2014 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) began on April 16 , 2014 . For the first time since 1973 , only one Canadian team qualified for the playoffs : the Montreal Canadiens . The Detroit Red Wings increased their consecutive playoff appearance streak to 23 seasons , the longest current streak and the fourth longest streak in NHL history . The Dallas Stars ended the league ' s third longest active playoff appearance drought , qualifying for the postseason for the first time in six years . For the third time in four years , all three California teams again made the playoffs . The Columbus Blue Jackets won their first franchise playoff game on April 19 , 2014 , and their first ever franchise playoff home game at Nationwide Arena on April 23 , 2014 , both against the Pittsburgh Penguins . Three Original Six teams reached the Conference Finals , the first time this has occurred since 1979 . The 2013 – 14 playoffs opening round featured leads changing hands more so than any other year . After the Anaheim Ducks rallied from a 4 – 2 deficit to defeat the Dallas Stars in game 6 of their opening round series on April 27 , 2014 , an NHL record was broken for most multi - goal comebacks by all teams in the opening round , with ten . In all four rounds combined in the previous year ' s playoffs , there were only eight such victories . It also marked just the fourth time in NHL playoff history that a team who led a series 3 – 0 in a seven game series failed to advance , when the San Jose Sharks lost to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the opening round on April 30 , 2014 . On May 29 , 2014 , the New York Rangers became the first team to ever advance past the Conference Finals after playing two seven - game series in the opening two rounds . The Rangers also became the first captainless team to reach the finals since the Chicago Black Hawks in 1973 . On June 1 , 2014 , the Los Angeles Kings became the first team to ever reach the Stanley Cup Finals having played three consecutive seven - game series . Los Angeles played all three of their game sevens on the road . Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final marked the 93rd game of the 2014 playoffs , eclipsing the previous single - year record of 92 established in 1991 . Playoff seeds . The NHL adopted a new league alignment for the 2013 – 14 season , as the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets were moved to the Eastern Conference and the Winnipeg Jets to the Western Conference . The 16 - team Eastern Conference was then divided into two 8 - team divisions ( Metropolitan and Atlantic ) , while the 14 - team Western Conference was divided into two 7 - team divisions ( Pacific and Central ) . As part of the realignment , the NHL also switched its former conference - based playoff structure to a divisional - based playoff structure . The top three teams from each division qualified for that conference ' s playoffs . The remaining two playoff spots in each conference were wild card teams , which were the top two clubs from each conference that failed to win a divisional playoff spot . The following teams qualified for the playoffs : Conference Quarterfinals . Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . ( A1 ) Boston Bruins vs . ( WC2 ) Detroit Red Wings . The Boston Bruins won the Presidents ' Trophy for earning the league ' s best record , with 117 points . The Detroit Red Wings earned 93 points during the regular season , and entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference ' s second wild card . This was the eighth playoff meeting for these Original Six teams , with Boston having won four of the seven previous series . They last met in the 1957 Stanley Cup Semifinals , which Boston won in five games . The Red Wings won three of the four games in this year ' s regular season series . The Bruins eliminated the Red Wings in five games . In Game 1 , Pavel Datsyuk scored the only goal with 3 : 01 left in Detroit ' s 1 – 0 victory , but Boston went on to win four straight contests to capture the series . Four different Bruins players scored goals in Boston ' s 4 – 1 win in Game 2 . Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask then stopped all 23 Detroit shots in a 3 – 0 victory in Game 3 . In Game 4 , Boston overcame a two - goal , second - period deficit , scoring three unanswered goals – including Jarome Iginla ' s game - winner at 13 : 32 of overtime – to win 3 – 2 . The Bruins clinched the series with a 4 – 2 win in Game 5 , as Torey Krug recorded two assists , and Rask made 31 saves on 33 shots . ( A2 ) Tampa Bay Lightning vs . ( A3 ) Montreal Canadiens . The Tampa Bay Lightning finished second overall in the Atlantic Division , earning 101 points . The Montreal Canadiens earned 100 points during the regular season , to finish third overall in the Atlantic Division . This was the second playoff meeting for these two teams . Their only previous meeting was in the 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinals , in which Tampa Bay swept Montreal out of the playoffs en route to their Stanley Cup victory . The Lightning won three of the four games in this year ' s regular season series . The Canadiens swept the Lightning , who were without their starting goalie Ben Bishop after he suffered an injury during the last few weeks of the regular season . With Anders Lindback in the Tampa Bay net , Steven Stamkos of the Lightning scored at 13 : 27 of the third period to tie Game 1 , 4 – 4 , before Montreal ' s Dale Weise won it at 18 : 08 of overtime . Rene Bourque scored two goals , and Carey Price stopped 26 out of 27 shots , in the Canadiens ' 4 – 1 win in Game 2 . At 15 : 38 of the second period of Game 3 , Tampa Bay ' s Ryan Callahan appeared to give his team a 2 – 1 lead , but his goal was waived off as the officials ruled that there was contact between Alexander Killorn and Price ; Montreal ' s Brendan Gallagher then scored minutes later , and the Canadiens went on to win 3 – 2 . Max Pacioretty then scored a power play goal at 19 : 17 of the third period of Game 4 to give Montreal the 4 – 3 win and the series . ( M1 ) Pittsburgh Penguins vs . ( WC1 ) Columbus Blue Jackets . The Pittsburgh Penguins finished first overall in the Metropolitan Division , earning 109 points . The Columbus Blue Jackets earned 93 points during the regular season , and entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference ' s first wild card , making the post - season for the first time since 2009 , and only the second time in the franchise ' s history . This was the first playoff meeting for these two teams . The Penguins won all five games in this year ' s regular season series . The Blue Jackets recorded their first ever playoff victories in team history , but the Penguins still managed to win the series in six games . The first five games in the series featured comebacks , including 3 – 1 leads evaporating into 4 – 3 losses in the first four games . In Game 1 , Pittsburgh scored three unanswered goals , including Brandon Sutter ' s game winner 8 : 18 in the third period , to overcome a two - goal deficit to win , 4 – 3 . Columbus then overcame a two - goal deficit in Game 2 after Pittsburgh built their lead with Brian Gibbons scoring his first two playoff goals , including a short - handed one . Matt Calvert then scored both a short - handed goal and then the game - winner 1 : 10 into double overtime to give the Blue Jackets their first playoff victory in franchise history . Game 3 saw Brooks Orpik score his second ever playoff goal with less than 2 seconds remaining in the second period . The Blue Jackets would jump back up to a two goal lead at the start of the third period , thanks to Cam Atkinson ’ s first ever playoff goal . But the Penguins scored three goals within a span of 2 : 13 in the third period , including Jussi Jokinen ' s game - winner at 8 : 06 , for another 4 – 3 win . The Blue Jackets then overcame a three - goal deficit in Game 4 to record a fourth 4 – 3 contest in this series , with Brandon Dubinsky tying the game with 24 seconds left in regulation after Penguins goalie Marc - Andre Fleury mishandled the puck from behind his own net , allowing Ryan Johansen to fling the puck to a wide open Dubinsky . Nick Foligno then scored the game winner at 2 : 49 into overtime , which gave the Blue Jackets their first home playoff victory in team history . But Fleury rebounded in Game 5 , making 23 saves out of 24 shots in Pittsburgh ' s 3 – 1 win . Columbus lost despite spectacular play by Sergei Bobrovsky , who stopped 48 of 50 shots but did not receive the goal support needed to win . In Game 6 , Evgeni Malkin ' s second career playoff hat trick helped the Penguins build a 4 – 0 lead , but they had to withstand a late comeback attempt by the Blue Jackets , who scored three unanswered goals in a span of five minutes late in the third period , to hold on to the 4 – 3 victory . ( M2 ) New York Rangers vs . ( M3 ) Philadelphia Flyers . The New York Rangers finished second overall in the Metropolitan Division , earning 96 points . The Philadelphia Flyers earned 94 points during the regular season , to finish third overall in the Metropolitan Division . This was the eleventh playoff meeting for these rivals , with Philadelphia having won six of the ten previous series . Their most recent meeting was in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals , which Philadelphia won in five games . Each team won two games in this year ' s four - game regular season series . The Rangers eliminated the Flyers