1994 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began after the conclusion of the 1993–94 NHL season. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven game series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships; and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The playoffs ended when the New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh game of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.[1] In total, an NHL record seven game sevens were played in this year's playoffs, two of which went to overtime.

1994 Stanley Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 16–June 14, 1994
Teams16
Defending championsMontreal Canadiens
Final positions
ChampionsNew York Rangers
Runner-upVancouver Canucks
Tournament statistics
Scoring leader(s)Brian Leetch (Rangers)
(34 points)
MVPBrian Leetch (Rangers)
← 1993
1995 →
The Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame

For the first time since joining the NHL, all four former WHA teams (Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, and Winnipeg) failed to make the playoffs. Wayne Gretzky also missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. Conversely, the San Jose Sharks became the first post-1990 expansion team to make the playoffs. All series played between Central and Pacific Division teams had a 2–3–2 format to reduce travel.[2] This remains the last time that two Canadian teams made it to the Conference Finals in the same year, let alone faced each other in that particular round.

Playoff seeds

This was the first season of the NHL's new conference-oriented playoff format, emulating the NBA's seeding format in use then for the opening round. The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Eastern Conference
  1. New York Rangers, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 112 points
  2. Pittsburgh Penguins, Northeast Division champions – 101 points
  3. New Jersey Devils – 106 points
  4. Boston Bruins – 97 points
  5. Montreal Canadiens – 96 points
  6. Buffalo Sabres – 95 points
  7. Washington Capitals – 88 points
  8. New York Islanders – 84 points

Western Conference
  1. Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 100 points
  2. Calgary Flames, Pacific Division champions – 97 points
  3. Toronto Maple Leafs – 98 points
  4. Dallas Stars – 97 points
  5. St. Louis Blues – 91 points
  6. Chicago Blackhawks – 87 points
  7. Vancouver Canucks – 85 points
  8. San Jose Sharks – 82 points

Playoff bracket
Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals Stanley Cup Finals
            
1 NY Rangers 4
8 NY Islanders 0
1 NY Rangers 4
7 Washington 1
2 Pittsburgh 2
7 Washington 4
1 NY Rangers 4
Eastern Conference
3 New Jersey 3
3 New Jersey 4
6 Buffalo 3
3 New Jersey 4
4 Boston 2
4 Boston 4
5 Montreal 3
E1 NY Rangers 4
W7 Vancouver 3
1 Detroit 3
8 San Jose 4
3 Toronto 4
8 San Jose 3
2 Calgary 3
7 Vancouver 4
3 Toronto 1
Western Conference
7 Vancouver 4
3 Toronto 4
6 Chicago 2
4 Dallas 1
7 Vancouver 4
4 Dallas 4
5 St. Louis 0

Conference Quarterfinals

(1) New York Rangers vs. (8) New York Islanders

The New York Rangers earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 112 points. The Islanders qualified as the eighth seed earning 84 points during the regular season. This was the eighth playoff series between these two rivals, with the Islanders winning five of the previous seven series. They last met in the 1990 Patrick Division Semifinals which the Rangers won in five games. The Islanders won the season series earning six of ten points during this year's five game regular season series.[3]

This was the last time that the Islanders got swept in a playoff series until the 2019 Eastern Conference Second Round.

April 17 New York Islanders 0–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 03:32 – pp – Brian Leetch (1)
15:28 – pp – Steve Larmer (1)
No scoring Second period 09:13 – Mark Messier (1)
12:19 – Adam Graves (1)
14:05 – Alexei Kovalev (1)
17:38 – Sergei Zubov (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Ron Hextall 22 saves / 28 shots
Jamie McLennan 11 saves / 11 shots		 Goalie stats Mike Richter 21 saves / 21 shots
April 18 New York Islanders 0–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 05:41 – Alexei Kovalev (2)
No scoring Second period 00:18 – Mark Messier (2)
01:38 – Kevin Lowe (1)
12:29 – Craig MacTavish (1)
17:06 – Stéphane Matteau (1)
No scoring Third period 04:23 – pp – Brian Noonan (1)
Jamie McLennan 30 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 29 saves / 29 shots
April 21 New York Rangers 5–1 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum Recap  
Esa Tikkanen (1) – 02:08
Brian Leetch (2) – pp – 03:40		 First period No scoring
Adam Graves (2) – pp – 10:43
Alexei Kovalev (3) – pp – 18:48		 Second period 15:28 – Ray Ferraro (1)
Adam Graves (3) – 10:37 Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 21 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 13 saves / 18 shots
April 24 New York Rangers 5–2 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum Recap  
Alexei Kovalev (4) – pp – 11:59 First period 01:28 – pp – Steve Thomas (1)
07:24 – Dan Plante (1)
Sergei Zubov (2) – pp – 03:42
Mark Messier (3) – 10:22		 Second period No scoring
Steve Larmer (2) – 08:34
Mark Messier (4) – 17:08		 Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 16 saves / 18 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 29 saves / 34 shots
New York Rangers won series 4–0

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Washington Capitals

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference by winning the Northeast Division with 101 points. The Washington Capitals earned 88 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the third playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Pittsburgh winning both previous series. They last met in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals which Pittsburgh won in seven games after erasing a 3–1 deficit. Washington won the season series earning five of eight points during this year's four game regular season series.

Until 2018, this was the only time the Capitals had defeated the Penguins in their first ten playoff series.

