2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs − The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 9 , 2008 , after the 2007 – 08 regular season . The sixteen teams that qualified , eight from each conference , played best - of - 7 series for conference quarterfinals , semifinals and championships , and then the conference champions played a best - of - 7 series for the Stanley Cup . The Finals ended on June 4 , 2008 , with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two to win their eleventh championship and their fourth in eleven seasons . It was the first championship in the 16 year career of Red Wings winger Dallas Drake , who retired following the season . Red Wings winger Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff ' s Most Valuable Player . Highlights . The San Jose Sharks were the media ' s favorite to win the cup going into the play - offs , having gone the entire month of March without a regulation loss and nearly finishing first overall during the regular season . Milestones . In game one of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Minnesota Wild , captain Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche extended his record for playoff overtime goals to 8 , with a goal 11 : 11 into overtime . Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings appeared in his 248th career playoff game , passing Patrick Roy for most career playoff games of all - time . In game two of the Western Conference Semifinals in San Jose , Dallas Stars ' center Brad Richards tied an NHL record for most points in one period of a playoff game , when he recorded one goal and three assists in the third period . In the Western Conference Semifinals against the Colorado Avalanche , Johan Franzen set a Detroit Red Wings record for most goals in a playoff series with 9 , beating the previous record of 8 set by Gordie Howe in 1949 . Franzen achieved this feat in only four games , while Howe achieved it in seven . Game six of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Sharks and Stars was the eighth longest game in the history of the NHL , lasting 129 : 03 . Stars ' captain Brenden Morrow ended the game at 9 : 03 of the fourth overtime tapping in a power play goal . Goalies Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov set team records for saves in a game with 61 and 53 respectively . The final score was 2 – 1 . Nicklas Lidstrom became the first team captain born and trained in Europe whose team won the Stanley Cup . Charlie Gardiner ( born in Scotland ) and Johnny Gottselig ( born in Russia ) both won the Stanley Cup as captains of the Chicago Black Hawks ( in 1934 and 1938 , respectively ) , but they were both raised in Canada . New interpretation of NHL rule . In game three of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals , while on a 5 - on - 3 powerplay , the New York Rangers ' Sean Avery tried to screen the New Jersey Devils ' goaltender Martin Brodeur by waving his hands and stick while facing Brodeur . This prompted the NHL to issue an interpretation of the league ' s rules , stating that an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be called on actions such as the one used by Avery . Playoff seeds . After the 2007 – 08 NHL regular season , the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs . The Detroit Red Wings were the Western Conference regular season champions and were also the Presidents ' Trophy winners with the best record at 115 points . The Montreal Canadiens earned the Eastern Conference regular season crown with 104 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 , which gives them a possible maximum of four games on their home ice , with the lower - seeded team getting a possible maximum of three . In the Stanley Cup Finals , home ice is determined based on regular season points ; thus , the Detroit Red Wings had home ice advantage throughout the playoffs , including in the Finals . Each best - of - seven series follows a 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 1 format . This means that the higher - seeded team will have home ice for Games 1 and 2 , and if necessary , Games 5 and 7 , while the lower - seeded team will have home ice for Games 3 , 4 , and , if necessary , Game 6 . Statistical leaders . Skaters . These are the top ten skaters based on points . If the list exceeds ten skaters because of a tie in points , all of the tied skaters are shown . 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 is bolded . Conference Quarterfinals . Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . ( 1 ) Montreal Canadiens vs . ( 8 ) Boston Bruins . Going into the playoffs , expectations were high for the Montreal Canadiens , since they had won all eight games against the Boston Bruins during the 2007 – 08 season and the last three games of the previous season . Additionally , Montreal ended the regular season going 8 – 1 – 1 while Boston had a mediocre finish with 4 – 2 – 4 . One potential disadvantage for Montreal was the inexperience of their young goaltenders : Carey Price , age 20 , had only played 41 NHL games , and Jaroslav Halak , age 23 , had only played 16 NHL games . Neither Price nor Halák had any NHL playoff experience . However , Boston ' s Tim Thomas had only played 165 career NHL games , and he also had no NHL playoff experience . A strong performance in Game 1 reinforced the idea of a quick win for Montreal . The Bruins also lost Game 2 but demonstrated strong play throughout the game , culminating in two third period goals to take the game into overtime , where they quickly lost . Boston won Game 3 in overtime , ending the 13 - game winning streak that Montreal had accumulated against the Bruins . The tight competition continued into Game 4 , with Canadiens goaltender Carey Price notching his first playoff