in seven games . New York scored two power play goals , and Brad Richards recorded a goal and 2 assists , in a 4 – 1 victory in Game 1 . The Flyers overcame a two - goal deficit , scoring 4 unanswered goals from 4 different players to win Game 2 , 4 – 2 . In Game 3 , Daniel Girardi and Martin St . Louis each had a goal and an assist as they led the Rangers to another 4 – 1 win . Steve Mason then replaced Ray Emery as the starting goalie for the Flyers in Game 4 . Mason went on to make 37 saves out of 38 shots , and Jakub Voracek scored the game - winning goal on a power play in the second period , as Philadelphia won , 2 – 1 . However , Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves out of 25 shots en route to a 4 – 2 Rangers win in Game 5 . Back at home in Game 6 , Wayne Simmonds recorded a hat - trick , leading Philadelphia to a 5 – 2 win . Game 7 was played the next night , where the Rangers jumped to a 2 – 0 lead in the second period , and with Henrik Lundqvist stopping 26 out of 27 shots , the Rangers hung on for a 2 – 1 win . The Rangers became the only NHL team to remain undefeated in a home game 7 with a 6 – 0 franchise record . Western Conference Quarterfinals . ( C1 ) Colorado Avalanche vs . ( WC1 ) Minnesota Wild . The Colorado Avalanche finished first overall in the Central Division , earning 112 points . The Minnesota Wild earned 98 points during the regular season , and enter the playoffs as the Western Conference ' s first wild card . This was the third playoff meeting for these two teams ; the Wild earned a seven - game series victory in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals , while the Avalanche earned a six - game series victory in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals . The Avalanche won four of the five games in this year ' s regular season series . The Wild defeated the Avalanche in seven games . The home team had won the first six games in the series before Minnesota won Game 7 on the road . Throughout the series , Colorado head coach Patrick Roy used his strategy of pulling goalie Semyon Varlamov for an extra attacker earlier than usual when trailing late in the third period . In Game 1 trailing by a goal , Roy pulled Varlamov with 3 : 01 remaining in regulation . Paul Stastny then tied the game with 13 . 4 seconds remaining and then scored the game - winner 7 : 27 into overtime to give the Avalanche a 5 – 4 win . Gabriel Landeskog then scored two goals in Game 2 to lead Colorado to a 4 – 2 victory . In Game 3 , Mikael Granlund scored the only goal 5 : 08 into overtime in Minnesota ' s 1 – 0 victory . The Wild then only allowed 12 Colorado shots in a 2 – 1 win in Game 4 , even after Roy pulled Varlamov for the extra attacker with less than three minutes left . In Game 5 ( after Roy pulled Varlamov with 2 : 22 left in the third period ) , Colorado ' s P . A . Parenteau ' s game - tying goal with 1 : 14 remaining was met with controversy as the Avalanche appeared to have been offside on the play , but it was never called . Nathan MacKinnon then scored 3 : 27 into overtime to give the Avalanche a 4 – 3 win . Zach Parise scored two goals in Game 6 , including the game - winner 13 : 31 into the third period that broke a 2 – 2 tie . This time , Roy ' s tactic of pulling Varlamov early backfired as the Wild scored two empty net goals to win , 5 – 2 . In Game 7 , Minnesota ' s Jared Spurgeon tied the game , 4 – 4 , at 17 : 33 in the third period , and Nino Niederreiter scored the series - winning goal 5 : 02 into overtime to give the Wild a 5 – 4 win . ( C2 ) St . Louis Blues vs . ( C3 ) Chicago Blackhawks . The St . Louis Blues finished second overall in the Central Division , earning 111 points . The Chicago Blackhawks earned 107 points during the regular season , to finish third overall in the Central Division . This was the eleventh playoff meeting for these two teams , with Chicago having won seven of the ten previous series . Their most recent meeting was in the 2002 Western Conference Quarterfinals , which St . Louis won in five games . The Blues won three of the five games in this year ' s regular season series . This was the second consecutive year in which St . Louis faced the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round . Much like last year , the Blues would win the first two games at Scottrade Center , but then go on to lose the next four games . In Game 1 , the Blues ' Jaden Schwartz scored his first career playoff goal with 1 : 45 left in regulation to tie the score at 3 – 3 , then Alexander Steen won it at 26 seconds into triple - overtime . In Game 2 , the Blackhawks held a 3 – 2 lead in the third period , but with less than 5 minutes left in regulation Chicago ' s Brent Seabrook was called for a five - minute major penalty and a game misconduct ( and later given a three - game suspension ) for charging David Backes . Vladimir Tarasenko then tied the game on the ensuing power play , followed by Barret Jackman scoring the game - winner at 5 : 50 of overtime to give St . Louis a 4 – 3 win . Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford then stopped all 34 Blues shots to help give Chicago a 2 – 0 victory in Game 3 . In Game 4 , Patrick Kane scored two of the Blackhawks ' goals in a 4 – 3 win , including the game - winner at 11 : 17 of overtime in which he took a pass in the defensive zone and then raced up ice to score from a shot from the left circle . Jonathan Toews gave Chicago a 3 – 2 win in Game 5 , scoring on a breakaway at 7 : 36 of overtime . The Blackhawks then clinched the series with a 5 – 1 victory in Game 6 , scoring 4 unanswered goals in the third period . ( P1 ) Anaheim Ducks vs . ( WC2 ) Dallas Stars . The Anaheim Ducks finished first overall in the Pacific Division , earning 116 points . The Dallas Stars earned 91 points during the regular season , and entered the playoffs as the Western Conference ' s second wild card . This was the third playoff meeting for these two franchises ; the Mighty Ducks earned a six - game series victory in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals , while the Stars earned a six - game series victory in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals . The Stars won two of the three games in this year ' s regular season series . The Ducks defeated the Stars in six games . The first five games in this series were won by the home team . Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to start the series with Frederik Andersen in net , who was the hotter goalie going into the postseason , rather than original Ducks starter Jonas Hiller . Anaheim jumped to a 4 – 0 lead in Game 1 , but had to hold off a Dallas comeback in a 4 – 3 win . The Ducks scored three unanswered goals in Game 2 , but had to hold off another Stars comeback to preserve a 3 – 2 victory . The series moved to Dallas for Game 3 , where Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped all 37 Anaheim shots to earn his first playoff victory in a 3 – 0 win . Dallas then evened the series in a 4 – 2 victory in Game 4 , scoring 4 unanswered goals to overcome a two - goal deficit . Returning to Anaheim for Game 5 , the Ducks scored three unanswered goals in the third period to pull away for a 6 – 2 victory . Back in Dallas for Game 6 , the Stars built a 4 – 2 lead in the second period before Boudreau decided to replace Andersen with Hiller . Anaheim then staged a comeback , first with Nick Bonino ' s goal with 2 : 10 remaining in regulation , and then Devante Smith - Pelly ' s score with 24 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime . Both of these goals occurred with the goalie pulled to give the Ducks an extra attacker . Bonino then scored at 2 : 47 into the extra period to give the Ducks a 5 – 4 win ; it was the only game in the series won by the road team . ( P2 ) San Jose Sharks vs . ( P3 ) Los Angeles Kings . The San Jose Sharks finished second overall in the Pacific Division , earning 111 points . The Los Angeles Kings earned 100 points during the regular season , to finish third overall in the Pacific Division . This was the third playoff meeting for these two teams ; the Sharks earned a six - game series victory in the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals , while the Kings earned a seven - game series victory in the 2013 Western Conference Semifinals . The Kings won three of the five games in this year ' s regular season series . The Kings became just the fourth team in NHL playoff history ( after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs , 1975 New York Islanders , and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers ) to come back from a 3 – 0 deficit to win a series 4 – 3 . The Sharks controlled the first two games in the series , winning 6 – 3 and 7 – 2 in Game 1 and Game 2 , respectively , scoring 12 total goals off of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and an empty netter . In Game 3 , Patrick Marleau scored at 6 : 20 into overtime to give San Jose a 4 – 3 victory . However , in Game 4 Justin Williams scored two goals to lead Los Angeles to a 6 – 3 win . At San Jose for Game 5 , Quick posted a shutout , as he stopped all 30 San Jose shots . In Game 6 , San Jose head coach Todd McLellan started goalie Alex Stalock instead of Antti Niemi . Williams ' game - winning goal ( his second of the game ) at 11 : 56 into the third period of Game 6 to break a 1 – 1 tie was met with controversy . Stalock attempted to control a loose puck in his crease , but Williams managed to poke it through Stalock ' s legs across the goal line . It appeared