April 17 Washington Capitals 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
Dmitri Khristich (1) – 04:49 First period 12:10 – Mario Lemieux (1)
14:14 – Joe Mullen (1)
Peter Bondra (1) – 11:07
Mike Ridley (1) – 13:29		 Second period No scoring
Joe Juneau (1) – 10:34
Michal Pivonka (1) – 19:26		 Third period 19:16 – Mario Lemieux (2)
Don Beaupre 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 26 saves / 31 shots
April 19 Washington Capitals 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 06:19 – pp – Mario Lemieux (3)
09:06 – Rick Tocchet (1)
Michal Pivonka (2) – pp – 00:57 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Byron Dafoe 15 saves / 17 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 34 saves / 35 shots
April 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–2 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 14:11 – sh – Joe Reekie (1)
No scoring Third period 19:44 – Joe Reekie (2)
Tom Barrasso 16 saves / 17 shots Goalie stats Don Beaupre 27 saves / 27 shots
April 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
Martin Straka (1) – 14:10 First period 04:51 – Dmitri Khristich (2)
No scoring Second period 13:47 – Peter Bondra (2)
No scoring Third period 01:42 – pp – Joe Juneau (2)
19:06 – Dave Poulin (1)
Tom Barrasso 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Don Beaupre 21 saves / 22 shots
April 25 Washington Capitals 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 01:41 – Shawn McEachern (1)
Mike Ridley (2) – 05:10
Kevin Hatcher (1) – 06:45		 Second period 15:25 – Kevin Stevens (1)
No scoring Third period 09:21 – Jaromir Jagr (1)
Byron Dafoe 19 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 26 saves / 28 shots
April 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
Jaromir Jagr (2) – 10:32
Rick Tocchet (2) – pp – 15:05		 First period 01:29 – Joe Juneau (3)
07:49 – sh – Kelly Miller (1)
09:42 – pp – John Slaney (1)
No scoring Second period 01:25 – Calle Johansson (1)
08:27 – Dave Poulin (2)
Mario Lemieux (4) – 10:42 Third period 19:41 – Michal Pivonka (3)
Tom Barrasso 16 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Don Beaupre 26 saves / 29 shots
Washington won series 4–2

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Buffalo Sabres

The New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference with 106 points. The Buffalo Sabres earned 95 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New Jersey won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

April 17 Buffalo Sabres 2–0 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Todd Simon (1) – pp – 19:49 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Alexander Mogilny (1) – 19:51 Third period No scoring
Dominik Hasek 30 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 22 shots
April 19 Buffalo Sabres 1–2 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 01:33 – Stephane Richer (1)
Alexander Mogilny (2) – 00:38 Third period 13:39 – pp – Scott Stevens (1)
Dominik Hasek 30 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 23 saves / 24 shots
April 21 New Jersey Devils 2–1 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Recap  
Stephane Richer (2) – 19:01 First period No scoring
Tommy Albelin (1) – 15:43 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 04:08 – pp – Alexander Mogilny (3)
Martin Brodeur 29 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Dominik Hasek 24 saves / 26 shots
April 23 New Jersey Devils 3–5 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Recap  
Bruce Driver (1) – pp – 09:11 First period 15:08 – pp – Wayne Presley (1)
15:42 – Yuri Khmylev (1)
Claude Lemieux (1) – 01:07
John MacLean (1) – pp – 18:36		 Second period 03:16 – Yuri Khmylev (2)
No scoring Third period 00:30 – Wayne Presley (2)
11:35 – Rob Ray (1)
Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Dominik Hasek 20 saves / 23 shots
April 25 Buffalo Sabres 3–5 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Yuri Khmylev (3) – 02:30
Derek Plante (1) – 10:56		 First period 07:40 – pp – John MacLean (2)
Alexander Mogilny (4) – 05:42 Second period 07:59 – Claude Lemieux (2)
18:05 – pp – Stephane Richer (3)
No scoring Third period 04:30 – Claude Lemieux (3)
19:52 – John MacLean (3)
Dominik Hasek 30 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 20 shots
April 27 New Jersey Devils 0–1 4OT Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring Fourth overtime period 05:43 – Dave Hannan (1)
Martin Brodeur 49 saves / 50 shots Goalie stats Dominik Hasek 70 saves / 70 shots
April 29 Buffalo Sabres 1–2 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Philippe Boucher (1) – pp – 06:00 First period 09:53 – pp – Bruce Driver (2)
No scoring Second period 13:49 – Claude Lemieux (4)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Dominik Hasek 44 saves / 46 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 18 shots
New Jersey won series 4–3

(4) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Montreal Canadiens

The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 97 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned 96 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the twenty-eighth playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Montreal winning twenty-one of the previous twenty-seven series. This was also the tenth time in eleven years these two team had met in the playoffs. They last met in the 1992 Adams Division Finals, which Boston won in a four-game sweep. Montreal won the season series earning six of ten points during this year's five game regular season series. Game six was the final playoff game in the Montreal Forum.

April 16 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Brian Bellows (1) – 06:55 First period 14:51 – pp – Mariusz Czerkawski (1)
Mike Keane (1) – 06:19 Second period 18:52 – pp – Adam Oates (1)
19:43 – pp – Ted Donato (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 25 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 24 saves / 26 shots
April 18 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Kirk Muller (1) – pp – 04:42 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 15:42 – Don Sweeney (1)
19:18 – pp – Glen Wesley (1)
Paul DiPietro (1) – pp – 00:18
Kirk Muller (2) – 04:32		 Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 40 saves / 42 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 21 saves / 24 shots
April 21 Boston Bruins 6–3 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Bryan Smolinski (1) – pp – 08:46
Fred Knipscheer (1) – 14:46
Dave Reid (1) – sh – 18:12		 First period No scoring
Brent Hughes (1) – 09:57
Glen Murray (1) – 16:31		 Second period 02:25 – Benoit Brunet (1)
11:50 – Mike Keane (2)
11:56 – Gilbert Dionne (1)
Dave Reid (2) – 18:57 Third period No scoring
Vincent Riendeau 24 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Ron Tugnutt 20 saves / 25 shots
April 23 Boston Bruins 2–5 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Adam Oates (2) – 13:41 First period 05:40 – pp – Kirk Muller (3)
10:54 – pp – Kirk Muller (4)
11:34 – pp – Paul DiPietro (2)
Ted Donato (2) – 02:54 Second period 19:14 – Guy Carbonneau (1)
No scoring Third period 03:33 – Ed Ronan (1)
Vincent Riendeau 10 saves / 15 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 39 saves / 41 shots
April 25 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 OT Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
John LeClair (1) – 14:49 Third period 02:12 – Jozef Stumpel (1)
Kirk Muller (5) – 17:18 First overtime period No scoring
Patrick Roy 60 saves / 61 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 34 saves / 36 shots
April 27 Boston Bruins 3–2 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Bryan Smolinski (2) – pp – 03:00 First period No scoring
Steve Heinze (1) – 09:36 Second period 17:50 – pp – John LeClair (2)
Al Iafrate (1) – 07:21 Third period 02:57 – Kirk Muller (6)
Jon Casey 20 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 22 saves / 25 shots
April 29 Montreal Canadiens 3–5 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 03:43 – Glen Murray (2)
11:47 – Ted Donato (3)
Vincent Damphousse (1) – 05:44 Second period 01:23 – pp – Adam Oates (3)
04:22 – Fred Knipscheer (2)
Kevin Haller (1) – 13:12
Mike Keane (3) – 14:43		 Third period 05:03 – Ray Bourque (1)
Patrick Roy 26 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 26 saves / 29 shots
Boston won series 4–3

