 – James Neal (4)

No scoring
Third overtime period
11:12 – Mike Fisher (4)

Martin Jones 41 saves / 45 shots
Goalie stats
Pekka Rinne 44 saves / 47 shots

text:
May 7
Nashville Predators

1–5

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

Mike Fisher (5) – 15:40
First period
10:47 – Patrick Marleau (3)
17:21 – Joe Pavelski (7)

No scoring
Second period
00:35 – Logan Couture (5)
19:22 – pp – Joe Pavelski (8)

No scoring
Third period
19:10 – Melker Karlsson (2)

Pekka Rinne 23 saves / 27 shots
Carter Hutton 1 save / 2 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 24 saves / 25 shots

text:
May 9
San Jose Sharks

3–4
OT
Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena
Recap
[show]

Chris Tierney (2) – 09:55
Chris Tierney (3) – 11:51
First period
15:27 – Roman Josi (1)

No scoring
Second period
01:25 – Ryan Johansen (4)

Logan Couture (6) – pp – 10:04
Third period
12:44 – Colin Wilson (5)

No scoring
First overtime period
02:03 – Viktor Arvidsson (1)

Martin Jones 28 saves / 32 shots
Goalie stats
Pekka Rinne 15 saves / 18 shots

text:
May 12
Nashville Predators

0–5

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
09:02 – pp – Joe Pavelski (9)
16:51 – Joel Ward (2)

No scoring
Second period
00:36 – Logan Couture (7)

No scoring
Third period
00:32 – pp – Joe Thornton (3)
03:54 – Patrick Marleau (4)

Pekka Rinne 21 saves / 26 shots
Carter Hutton 1 save / 1 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 20 saves / 20 shots

text: San Jose won series 4–3

text: Conference Finals[edit]

text: Eastern Conference Final[edit]

text: (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (A2) Tampa Bay Lightning[edit]

text: This was the second playoff meeting between these teams. Their only previous series was the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Tampa Bay came back from a 3–1 series deficit to win in seven games. Pittsburgh last made the Conference Finals in 2013 where they were swept in four games by the Boston Bruins. This was Tampa Bay's second consecutive Conference Finals appearance; they defeated the New York Rangers in seven games in the previous year. Tampa Bay won all three games of the regular season series.

text: The Penguins defeated the Lightning in seven games. In game one, Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop suffered a lower-body injury in the first period, requiring him to leave the game on a stretcher.[84] Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves in relief to help the Lightning win 3–1.[85] Four goals were scored in the first period, two by each team, in game two leaving the score tied going into overtime. Sidney Crosby scored 40 seconds into overtime for the Penguins to tie the series.[86] Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel both had a goal and an assist for the Penguins in a 4–2 feat in game three.[87] The Lightning tied the series in game four in a 4–3 win with both Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn providing two assists each, including the game-winning goal, and the team preventing a third period comeback from the Penguins.[88] The Penguins gave up leads of both 2–0 and 3–2 and lost in overtime when Tyler Johnson scored for the Lightning 53 seconds into the first overtime period of game five.[89] Although Brian Boyle scored twice for the Lightning, Pittsburgh forced a seventh game after a 5–2 victory in which Crosby had a goal and an assist.[90] In game seven, Bryan Rust scored both goals for Pittsburgh in a 2–1 victory to send the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals for the fifth time in franchise history.[91]

text:
May 13
Tampa Bay Lightning

3–1

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

Alex Killorn (4) – 18:46
First period
No scoring

Ondrej Palat (3) – pp – 02:33
Jonathan Drouin (2) – 18:25
Second period
19:05 – pp – Patric Hornqvist (6)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Ben Bishop 9 saves / 9 shots
Andrei Vasilevskiy 25 saves / 26 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 17 saves / 20 shots

text:
May 16
Tampa Bay Lightning

2–3
OT
Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

Anton Stralman (1) – 16:37
Jonathan Drouin (3) – 19:10
First period
04:32 – Matt Cullen (4)
09:37 – Phil Kessel (6)

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

No scoring
First overtime period
00:40 – Sidney Crosby (4)

Andrei Vasilevskiy 37 saves / 40 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 19 saves / 21 shots

text:
May 18
Pittsburgh Penguins

4–2

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Carl Hagelin (5) – 19:50
Second period
No scoring