that Williams pushed Stalock backwards during the play , and the puck seemed to disappear out of sight under the goalie ' s pads before Williams poked at it . The play went to video review but the call of goal on the ice stood . The Kings ' Anze Kopitar then scored two more unanswered goals for a 4 – 1 victory . Niemi was reinstated as the Sharks starter for Game 7 , but the Kings scored 5 unanswered goals , and killed all 6 San Jose power plays , to win the game 5 – 1 . Mike Richards and Jeff Carter , who both played for the Flyers in 2010 , became the first players in NHL history to be part of two teams that won the final four games of a series , after initially facing a 3 – 0 series deficit . Conference Semifinals . Eastern Conference Semifinals . ( A1 ) Boston Bruins vs . ( A3 ) Montreal Canadiens . One of the greatest rivalries in North American professional sports , this was the 34th meeting of these teams in the postseason , which is the most frequent playoff series in NHL history . Coming into the series , Montreal owned a record of 24 – 9 against Boston in the 33 previous series played by the teams , and had won 18 straight between 1946 and 1987 . However , the Bruins had won the two most recent series between these two teams , the last of which was a seven - game Boston victory in the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . The Canadiens won three of the four games in this year ' s regular season series . The Canadiens eliminated the Bruins in seven games . P . K . Subban scored 4 : 17 into the second overtime to give Montreal a 4 – 3 victory in Game 1 . In Game 2 , the Bruins scored four unanswered goals in the third period to overcome a two - goal deficit to win 5 – 3 . In Game 3 , the Canadiens built a 3 – 0 lead , as Subban and Dale Weise each had a goal and an assist , en route to a 4 – 2 win . Matt Fraser then scored the only goal in Game 4 at 1 : 19 into overtime in Boston ' s 1 – 0 victory . In Game 5 , Reilly Smith and Jarome Iginla scored two power play goals 32 seconds apart in the second period to help give the Bruins a 4 – 2 win . However , Carey Price stopped all 26 Boston shots , and Thomas Vanek scored two goals , helping to give Montreal a 4 – 0 win in Game 6 . In Boston for Game 7 , Montreal defeated the Bruins 3 – 1 , as Price made 29 saves . ( M1 ) Pittsburgh Penguins vs . ( M2 ) New York Rangers . This was the fifth playoff meeting for these two teams , with Pittsburgh winning all four previous playoff series . Their most recent meeting was in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals , which Pittsburgh won in five games . Each team won two games in this year ' s four - game regular season series . For the first time in their team history , the Rangers overcame a 3 – 1 game deficit to win a seven - game series . The team who scored first won the game for all seven contests in the series . Much was made early on about scheduling , as the Rangers played five games in seven days , due to going to seven games in the first round and scheduling conflicts at Madison Square Garden . They were the first team to have such a playoff schedule in 25 years , and early on it looked like the schedule might adversely affect the Rangers ' chances , noted by many including Rangers coach Alain Vigneault . Derick Brassard scored 3 : 06 into overtime to give New York a 3 – 2 victory in Game 1 . Penguins goalie Marc - Andre Fleury then recorded two consecutive shutouts , stopping all 22 shots in a 3 – 0 win in Game 2 and 35 shots in a 2 – 0 victory in Game 3 . Fleury ' s back - to - back shutouts on back - to - back calendar days was the first time this was ever achieved in franchise history . It was also the first time the Rangers were shut out in back - to - back playoff games since 1937 . Pittsburgh also took in Game 4 , 4 – 2 , as Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist , and Sidney Crosby recorded two assists . Between games 4 and 5 , Rangers forward Martin St . Louis received the news that his mother unexpectedly passed away at the age of 63 due to a heart attack . Despite his mourning , St . Louis remained in the lineup , and the emotional spark that it provided turned New York around . The Rangers began their comeback with a 5 – 1 win in Game 5 , as Brassard scored two of New York ' s goals and Mats Zuccarello recorded 3 assists . New York then recorded a 3 – 1 victory in Game 6 , with three different players scoring goals . Finally , Brad Richards ' s power play goal 7 : 56 into the second period proved to be the difference in the Rangers ' 2 – 1 victory in Game 7 . Western Conference Semifinals . ( C3 ) Chicago Blackhawks vs . ( WC1 ) Minnesota Wild . This was the second playoff meeting for these two teams . Their only previous meeting was in the 2013 Western