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) San Jose Sharks

The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions with 100 points. The San Jose Sharks earned 82 points during the regular season to finish eighth overall in the Western Conference. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Sharks made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs in their third season since entering the league in the 1991–92 season. The most recent team to represent the San Francisco Bay Area prior to this was the Oakland Seals, who lost in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals in 1970. Detroit won three of the four games in this year's regular season series. The Sharks shocked the top-seeded Red Wings in seven games, becoming the first eighth-seeded team in North American sports history to defeat a number one seed.

April 18 San Jose Sharks 5–4 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Shawn Cronin (1) – 12:55
Igor Larionov (1) – 15:28
Sergei Makarov (1) – pp – 17:03		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 02:24 – pp – Steve Chiasson (1)
17:41 – Sheldon Kennedy (1)
Jamie Baker (1) – 04:42
Vlastimil Kroupa (1) – 15:36		 Third period 01:34 – Darren McCarty (1)
06:01 – pp – Greg Johnson (1)
Arturs Irbe 33 saves / 37 shots Goalie stats Bob Essensa 19 saves / 24 shots
April 20 San Jose Sharks 0–4 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 00:46 – Shawn Burr (1)
No scoring Third period 02:32 – Bob Probert (1)
05:07 – Dino Ciccarelli (1)
06:43 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (1)
Arturs Irbe 24 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 22 saves / 22 shots
April 22 Detroit Red Wings 3–2 San Jose Sharks San Jose Arena Recap  
Darren McCarty (2) – 01:53
Dino Ciccarelli (2) – 12:53		 First period No scoring
Shawn Burr (2) – 19:31 Second period 17:14 – pp – Rob Gaudreau (1)
No scoring Third period 19:28 – pp – Sergei Makarov (2)
Chris Osgood 22 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Arturs Irbe 27 saves / 30 shots
April 23 Detroit Red Wings 3–4 San Jose Sharks San Jose Arena Recap  
Dino Ciccarelli (3) – 07:17
Greg Johnson (2) – 10:21		 First period No scoring
Kris Draper (1) – 06:08 Second period 03:45 – sh – Tom Pederson (1)
08:01 – Igor Larionov (2)
11:55 – pp – Ulf Dahlen (1)
No scoring Third period 06:35 – Sergei Makarov (3)
Chris Osgood 18 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Arturs Irbe 21 saves / 24 shots
April 26 Detroit Red Wings 4–6 San Jose Sharks San Jose Arena Recap  
Paul Coffey (1) – 13:33
Ray Sheppard (1) – 14:13		 First period 02:47 – pp – Sergei Makarov (4)
08:34 – Todd Elik (1)
No scoring Second period 18:45 – Sergei Makarov (5)
Nicklas Lidstrom (2) – sh – 06:44
Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – 15:22		 Third period 02:08 – Ulf Dahlen (2)
08:08 – Johan Garpenlov (1)
16:43 – Bob Errey (1)
Bob Essensa 15 saves / 19 shots
Chris Osgood 0 saves / 2 shots		 Goalie stats Arturs Irbe 31 saves / 35 shots
April 28 San Jose Sharks 1–7 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 02:03 – Sergei Fedorov (1)
15:20 – pp – Steve Chiasson (2)
16:33 – Ray Sheppard (2)
16:56 – Slava Kozlov (1)
Ulf Dahlen (3) – pp – 04:04 Second period 01:25 – Steve Yzerman (1)
11:21 – Dino Ciccarelli (4)
No scoring Third period 08:31 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (5)
Arturs Irbe 20 saves / 26 shots
Jimmy Waite 7 saves / 8 shots		 Goalie stats Chris Osgood 22 saves / 23 shots
April 30 San Jose Sharks 3–2 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Johan Garpenlov (2) – 00:47
Sergei Makarov (6) – 13:59		 First period 19:47 – sh – Kris Draper (2)
No scoring Second period 02:36 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (2)
Jamie Baker (2) – 13:25 Third period No scoring
Arturs Irbe 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 14 saves / 17 shots
San Jose won series 4–3

(2) Calgary Flames vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks

The Calgary Flames entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference by winning the Pacific Division with 97 points. The Vancouver Canucks earned 85 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Western Conference. This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Calgary winning three of the previous four series. They last met in the 1989 Smythe Division Semifinals which the Flames won in seven games. Calgary won the season series earning nine of fourteen points during this year's seven game regular season series.

The Canucks won the series after being down 3–1. They are the only team to date to win a series after being down 3–1 with all three games being won in overtime.

