The 2008-09 NHL season was the 91st season of the National Hockey League. It was the first season since before to the 2004-05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the other conference (one division at home and one on the road.) It began on October 4, with the regular season ending on April 12.  The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 12, with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking the championship. The Montreal Canadiens hosted the 57th NHL All-Star Game at the Bell Centre on January 25, 2009, part of the Canadiens' 100th season celebration.

Regular season

Final standings
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points.

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Conference standings

Tiebreaking procedures

In the event of a tie in points in the standings at the end of the season, ties are broken using the following tiebreaking procedures.
The higher ranked team is the one with:
 The greater number of games won.
 The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
 The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Playoffs

Playoff seeds
After the regular season, the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The San Jose Sharks won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the league, at 117 points. Division champions maintain their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams get reseeded below them after each round.

Eastern Conference

 Boston Bruins - Northeast Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions, 116 points
 Washington Capitals - Southeast Division champions, 108 points
 New Jersey Devils - Atlantic Division champions, 106 points
 Pittsburgh Penguins - 99 points (45 wins)
 Philadelphia Flyers - 99 points (44 wins)
 Carolina Hurricanes - 97 points
 New York Rangers - 95 points
 Montreal Canadiens - 93 points*

*Montreal finished with exactly the same record as the Florida Panthers (including number of wins), but garnered more points (the Canadiens with six, the Panthers with three) in the four game season series between them, to earn the 8th spot.

Western Conference
 San Jose Sharks - Pacific Division champions and Western Conference regular season champions; President's Trophy winners, 117 points
 Detroit Red Wings - Central Division champions, 112 points
 Vancouver Canucks - Northwest Division champions, 100 points
 Chicago Blackhawks - 104 points
 Calgary Flames - 98 points
 St. Louis Blues - 92 points (10 points head-to-head)
 Columbus Blue Jackets - 92 points (3 points head-to-head)
 Anaheim Ducks - 91 points

Playoff bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 2 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).

NHL awards

NHL All Star Team
First All-Star Team
 Forwards: Alexander Ovechkin • Evgeni Malkin • Jarome Iginla
 Defencemen: Mike Green • Zdeno Chara
 Goaltender: Tim Thomas

Second All-Star Team
 Forwards: Zach Parise • Pavel Datsyuk • Marian Hossa
 Defencemen: Nicklas Lidstrom • Dan Boyle
 Goaltender: Steve Mason

NHL All-Rookie team
 Forwards: Patrik Berglund • Kris Versteeg • Bobby Ryan
 Defencemen: Drew Doughty • Luke Schenn
 Goaltender: Steve Mason

Related pages
 Season structure of the NHL
 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs
 2008 NHL Entry Draft
 2007-08 NHL season
 2008-09 NHL transactions
 2009 NHL Winter Classic
 57th National Hockey League All-Star Game
 2008 in sports
 2009 in sports
 Victoria Cup

References

Other websites