Conference Quarterfinals , which Chicago won in five games . The Wild won three of the five games in this year ' s regular season series . The Blackhawks eliminated the Wild in six games . The first five games in the series were won by the home team . Patrick Kane scored two goals to help give Chicago a 5 – 2 victory in Game 1 . In Game 2 , Bryan Bickell had a goal and two assists in Chicago ' s 4 – 1 win . The Wild won Game 3 , 4 – 0 , scoring 4 goals in the third period and limiting Chicago to only 19 shots on goal . Four different Minnesota players then recorded goals in the Wild ' s 4 – 2 victory in Game 4 . In Game 5 , Jonathan Toews scored the game - winning goal at 4 : 33 into the third period to break a 1 – 1 tie , and thus give the Blackhawks a 2 – 1 win . Game 6 in Minnesota went into overtime , where Kane scored the winning goal after the puck deflected off the glass behind the Wild net and then rolled into the slot , allowing him to take a shot just under the Minnesota crossbar . ( P1 ) Anaheim Ducks vs . ( P3 ) Los Angeles Kings . This was the first playoff meeting for these Pacific Division and crosstown rivals . The Ducks won four of the five games in this year ' s regular season series , including a 3 – 0 win at the NHL ' s inaugural Stadium Series game held at Dodger Stadium . The Kings eliminated the Ducks in seven games . The first four games in the series were won by the visiting team . Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau started Game 1 with Jonas Hiller in net . However , Marian Gaborik tied the game with about 7 seconds remaining in regulation , then scored the game - winner 12 : 17 into overtime to give Los Angeles a 3 – 2 win . The Kings also won Game 2 , 3 – 1 , as goalie Jonathan Quick only allowed one power play goal out of 37 shots . Boudreau then named Frederik Andersen as his starting goalie for Game 3 . Andersen made 22 saves out of 23 shots before leaving in third period due to a lower - body injury . Hiller went into the game as Andersen ' s replacement and made 7 saves out of 8 shots to help preserve a 3 – 2 victory of the Ducks . With Anaheim ' s starting goalie situation still in flux , Boudreau decided to turn to rookie John Gibson for Game 4 . The 20 - year old Gibson then became the youngest goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his playoff debut , making 28 saves to give Anaheim a 2 – 0 win . Gibson followed up his performance by recording 39 saves out of 42 shots , and Devante Smith - Pelly scored two goals , to help give the Ducks a 4 – 3 win in Game 5 . However , the Kings built a 2 – 0 second period lead in Game 6 en route to a 2 – 1 win . Los Angeles then controlled most of Game 7 , building a 4 – 0 second period lead before Boudreau opted to replace Gibson with Hiller . The Kings then scored another goal against Hiller to make it 5 – 0 , and held to win , 6 – 2 , to advance to the Conference Final . Conference Finals . Eastern Conference Finals . ( A3 ) Montreal Canadiens vs . ( M2 ) New York Rangers . This was the fifteenth playoff meeting for these two Original Six teams , with each team having won seven of the fourteen previous playoff series . Their most recent meeting was in the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals , which the Rangers won in six games . Montreal most recently made it to the Conference Finals in 2010 , losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games , while the Rangers made it to the Conference Finals in 2012 , losing in six games to the New Jersey Devils . Montreal won two of the three games in this year ' s regular season series . New York defeated Montreal in six games . With the Rangers holding a 2 – 1 lead midway through the second period of Game 1 , New York ' s Chris Kreider collided with Carey Price , injuring the Montreal goalie ' s knee . Although Price finished the rest of the period , he did not return for the rest of the series . Peter Budaj played for the rest of the game but the Rangers won 7 – 2 . Canadiens coach Michel Therrien started rookie goalie Dustin Tokarski in Game 2 . However Henrik Lundqvist stopped 40 of 41 shots , helping New York to a 3 – 1 victory . Early in the first period of Game 3 , Montreal ' s Brandon Prust leveled Derek Stepan but the referees missed the interference call ; the league would later suspend Prust two games . Later in the first period , Daniel Carcillo was penalized for charging into Prust from behind . As linesman Scott Driscoll attempted to escort Carcillo to the penalty box , Carcillo physically attempted to get away from Driscoll , leading to an automatic game misconduct and multi - game suspension . Meanwhile , the last three goals of the game were scored on rebounds and deflections . At 16 : 58 of the third period , Daniel Briere ' s shot