April 18 Vancouver Canucks 5–0 Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Geoff Courtnall (1) – 01:15
Cliff Ronning (1) – pp – 10:54
Dave Babych (1) – 12:16		 Second period No scoring
Trevor Linden (1) – 04:26
Jeff Brown (1) – pp – 15:53		 Third period No scoring
Kirk McLean 31 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Mike Vernon 23 saves / 28 shots
April 20 Vancouver Canucks 5–7 Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome Recap  
Jeff Brown (2) – 08:08 First period 07:30 – Joe Nieuwendyk (1)
09:08 – sh – Mike Sullivan (1)
15:46 – pp – Al MacInnis (1)
19:10 – Al MacInnis (2)
Geoff Courtnall (2) – sh – 02:44
Cliff Ronning (2) – pp – 13:31
Martin Gelinas (1) – 18:54		 Second period 10:58 – pp – Joe Nieuwendyk (2)
17:46 – pp – Theoren Fleury (1)
Trevor Linden (2) – 02:45 Third period 01:16 – pp – German Titov (1)
Kirk McLean 27 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Mike Vernon 23 saves / 28 shots
April 22 Calgary Flames 4–2 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Wes Walz (1) – 03:33
Theoren Fleury (2) – 08:29
Gary Roberts (1) – 18:23
Theoren Fleury (3) – 19:58		 Third period 06:35 – Sergio Momesso (1)
18:42 – Greg Adams (1)
Mike Vernon 26 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 23 saves / 26 shots
April 24 Calgary Flames 3–2 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
Ronnie Stern (1) – 10:07 First period 17:54 – pp – Martin Gelinas (2)
No scoring Second period 02:06 – Trevor Linden (3)
Wes Walz (2) – 00:44
Theoren Fleury (4) – 03:38		 Third period No scoring
Mike Vernon 42 saves / 44 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 25 saves / 28 shots
April 26 Vancouver Canucks 2–1 OT Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome Recap  
Pavel Bure (1) – 04:48 First period 05:53 – German Titov (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Geoff Courtnall (3) – 07:15 First overtime period No scoring
Kirk McLean 21 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Mike Vernon 30 saves / 32 shots
April 28 Calgary Flames 2–3 OT Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
Gary Roberts (2) – pp – 19:59 First period 08:38 – Gerald Diduck (1)
No scoring Second period 07:10 – Jose Charbonneau (1)
Wes Walz (3) – 03:24 Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 16:43 – pp – Trevor Linden (4)
Mike Vernon 22 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 30 saves / 32 shots
April 30 Vancouver Canucks 4–3 2OT Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome Recap  
Pavel Bure (2) – pp – 09:24
Geoff Courtnall (4) – 11:44		 First period 05:04 – Theoren Fleury (5)
No scoring Second period 09:30 – Ronnie Stern (2)
10:34 – Theoren Fleury (6)
Greg Adams (2) – 16:23 Third period No scoring
Pavel Bure (3) – 02:20 Second overtime period No scoring
Kirk McLean 46 saves / 49 shots Goalie stats Mike Vernon 31 saves / 35 shots
Vancouver won series 4–3

(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (6) Chicago Blackhawks

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference with 98 points. The Chicago Blackhawks earned 87 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Western Conference. This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Toronto winning five of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1986 Division Semifinals which Toronto won in a three-game sweep. These teams split their six-game regular season series. Game six was the last NHL game played at Chicago Stadium.

April 18 Chicago Blackhawks 1–5 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 02:33 – Wendel Clark (1)
07:38 – pp – Doug Gilmour (1)
11:37 – sh – Kent Manderville (1)
No scoring Second period 03:35 – Jamie Macoun (1)
06:25 – pp – Dave Andreychuk (1)
Chris Chelios (1) – pp – 03:17 Third period No scoring
Ed Belfour 23 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 27 saves / 28 shots
April 20 Chicago Blackhawks 0–1 OT Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 02:15 – Todd Gill (1)
Ed Belfour 37 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 32 saves / 32 shots
April 23 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–5 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Stadium Recap  
Dave Ellett (1) – pp – 10:15
Bill Berg (1) – 17:02		 First period 00:49 – Tony Amonte (1)
02:07 – pp – Tony Amonte (2)
07:23 – Joe Murphy (1)
Dmitri Mironov (1) – pp – 01:00 Second period 15:58 – Tony Amonte (3)
Dave Ellett (2) – pp – 06:35 Third period 01:31 – Tony Amonte (4)
Felix Potvin 28 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 29 saves / 33 shots
April 24 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–4 OT Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Stadium Recap  
Doug Gilmour (2) – pp – 14:55 First period 09:55 – Gary Suter (1)
13:28 – pp – Gary Suter (2)
Dave Andreychuk (2) – pp – 14:40 Second period No scoring
Robert Pearson (1) – 02:59 Third period 12:35 – pp – Gary Suter (3)
No scoring First overtime period 01:23 – Jeremy Roenick (1)
Felix Potvin 25 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 34 saves / 37 shots
April 26 Chicago Blackhawks 0–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 10:07 – pp – Mike Eastwood (1)
Ed Belfour 36 saves / 37 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 17 saves / 17 shots
April 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–0 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Stadium Recap  
Mike Gartner (1) – pp – 14:49 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Felix Potvin 27 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 17 saves / 18 shots
Toronto won series 4–2

(4) Dallas Stars vs. (5) St. Louis Blues

The Dallas Stars entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 97 points. The St. Louis Blues earned 91 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Western Conference. This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with St. Louis winning five of the nine previous series. They last met in the 1991 Norris Division Finals which the then Minnesota North Stars won in six games. Dallas won the season series earning seven of twelve points during this year's six game regular season series. This was the first time the city of Dallas was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Game four was the last game played at the St. Louis Arena.

April 17 St. Louis Blues 3–5 Dallas Stars Reunion Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Alexei Kasatonov (1) – 14:06 Second period 03:50 – pp – Dave Gagner (1)
05:15 – pp – Brent Gilchrist (1)
15:31 – Brent Gilchrist (2)
Brett Hull (1) – pp – 05:10
Phil Housley (1) – pp – 14:39		 Third period 16:11 – Grant Ledyard (1)
18:23 – Trent Klatt (1)
Curtis Joseph 40 saves / 45 shots Goalie stats Darcy Wakaluk 33 saves / 36 shots
April 20 St. Louis Blues 2–4 Dallas Stars Reunion Arena Recap  
Brendan Shanahan (1) – 02:06 First period No scoring
Brett Hull (2) – 07:01 Second period 04:25 – Mike Modano (1)
04:47 – Russ Courtnall (1)
No scoring Third period 02:58 – Mike Modano (2)
19:49 – Dave Gagner (2)
Curtis Joseph 47 saves / 50 shots Goalie stats Darcy Wakaluk 24 saves / 26 shots
April 22 Dallas Stars 5–4 OT St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 05:29 – Brendan Shanahan (2)
Trent Klatt (2) – pp – 02:33
Shane Churla (1) – pp – 07:38
Mike Modano (3) – 09:57		 Second period 04:11 – sh – Kevin Miller (1)
Dave Gagner (3) – 15:11 Third period 13:47 – Craig Janney (1)
19:31 – Alexei Kasatonov (2)
Paul Cavallini (1) – pp – 08:34 First overtime period No scoring
Darcy Wakaluk 44 saves / 48 shots Goalie stats Curtis Joseph 26 saves / 31 shots
April 24 Dallas Stars 2–1 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 07:22 – pp – Phil Housley (2)
Mike Modano (4) – 15:47 Second period No scoring
Mike Modano (5) – pp – 16:13 Third period No scoring
Darcy Wakaluk 25 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Curtis Joseph 30 saves / 32 shots
Dallas won series 4–0

Conference Semifinals

(1) New York Rangers vs. (7) Washington Capitals

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Washington winning two of the previous three series. They last met in the 1991 Patrick Division Semifinals, which Washington won in six games.