Phil Kessel (7) – 05:16
Sidney Crosby (5) – pp – 10:50
Chris Kunitz (2) – 13:12
Third period
05:30 – Tyler Johnson (5)
18:16 – Ondrej Palat (4)

Matt Murray 26 saves / 28 shots
Goalie stats
Andrei Vasilevskiy 44 saves / 48 shots

text:
May 20
Pittsburgh Penguins

3–4

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
00:27 – Ryan Callahan (2)
14:28 – Andrej Sustr (1)

No scoring
Second period
14:38 – pp – Jonathan Drouin (4)
17:48 – Tyler Johnson (6)

Phil Kessel (8) – 01:18
Evgeni Malkin (4) – 11:13
Chris Kunitz (3) – pp – 13:08
Third period
No scoring

Matt Murray 26 saves / 30 shots
Marc-Andre Fleury 7 saves / 7 shots
Goalie stats
Andrei Vasilevskiy 35 saves / 38 shots

text:
May 22
Tampa Bay Lightning

4–3
OT
Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
19:59 – Brian Dumoulin (1)

Alex Killorn (5) – 13:15
Nikita Kucherov (10) – 14:25
Second period
01:30 – Patric Hornqvist (7)
19:10 – Chris Kunitz (4)

Nikita Kucherov (11) – 16:44
Third period
No scoring

Tyler Johnson (7) – 00:53
First overtime period
No scoring

Andrei Vasilevskiy 31 saves / 34 shots
Goalie stats
Marc-Andre Fleury 21 saves / 25 shots

text:
May 24
Pittsburgh Penguins

5–2

Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena
Recap
[show]

Phil Kessel (9) – pp – 18:46
First period
No scoring

Kris Letang (2) – 07:40
Sidney Crosby (6) – 19:34
Second period
No scoring

Bryan Rust (3) – 17:52
Nick Bonino (3) – en – 19:06
Third period
05:30 – Brian Boyle (4)
12:43 – Brian Boyle (5)

Matt Murray 29 saves / 31 shots
Goalie stats
Andrei Vasilevskiy 29 saves / 33 shots

text:
May 26
Tampa Bay Lightning

1–2

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

Jonathan Drouin (5) – 09:36
Second period
01:55 – Bryan Rust (4)
10:06 – Bryan Rust (5)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Andrei Vasilevskiy 37 saves / 39 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 16 saves / 17 shots

text: Pittsburgh won series 4–3

text: Western Conference Final[edit]

text: (C2) St. Louis Blues vs. (P3) San Jose Sharks[edit]

text: This was the fifth playoff meeting between these teams, with both teams splitting the four previous playoff series. They last met in the 2012 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which St. Louis won in five games. St. Louis most recently made the Conference Finals in 2001, when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in five games. San Jose last made the Conference Finals in 2011, where they lost in five games to the Vancouver Canucks. San Jose won two of the three games of the regular season series.

text: The Sharks defeated the Blues in six games. The Blues won game one 2–1 with help from goalie Brian Elliott who made 31 saves in the process.[92] The Sharks bounced back in game two with Brent Burns scoring twice and goalie Martin Jones stopping all 26 shots he faced in a 4–0 win.[93] In game three, Jones again shutout the Blues, blocking 22 shots; Tomas Hertl scored twice for the Sharks in their 3–0 victory at home.[94] Troy Brouwer and Kyle Brodziak scored twice in a 6–3 victory for the Blues to tie the series in game four.[95] Joe Pavelski and Joel Ward both scored twice in the Sharks' 6–3 victory in game five.[96] The Sharks were able to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their 25-year history after game six with Joel Ward scoring the winning goal 3:01 into the third period in a 5–2 victory.[97]

text:
May 15
San Jose Sharks

1–2

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

Tomas Hertl (3) – 15:38
First period
15:04 – pp – David Backes (7)

No scoring
Second period
09:15 – Jori Lehtera (2)

No scoring
Third period
No scoring

Martin Jones 21 saves / 23 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 31 saves / 32 shots

text:
May 17
San Jose Sharks

4–0

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

Tommy Wingels (2) – 02:07
First period
No scoring

Brent Burns (5) – pp – 07:04
Second period
No scoring

Brent Burns (6) – pp – 11:58
Dainius Zubrus (1) – en – 19:41
Third period
No scoring