deflected off of the Rangers ' s Ryan McDonagh ' s skate and into the net to give the Canadiens a 2 – 1 lead . New York then tied the game at 19 : 31 of the third period after Dan Girardi ' s shot deflected of off Chris Kreider and bounced off of Montreal ' s Alexei Emelin ' s skate into the net . And finally 72 seconds into overtime , Tomas Plekanec ' s shot deflected off of Alex Galchenyuk into the New York net to give the Canadiens the 3 – 2 win . The Rangers won Game 4 , 3 – 2 , as Martin St . Louis scored 6 : 02 into overtime . The Canadiens then bounced back in Game 5 , winning 7 – 4 , as they scored 4 goals out of their first 18 shots , and Rene Bourque recorded a hat trick . However , Dominic Moore scored Game 6 ' s only goal late in the second period , and with a 1 – 0 win the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in twenty years . Western Conference Finals . ( C3 ) Chicago Blackhawks vs . ( P3 ) Los Angeles Kings . This was the third playoff meeting for these two franchises , with Chicago having won both of their previous playoff meetings . This was a rematch of the previous season ' s Western Conference Finals , which Chicago won in five games . This was the third straight Conference Finals appearance for the Kings , while it was Chicago ' s fourth trip to the Conference Finals since 2009 . Chicago won all three games in this year ' s regular season series . The Kings eliminated the Blackhawks in seven games . Chicago took Game 1 , 3 – 1 , as Brandon Saad recorded a goal and assist , and Corey Crawford made 26 saves . In Game 2 , the Kings scored six unanswered goals , including a hat trick from Jeff Carter , to come back from a 2 – 0 deficit to win 6 – 2 . Jonathan Toews scored 2 goals in the first period of Game 3 to give the Blackhawks a 2 – 1 lead after twenty minutes , but Los Angeles ' s second line of Carter , Tyler Toffoli , and Tanner Pearson created two second period goals and the Kings won 4 – 3 . The Kings also dominated Game 4 , building a 4 – 0 lead in the second period en route to a 5 – 2 victory . Although the Kings rallied to tie Game 5 after falling behind 3 - 1 in the first period , Michal Handzus scored at 2 : 04 of double overtime to give the Blackhawks a 5 – 4 victory . Drew Doughty and Patrick Kane both had a goal and an assist in the third period of a back - and - forth Game 6 , which the Blackhawks won 4 – 3 . The Blackhawks scored the first two goals of Game 7 . The Kings cut the lead in half with a controversial goal when Kings forward , Jeff Carter , appeared to be offside . The Blackhawks later took a 4 - 3 lead after Patrick Sharp added two more , but Marian Gaborik converted Dustin Brown ' s rebound to tie the game in the third period . At 5 : 47 of overtime Alec Martinez ' s wrist shot from the blue line deflected past Crawford to give the Kings a 5 – 4 victory and a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals . Stanley Cup Final . This was the third playoff meeting for these two teams , with the Rangers having won both of their previous playoff series against the Kings . Their most recent meeting was in the preliminary round of the 1981 playoffs , a best of five series which the Rangers won 3 – 1 . While the Kings won their franchise ' s first Stanley Cup in 2012 , the Rangers had not won a Stanley Cup since 1994 . The Kings and Rangers split this year ' s two - game regular season series . This was the third Finals appearance for the Kings , while the Rangers made their eleventh Finals appearance . This was the first time a Norwegian player appeared in the Finals ( Mats Zuccarello of the New York Rangers ) . Player statistics . Skaters . These are the top ten skaters based on points . Goaltending . 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 . Television . In Canada , the Stanley Cup Playoffs were broadcast by CBC , TSN and RDS , with each network having exclusive broadcast rights to selected series throughout , and CBC having exclusive rights to the finals . This season marked the final playoffs broadcast by TSN and RDS , as Rogers Media , Sportsnet and TVA take over national broadcast rights to the NHL beginning in the 2014 – 15 season ( although CBC will still air Rogers - produced coverage of the playoffs and finals ) . Due to scheduling conflicts with a Toronto Raptors NBA playoff game on TSN , Game 3 of the Rangers - Flyers first round series on April 22 was moved to Sportsnet 360 — a sister network of the future rightsholder , and joined in progress by TSN following the game . In the United States , all playoff games were nationally televised by either NBCSN , CNBC , NHL Network , or NBC . During the first round , these telecasts co - existed with those of regional rightsholders , after which NBC had exclusive rights to the remaining games .