May 1 Washington Capitals 3–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Michal Pivonka (4) – 04:13 First period 03:51 – Stephane Matteau (2)
16:28 – Brian Noonan (2)
Kelly Miller (2) – pp – 08:51 Second period 12:47 – pp – Brian Leetch (3)
15:45 – Brian Noonan (3)
Mike Ridley (3) – 13:32 Third period 03:06 – Greg Gilbert (1)
14:30 – Mark Messier (5)
Don Beaupre 18 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots
May 3 Washington Capitals 2–5 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Kevin Hatcher (2) – 08:10 First period 16:42 – Joey Kocur (1)
Mike Ridley (4) – 04:35 Second period 01:38 – Sergei Zubov (3)
10:44 – Esa Tikkanen (2)
No scoring Third period 10:47 – Adam Graves (4)
11:06 – Stephane Matteau (3)
Rick Tabaracci 20 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 22 saves / 24 shots
May 5 New York Rangers 3–0 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
Brian Leetch (4) – pp – 04:35
Mark Messier (6) – pp – 13:57		 First period No scoring
Steve Larmer (3) – 06:06 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 21 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Don Beaupre 18 saves / 21 shots
May 7 New York Rangers 2–4 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
Adam Graves (5) – 00:33 First period 07:26 – Todd Krygier (1)
No scoring Second period 08:26 – pp – Joe Juneau (4)
10:22 – Jason Woolley (1)
15:26 – Todd Krygier (2)
Brian Noonan (4) – pp – 17:16 Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 16 saves / 20 shots
Glenn Healy 3 saves / 3 shots		 Goalie stats Don Beaupre 25 saves / 27 shots
May 9 Washington Capitals 3–4 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Kevin Hatcher (3) – sh – 05:33
Shawn Anderson (1) – 16:20		 First period 01:46 – Adam Graves (6)
08:01 – Adam Graves (7)
08:56 – Esa Tikkanen (3)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Sylvain Cote (1) – 00:27 Third period 16:32 – Brian Leetch (5)
Rick Tabaracci 24 saves / 25 shots
Don Beaupre 8 saves / 11 shots		 Goalie stats Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots
New York won series 4–1

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (4) Boston Bruins

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 1988 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which Boston won in seven games.

May 1 Boston Bruins 2–1 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Bryan Smolinski (3) – 05:02
David Shaw (1) – 07:22		 First period 13:22 – pp – Bernie Nicholls (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Jon Casey 34 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 27 saves / 29 shots
May 3 Boston Bruins 6–5 OT New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Bryan Smolinski (4) – 13:08 First period 02:23 – Valeri Zelepukin (1)
16:25 – Randy McKay (1)
Glen Wesley (2) – 09:03 Second period 04:09 – pp – Scott Stevens (2)
Al Iafrate (2) – 06:17
Ted Donato (4) – pp – 11:37
Steve Heinze (2) – 13:55		 Third period 08:27 – Jim Dowd (1)
19:56 – Bruce Driver (3)
Don Sweeney (2) – 09:08 First overtime period No scoring
Jon Casey 26 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 27 shots
May 5 New Jersey Devils 4–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Jim Dowd (2) – 12:27 First period 08:39 – Mariusz Czerkawski (2)
Tommy Albelin (2) – pp – 14:36 Second period No scoring
Tom Chorske (1) – 03:17
Tom Chorske (2) – 19:08		 Third period 09:13 – pp – Al Iafrate (3)
Chris Terreri 25 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 21 saves / 25 shots
May 7 New Jersey Devils 5–4 OT Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Valeri Zelepukin (2) – 08:47 First period 15:06 – Glen Murray (3)
Stephane Richer (4) – pp – 06:15 Second period 10:07 – Brent Hughes (2)
15:25 – pp – Ray Bourque (2)
Ben Hankinson (1) – 01:44
Bernie Nicholls (2) – 12:12		 Third period 10:31 – Glen Murray (4)
Stephane Richer (5) – 14:19 First overtime period No scoring
Chris Terreri 38 saves / 42 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 29 saves / 34 shots
May 9 Boston Bruins 0–2 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 01:23 – Corey Millen (1)
19:38 – Bobby Carpenter (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Jon Casey 21 saves / 23 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 22 saves / 22 shots
May 11 New Jersey Devils 5–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
John MacLean (4) – 07:38
Scott Niedermayer (1) – pp – 15:12
Claude Lemieux (5) – 18:06		 Second period 18:31 – Mariusz Czerkawski (3)
John MacLean (5) – 04:37
Tom Chorske (3) – 19:02		 Third period 01:39 – Glen Wesley (3)
02:08 – Bryan Smolinski (5)
Chris Terreri 38 saves / 41 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 18 saves / 23 shots
New Jersey won series 4–2