Martin Jones 26 saves / 26 shots
Goalie stats
Brian Elliott 20 saves / 23 shots

text:
May 19
St. Louis Blues

0–3

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
15:53 – Tomas Hertl (4)

No scoring
Second period
11:44 – Joonas Donskoi (4)

No scoring
Third period
06:09 – Tomas Hertl (5)

Brian Elliott 11 saves / 14 shots
Jake Allen 2 saves / 2 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 22 saves / 22 shots

text:
May 21
St. Louis Blues

6–3

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

Troy Brouwer (6) – pp – 06:14
Jori Lehtera (3) – 10:11
First period
No scoring

Kyle Brodziak (1) – sh – 06:09
Kyle Brodziak (2) – 10:11
Second period
No scoring

Troy Brouwer (7) – pp – 03:55
Alex Pietrangelo (2) – en – 15:39
Third period
01:05 – Joe Pavelski (10)
06:57 – Chris Tierney (4)
16:28 – Melker Karlsson (3)

Jake Allen 31 saves / 34 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 15 saves / 19 shots
James Reimer 6 saves / 7 shots

text:
May 23
San Jose Sharks

6–3

St. Louis Blues
Scottrade Center
Recap
[show]

Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1) – 03:51
First period
07:04 – Jaden Schwartz (4)
15:08 – Troy Brouwer (8)

Joel Ward (3) – pp – 04:37
Joe Pavelski (11) – pp – 18:33
Second period
11:58 – pp – Robby Fabbri (4)

Joe Pavelski (12) – 00:16
Chris Tierney (5) – en – 19:06
Joel Ward (4) – en – 19:27
Third period
No scoring

Martin Jones 18 saves / 21 shots
Goalie stats
Jake Allen 21 saves / 25 shots

text:
May 25
St. Louis Blues

2–5

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
03:57 – Joe Pavelski (13)

No scoring
Second period
05:02 – Joel Ward (5)

Vladimir Tarasenko (8) – 11:39
Vladimir Tarasenko (9) – 16:25
Third period
03:01 – Joel Ward (6)
08:11 – Joonas Donskoi (5)
19:40 – en – Logan Couture (8)

Brian Elliott 22 saves / 26 shots
Jake Allen 0 saves / 0 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 24 saves / 26 shots

text: San Jose won series 4–2

text: Stanley Cup Finals[edit]

text: This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Pittsburgh made their fifth Stanley Cup Finals appearance; their most recent appearance was in 2009, when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. San Jose made their first Finals appearance in their twenty-fifth season since entering the league in 1991–92. These teams split their two-game regular season series.

text:
May 30
San Jose Sharks

2–3

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
12:46 – Bryan Rust (6)
13:48 – Conor Sheary (3)

Tomas Hertl (6) – pp – 03:02
Patrick Marleau (5) – 18:12
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
17:27 – Nick Bonino (4)

Martin Jones 38 saves / 41 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 24 saves / 26 shots

text:
June 1
San Jose Sharks

1–2
OT
Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

No scoring
First period
No scoring

No scoring
Second period
08:20 – Phil Kessel (10)

Justin Braun (1) – 15:55
Third period
No scoring

No scoring
First overtime period
02:35 – Conor Sheary (4)

Martin Jones 28 saves / 30 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 21 saves / 22 shots

text:
June 4
Pittsburgh Penguins

2–3
OT
San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

Ben Lovejoy (2) – 05:29
First period
09:34 – Justin Braun (2)

Patric Hornqvist (8) – 19:07
Second period
No scoring

No scoring
Third period
08:48 – pp – Joel Ward (7)

No scoring
First overtime period
12:18 – Joonas Donskoi (6)

Matt Murray 23 saves / 26 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 40 saves / 42 shots

text:
June 6
Pittsburgh Penguins

3–1

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

Ian Cole (1) – 07:36
First period
No scoring

Evgeni Malkin (5) – pp – 02:37
Second period
No scoring

Eric Fehr (3) – 17:58
Third period
08:07 – Melker Karlsson (4)

Matt Murray 23 saves / 24 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 17 saves / 20 shots

text:
June 9
San Jose Sharks

4–2

Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
Recap
[show]

Brent Burns (7) – 01:04
Logan Couture (9) – 02:43
Melker Karlsson (5) – 14:47
First period
04:44 – pp – Evgeni Malkin (6)
05:06 – Carl Hagelin (6)