(4) Dallas Stars vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

May 2 Vancouver Canucks 6–4 Dallas Stars Reunion Arena Recap  
Murray Craven (1) – 01:58
Geoff Courtnall (5) – 05:15		 First period 11:38 – Paul Broten (1)
Pavel Bure (4) – 01:23
Jyrki Lumme (1) – pp – 10:23		 Second period 13:40 – pp – Richard Matvichuk (1)
14:14 – Mike McPhee (1)
Martin Gelinas (3) – 15:21
Trevor Linden (5) – 19:45		 Third period 03:57 – Mike McPhee (2)
Kirk McLean 35 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Darcy Wakaluk 27 saves / 32 shots
May 4 Vancouver Canucks 3–0 Dallas Stars Reunion Arena Recap  
Cliff Ronning (3) – 03:50
Pavel Bure (5) – 17:20		 First period No scoring
Pavel Bure (6) – 19:39 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Kirk McLean 39 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Andy Moog 27 saves / 30 shots
May 6 Dallas Stars 4–3 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
Dave Gagner (4) – pp – 17:09
Neal Broten (1) – 18:00		 First period 01:05 – pp – Trevor Linden (6)
09:26 – pp – Pavel Bure (7)
Mike Modano (6) – 03:10
Neal Broten (2) – 08:17		 Second period 09:52 – Trevor Linden (7)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Andy Moog 21 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 32 saves / 36 shots
May 8 Dallas Stars 1–2 OT Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period 02:09 – Trevor Linden (8)
Brent Gilchrist (3) – 15:11 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 11:01 – Sergio Momesso (2)
Andy Moog 32 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 37 saves / 38 shots
May 10 Dallas Stars 2–4 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
Mike Modano (7) – pp – 17:41 First period 07:04 – Nathan LaFayette (1)
09:32 – pp – Pavel Bure (8)
No scoring Second period 05:10 – Murray Craven (2)
Dave Gagner (5) – pp – 18:09 Third period 16:34 – Pavel Bure (9)
Andy Moog 29 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 28 saves / 30 shots
Vancouver won series 4–1

(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (8) San Jose Sharks

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

May 2 San Jose Sharks 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Igor Larionov (3) – 07:09 First period 02:31 – Wendel Clark (1)
Pat Falloon (1) – 15:38 Second period 07:15 – Mark Osborne (1)
Johan Garpenlov (3) – 17:44 Third period No scoring
Arturs Irbe 29 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 26 saves / 29 shots
May 4 San Jose Sharks 1–5 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 08:06 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (2)
No scoring Second period 09:31 – Mike Gartner (2)
13:29 – sh – Mark Osborne (2)
Gaetan Duchesne (1) – 15:04 Third period 03:25 – pp – Doug Gilmour (3)
11:11 – pp – Wendel Clark (2)
Arturs Irbe 33 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 19 saves / 20 shots
May 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–5 San Jose Sharks San Jose Arena Recap  
Nikolai Borschevsky (1) – 07:50 First period 03:21 – Bob Errey (2)
Nikolai Borschevsky (2) – pp – 16:59 Second period 00:29 – Jamie Baker (3)
01:58 – Ulf Dahlen (4)
14:25 – pp – Ulf Dahlen (5)
No scoring Third period 17:38 – Ulf Dahlen (6)
Felix Potvin 22 saves / 27 shots
Damian Rhodes 0 saves / 0 shots		 Goalie stats Arturs Irbe 19 saves / 21 shots
May 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 8–3 San Jose Sharks San Jose Arena Recap  
Dmitri Mironov (3) – pp – 10:15
Mike Eastwood (2) – 16:06
Dave Andreychuk (3) – 18:47		 First period No scoring
Wendel Clark (4) – 05:58
Doug Gilmour (4) – pp – 09:13
Mike Gartner (3) – 18:38		 Second period 04:48 – pp – Todd Elik (2)
Dave Andreychuk (4) – sh – 00:32
Mark Osborne (3) – sh – 18:51		 Third period 09:05 – Todd Elik (3)
14:15 – sh – Rob Gaudreau (2)
Felix Potvin 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Arturs Irbe 19 saves / 25 shots
Jimmy Waite 7 saves / 9 shots
May 10 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–5 San Jose Sharks San Jose Arena Recap  
Dmitri Mironov (4) – pp – 07:07 First period 01:17 – Sergei Makarov (7)
13:01 – pp – Bob Errey (3)
15:03 – Sergei Makarov (8)
Mike Gartner (4) – 06:34 Second period 02:33 – Johan Garpenlov (4)
14:21 – Todd Elik (4)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Felix Potvin 22 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Arturs Irbe 27 saves / 29 shots
May 12 San Jose Sharks 2–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 05:26 – Wendel Clark (5)
Igor Larionov (4) – 08:43 Second period No scoring
Jeff Norton (1) – 07:38 Third period 05:32 – pp – Wendel Clark (6)
No scoring First overtime period 08:53 – Mike Gartner (5)
Arturs Irbe 21 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 20 saves / 22 shots
May 14 San Jose Sharks 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 08:58 – Wendel Clark (7)
No scoring Second period 09:30 – Wendel Clark (8)
Igor Larionov (5) – 05:21
Todd Elik (5) – 19:56		 Third period 03:19 – Mark Osborne (4)
12:15 – Doug Gilmour (5)
Arturs Irbe 17 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 30 saves / 32 shots
Toronto won series 4–3

Conference Finals
See also: NHL Conference Finals

(1) New York Rangers vs. (3) New Jersey Devils

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with New York winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1992 Division Semifinals, which New York won in seven games. New York made their third Semifinals/Conference Final appearance since the league began using a 16-team or greater playoff format in 1980. They were defeated in five games by the Montreal Canadiens in their most recent Conference Finals appearance in 1986. New Jersey made their second appearance in the Conference Final. Their most recent appearance was in the 1988 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which New Jersey lost against the Boston Bruins in five games. New York won all six games in this year's regular season series.

With a minute remaining in game one at Madison Square Garden, New York was leading 3–2. However, Devils forward Claude Lemieux tied the game on a scramble in front of New York goaltender Mike Richter. The Devils went on to win the game on Stephane Richer's breakaway goal at 15:23 of the second overtime. The Rangers evened the series winning game two in a 4–0 shutout. The series then turned to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for games three and four. Like game one, game three went into double overtime but this time it was New York who won 3–2 on Stephane Matteau's goal at 6:13 of the second overtime period. The Devils won game four by a final score of 3–1 and evened the series at 2–2. The Devils took the series lead with a 4–1 win at Madison Square Garden in game five.

Despite the fact that his team trailed in the series 3–2, Rangers captain Mark Messier made a highly publicized guarantee that New York would win game six. After trailing New Jersey by a score of 2–1 after two periods Messier himself scored a third-period hat trick to rally the Rangers to a 4–2 victory. Rangers coach Mike Keenan said of the guarantee, "Mark was sending a message to his teammates that he believed together we could win. He put on an amazing performance to make sure it happened."[4]

Game seven played at Madison Square Garden, was a goaltending battle between New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and New York's Mike Richter. Brian Leetch gave the Rangers a 1–0 lead in the second period. Richter shut out the Devils for over 59 minutes before conceding a goal to Devils forward Valeri Zelepukin with just 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The two teams played into double overtime for the third time in the series and for the second time in the series it was Stephane Matteau who scored the game winner. Matteau scored on a wrap-around at 4:24 of the second overtime period as the Rangers won the game 2–1 and the series 4–3. Many consider this one of the greatest hockey playoff series of all time.[5]

May 15 New Jersey Devils 4–3 2OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
John MacLean (6) – 18:16 First period 03:39 – Sergei Zubov (4)
No scoring Second period 17:50 – Sergei Nemchinov (1)
Bill Guerin (1) – 05:50
Claude Lemieux (6) – 19:17		 Third period 11:05 – pp – Steve Larmer (4)
Stephane Richer (6) – 15:23 Second overtime period No scoring
Martin Brodeur 35 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 44 saves / 48 shots
May 17 New Jersey Devils 0–4 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 01:13 – Mark Messier (7)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 00:47 – Sergei Nemchinov (2)
06:11 – Glenn Anderson (1)
08:38 – pp – Adam Graves (8)
Martin Brodeur 36 saves / 40 shots
Chris Terreri 1 save / 1 shots		 Goalie stats Mike Richter 16 saves / 16 shots
May 19 New York Rangers 3–2 2OT New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Adam Graves (9) – 02:43 First period 05:38 – Viacheslav Fetisov (1)
Steve Larmer (5) – pp – 09:35 Second period 15:50 – pp – Valeri Zelepukin (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Stephane Matteau (4) – 06:13 Second overtime period No scoring
Mike Richter 29 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 47 saves / 50 shots
May 21 New York Rangers 1–3 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 10:17 – pp – Stephane Richer (7)
16:54 – Bill Guerin (2)
Stephane Matteau (5) – pp – 08:47 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 13:18 – Valeri Zelepukin (4)
Glenn Healy 13 saves / 14 shots
Mike Richter 9 saves / 11 shots		 Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 22 shots
May 23 New Jersey Devils 4–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Bernie Nicholls (3) – sh – 06:49 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Mike Peluso (1) – 02:36
Bernie Nicholls (4) – pp – 10:37
Tom Chorske (4) – 13:58		 Third period 16:33 – Esa Tikkanen (4)
Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 22 saves / 26 shots
May 25 New York Rangers 4–2 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 08:03 – Scott Niedermayer (2)
17:32 – Claude Lemieux (7)
Alexei Kovalev (5) – 18:19 Second period No scoring
Mark Messier (8) – 02:48
Mark Messier (9) – 12:12
Mark Messier (10) – sh – 18:15		 Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Martin Brodeur 32 saves / 35 shots
May 27 New Jersey Devils 1–2 2OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 09:31 – Brian Leetch (6)
Valeri Zelepukin (5) – 19:52 Third period No scoring
No scoring Second overtime period 04:24 – Stephane Matteau (6)
Martin Brodeur 46 saves / 48 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 31 saves / 32 shots
New York won series 4–3

(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks

This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. Toronto made their second consecutive and second overall Conference Final appearance. They were defeated in seven games by the Los Angeles Kings in the previous year. Vancouver made their second appearance in the Conference Final. Their most recent appearance was in the 1982 Clarence Campbell Conference Final, which Vancouver won against the Chicago Black Hawks in five games. These teams split their four-game regular season series. This remains the last Conference Finals series to be played entirely in Canada by two Canadian based teams.

Toronto won game one at Maple Leaf Gardens on Peter Zezel's goal at 16:55 of the first overtime period. After that however, the Maple Leafs could not seem to slow down the bigger, more-powerful Canucks. Vancouver edged Toronto 4–3 in game two and then shutout the Maple Leafs at the Pacific Coliseum in games three and four, by scores of 4–0 and 2–0 respectively. Down three games to one and facing elimination the Maple Leafs played much better in game five. They pushed Vancouver to double overtime but it was Vancouver forward Greg Adams who beat Leafs goaltender Felix Potvin just 14 seconds into the second overtime period to give the Canucks a 4–3 win and a 4–1 series win.

May 16 Vancouver Canucks 2–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Dave Babych (2) – 08:52 Second period 04:26 – pp – Dave Andreychuk (5)
Trevor Linden (9) – pp – 19:30 Third period 00:38 – Peter Zezel (1)
No scoring First overtime period 16:55 – Peter Zezel (2)
Kirk McLean 34 saves / 37 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 31 saves / 33 shots
May 18 Vancouver Canucks 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Pavel Bure (10) – 18:43 First period No scoring
Jeff Brown (3) – pp – 09:55
Murray Craven (3) – 10:31		 Second period 04:38 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (5)
06:21 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (6)
Jyrki Lumme (2) – pp – 15:46 Third period 04:37 – pp – Dave Ellett (3)
Kirk McLean 37 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 35 saves / 39 shots
May 20 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–4 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period 13:25 – Pavel Bure (11)
No scoring Second period 04:56 – pp – Greg Adams (3)
No scoring Third period 15:49 – Pavel Bure (12)
19:37 – pp – Martin Gelinas (4)
Felix Potvin 24 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 29 saves / 29 shots
May 22 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–2 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 17:35 – Cliff Ronning (4)
19:27 – Pavel Bure (13)
Felix Potvin 19 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 29 saves / 29 shots
May 24 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–4 2OT Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
Mike Eastwood (3) – 07:54
Doug Gilmour (6) – pp – 11:37
Wendel Clark (9) – 12:19		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 01:34 – Murray Craven (4)
09:37 – Nathan LaFayette (2)
17:57 – pp – Greg Adams (4)
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring Second overtime period 00:14 – Greg Adams (5)
Felix Potvin 43 saves / 47 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 31 saves / 34 shots
Vancouver won series 4–1