No scoring
Second period
No scoring

Joe Pavelski (14) – en – 18:40
Third period
No scoring

Martin Jones 44 saves / 46 shots
Goalie stats
Matt Murray 18 saves / 21 shots

text:
June 12
Pittsburgh Penguins

3–1

San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
Recap
[show]

Brian Dumoulin (2) – pp – 08:16
First period
No scoring

Kris Letang (3) – 07:46
Second period
06:27 – Logan Couture (10)

Patric Hornqvist (9) – en – 18:58
Third period
No scoring

Matt Murray 18 saves / 19 shots
Goalie stats
Martin Jones 24 saves / 26 shots

text: Pittsburgh won series 4–2

text: Player statistics[edit]

text: Skaters[edit]

text: These are the top ten skaters based on points.

text:
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
+/–
PIM

Couture, LoganLogan Couture
San Jose Sharks
24
10
20
30
+5
8

Burns, BrentBrent Burns
San Jose Sharks
24
7
17
24
+11
12

Pavelski, JoeJoe Pavelski
San Jose Sharks
24
14
9
23
+1
4

Kessel, PhilPhil Kessel
Pittsburgh Penguins
24
10
12
22
+5
4

Thornton, JoeJoe Thornton
San Jose Sharks
24
3
18
21
+2
10

Kucherov, NikitaNikita Kucherov
Tampa Bay Lightning
17
11
8
19
+13
8

Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby
Pittsburgh Penguins
24
6
13
19
–2
4

Malkin, EvgeniEvgeni Malkin
Pittsburgh Penguins
23
6
12
18
+1
18

Bonino, NickNick Bonino
Pittsburgh Penguins
24
4
14
18
+9
12

Johnson, TylerTyler Johnson
Tampa Bay Lightning
17
7
10
17
+9
12

text: Goaltenders[edit]

text: 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.

text:
Player
Team
GP
W
L
SA
GA
GAA
SV%
SO
TOI

Holtby, BradenBraden Holtby
Washington Capitals
12
6
6
363
21
1.72
.942
2
731-32 731:32

Bishop, BenBen Bishop
Tampa Bay Lightning
11
8
2
297
18
1.85
.939
2
582-26 582:26

Luongo, RobertoRoberto Luongo
Florida Panthers
6
2
4
227
15
2.05
.934
0
438-20 438:20

Murray, MattMatt Murray
Pittsburgh Penguins
21
15
6
575
44
2.08
.923
1
1267-16 1267:16

Jones, MartinMartin Jones
San Jose Sharks
24
14
10
684
53
2.16
.923
3
1473-18 1473:18

Vasilevskiy, AndreiAndrei Vasilevskiy
Tampa Bay Lightning
8
3
4
267
20
2.76
.925
0
434-25 434:25

text: Television[edit]

text: This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2016)

text: This marked the fifth postseason under NBC Sports' current 10-year contract for American television rights. All playoff games were nationally televised by either NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, and NHL Network. During the first round, these national telecasts co-existed with those of the regional rightsholders, after which NBC had exclusive rights to the remaining games.[98]

text: This was the second postseason under Rogers Communications' twelve-year contract for Canadian television rights. Under a time-brokerage agreement, playoff games and the Stanley Cup Finals aired on CBC, but Rogers assumed editorial control and the ownership of any advertising revenue from the telecasts.[99] English-language telecasts of playoff games will also air on the Sportsnet networks. In a separate sub-licensing agreement with Rogers, French-language coverage will be on TVA.

text: With all seven of the NHL's Canadian teams out of the playoffs, media sources predicted that Rogers would take a massive hit in the ratings.[100][101][102] During the regular season, Sunday's Hometown Hockey saw ratings drop 34 percent, while the traditional Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday fell 18 per cent, culminating in the season closer on April 9 that attracted just 721,000 viewers.[103] Rogers has also implemented several cost-cutting measures, such as only employing three full-time play-by-play crews, and having a fourth one doing spot duty, during the first round.[104] In the second round, Rogers only sent a crew for games broadcast on CBC, while simulcasting NBC's feed for games aired on Sportsnet (including the game sevens of both Western Conference series). The Hockey News reported that Rogers saves C$100,000 per game if they simulcast another feed instead of producing their own separate broadcast.[105]