Stanley Cup Finals
Main article: 1994 Stanley Cup Finals

This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was Vancouver's second appearance in the Finals; in their last Finals appearance they were swept by the Islanders in 1982. The Rangers were making their tenth appearance in the Finals and first since losing in five games to Montreal in 1979. The Rangers last won the Stanley Cup in 1940. With the Rangers having 112 points against Vancouver's 85, the 27 point difference was the largest point differential between two teams in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1982 when 41 points separated the New York Islanders (118) and Vancouver (77).[6][7]

In a back and forth series that went the maximum seven games, one lengthy drought ended and another began. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup for their fourth title in franchise history, and first since 1940,[8] while the Canucks were the last Canadian team to play for the Stanley Cup until the 2004 Calgary Flames.[9] This was the longest streak that Canadian teams did not qualify for the Finals from 1995–2003 (9 years).[10] Prior to this the longest streak of Canadian teams missing the Finals was just three years.[11]

May 31 Vancouver Canucks 3–2 OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 03:32 – Steve Larmer (6)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Bret Hedican (1) – 05:45
Martin Gelinas (5) – 19:00		 Third period 08:29 – Alexei Kovalev (6)
Greg Adams (6) – 19:26 First overtime period No scoring
Kirk McLean 52 saves / 54 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots
June 2 Vancouver Canucks 1–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Sergio Momesso (3) – 14:04 First period 06:22 – Doug Lidster (1)
No scoring Second period 11:42 – sh – Glenn Anderson (2)
No scoring Third period 19:55 – Brian Leetch (7)
Kirk McLean 37 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 28 saves / 29 shots
June 4 New York Rangers 5–1 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
Brian Leetch (8) – 13:39
Glenn Anderson (3) – 19:19		 First period 01:03 – Pavel Bure (14)
Brian Leetch (9) – 18:32 Second period No scoring
Steve Larmer (7) – 00:25
Alexei Kovalev (7) – pp – 13:03		 Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 24 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 20 saves / 25 shots
June 7 New York Rangers 4–2 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period 13:25 – pp – Trevor Linden (10)
16:19 – Cliff Ronning (5)
Brian Leetch (10) – 04:03
Sergei Zubov (5) – pp – 19:44		 Second period No scoring
Alexei Kovalev (8) – pp – 15:05
Steve Larmer (8) – 17:56		 Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 23 saves / 27 shots
June 9 Vancouver Canucks 6–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Jeff Brown (4) – 08:10 Second period No scoring
Geoff Courtnall (6) – 00:26
Pavel Bure (15) – 02:48
Dave Babych (3) – 09:31
Geoff Courtnall (7) – 12:20
Pavel Bure (16) – 13:04		 Third period 03:27 – Doug Lidster (2)
06:20 – Steve Larmer (9)
09:02 – Mark Messier (11)
Kirk McLean 35 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 31 saves / 37 shots
June 11 New York Rangers 1–4 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period 09:42 – pp – Jeff Brown (5)
Alexei Kovalev (9) – pp – 14:42 Second period 12:29 – Geoff Courtnall (8)
No scoring Third period 08:35 – Jeff Brown (6)
18:28 – Geoff Courtnall (9)
Mike Richter 27 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Kirk McLean 28 saves / 29 shots
June 14 Vancouver Canucks 2–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 11:02 – Brian Leetch (11)
14:45 – pp – Adam Graves (10)
Trevor Linden (11) – sh – 05:21 Second period 13:29 – pp – Mark Messier (12)
Trevor Linden (12) – pp – 04:50 Third period No scoring
Kirk McLean 32 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 28 saves / 30 shots
New York won series 4–3

Playoff statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.[12]

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Brian LeetchNew York Rangers23112334+196
Pavel BureVancouver Canucks24161531+840
Mark MessierNew York Rangers23121830+1433
Doug GilmourToronto Maple Leafs1862228+342
Trevor LindenVancouver Canucks24121325+318
Alexei KovalevNew York Rangers2391221+518
Geoff CourtnallVancouver Canucks2491019+1051
Sergei ZubovNew York Rangers2251419+100
Claude LemieuxNew Jersey Devils2071118+444
Igor LarionovSan Jose Sharks1451318-110

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.[13]

Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
Dominik HasekBuffalo Sabres734261131.61.9502 483:34
Martin BrodeurNew Jersey Devils1789531381.95.9281 1170:40
Mike RichterNew York Rangers23167623492.07.9214 1417:29
Kirk McLeanVancouver Canucks24159820592.29.9284 1543:45
Felix PotvinToronto Maple Leafs1899520462.46.9123 1123:57

References
Notes
  1. Cole, Stephen (2004). The Best of Hockey Night in Canada. Toronto: McArthur & Company. p. 128. ISBN 1-55278-408-8.
  2. "Playoff Formats". NHL. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  3. "1994 Eastern Conference Quarter-finals — New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  4. Morrison 2008, p. 106
  5. "1994 Eastern Conference Finals — New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  6. Jamieson, Jim (May 31, 1994). "Paper rout for Rangers". Vancouver Province. p. A54. The 27-point differential is the greatest, ironically, between Stanley Cup finalists since the last time the Canucks made the trip to this mega-city 12 springs ago.
  7. Olson, Arv (June 1, 1994). "1982 Canucks were unlikeliest of heroes". The Vancouver Sun. p. E3.
  8. Cole 2004, p. 128
  9. "Flames reach Stanley Cup finals". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 20, 2004. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Calgary is the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup finals since the 1994 Vancouver Canucks...lost...to the New York Rangers.
  10. Goold, Derrick (May 29, 2004). "Calgary is Crazed as Playoff Finals Return to Canada". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. OT9. The 10 years since Vancouver lost game seven to the New York Rangers to now is the longest span Canada has ever gone without a visit from the finals.
  11. "1994 Stanley Cup Finals — New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  12. NHL.com - Skater Stats
  13. NHL.com - Goalie Stats
Bibliography

See also
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