shutout in a 1 – 0 win . After two periods in Game 5 , with the score 1 – 1 , the game looked as though it would be another close battle . However , a mishandling of the puck by Carey Price early in the third period resulted in a goal for Glen Metropolit ; this ended up being a turning point in the game ; Boston followed up with three more goals in the period to win 5 – 1 . The Bruins also won Game 6 in a high scoring match to tie the series at 3 – 3 . In Game 7 , Montreal rebounded from the lackluster performances of its previous games and won with a dominant and convincing 5 – 0 win , resulting in Price ' s second career playoff shutout . ( 2 ) Pittsburgh Penguins vs . ( 7 ) Ottawa Senators . The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the second overall seed in the Eastern Conference , having clinched the Atlantic Division title with 102 points . Meanwhile , the Senators limped into the playoffs as the seventh seed , with key players out with injuries , including captain Daniel Alfredsson who missed the first two games . The Penguins dominated the Senators in Game 1 , winning by a score of 4 - 0 . The Penguins then held on for a 5 - 3 win in Game 2 , taking a 2 - 0 series advantage . The Senators were hoping to gain momentum when the series shifted to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4 , but the Penguins would not relent . Sidney Crosby ' s goal in the opening seconds of the third period of Game 3 broke a 1 - 1 tie , and Pittsburgh eventually won 4 - 1 , and then completed the series sweep in Game 4 with a 3 - 1 win . Sidney Crosby led the Penguins with 8 points ( 2 goals and 6 assists ) . ( 3 ) Washington Capitals vs . ( 6 ) Philadelphia Flyers . The Washington Capitals made a late season surge that helped them clinch first place in the Southeast Division , and third overall spot in the Eastern Conference while the Philadelphia Flyers returned to the playoffs after finishing last in the league the previous season . The Capitals were victorious in Game 1 thanks to the game winning goal being scored by Alexander Ovechkin , but the Flyers won three straight games to take a 3 - 1 lead in the series , including 4 - 3 Game 4 victory in double overtime thanks to Mike Knuble . But Washington was able to win the next two games to force a Game 7 . Joffrey Lupul scored a power play goal in overtime of Game 7 to advance the Philadelphia Flyers to the next playoff round . ( 4 ) New Jersey Devils vs . ( 5 ) New York Rangers . Tension was high in this series , as the Rangers won 7 of the 8 games against the Devils during the regular season . The New York Rangers mostly dominated the New Jersey Devils in the opening round , becoming the first team to win on New Jersey ' s home ice three times in a playoff series . The Devils ' only win was an overtime victory in Game 3 with a goal by John Madden . In Game 3 , the Rangers ' Sean Avery tried to screen New Jersey ' s goaltender Martin Brodeur by waving his hands and stick while facing Brodeur . This prompted the NHL to issue an interpretation of the league ' s rules , stating that an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be called on actions such as the one used by Avery . The Rangers won the next two games , each by a score of 5 - 3 to move on to the Eastern Conference Semi - Finals . Western Conference Quarterfinals . ( 1 ) Detroit Red Wings vs . ( 8 ) Nashville Predators . The Detroit Red Wings began the playoffs as the President ' s Trophy winners as the highest seed in the NHL , while the Nashville Predators had battled for a playoff spot , clinching a spot in the final days of the regular season . It was the second - ever playoff matchup between the two teams , with the Red Wings winning the first in 2004 in six games . The Red Wings won each of the first two games at home 3 - 1 and 4 - 2 respectively , but when the series shifted to Nashville for Games 3 and 4 , the Predators battled back to tie the series at two games apiece . Jason Arnott scored the winning goal in Game 3 , with Greg de Vries scoring the winner in Game 4 . The turning point in the series came when Red Wings starting goaltender Dominik Hasek was replaced by Chris Osgood in the middle of Game 4 . Osgood was then named the starter for the remainder of the series . Detroit won Game 5 thanks to an overtime goal from Johan Franzen , and then shut out the Predators 3 - 0 in Game 6 in Nashville to take the series in six games , advancing to the second round . ( 2 ) San Jose Sharks vs . ( 7 ) Calgary Flames . San Jose came into the series as Stanley Cup favorites and the hottest team in the NHL , while the Flames were considered the underdogs . Calgary won Game 1 in San Jose , thanks to two goals by Stephane Yelle and two assists from Jarome Iginla , before San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov recorded a shutout in Game 2 to help the Sharks tie the series . The Flames then rallied from a three - goal deficit to earn a Game 3 victory thanks to backup goaltender Curtis Joseph ' s strong performance in relief of Miikka Kiprusoff , and appeared to be on their way to a Game 4 win as well , but the Sharks scored two goals late in the third period to win the game and tie the series . San Jose jumped again to a three - goal lead and held off a Calgary comeback in Game 5 , but Miikka Kiprusoff recorded his own shutout in Game 6 to force a deciding Game 7 as the Flames won , 2 - 0 . Unfortunately for the Flames , veteran Jeremy Roenick had something to prove in these playoffs and exploded in game 7 , scoring 2 goals to go along with 2 assists as the Sharks won 5 - 3 ; Roenick was named the game ' s first Star . Curtis Joseph made his second appearance in the series , once again relieving Kiprusoff . Jarome Iginla and the Flames failed to get past the first round for the third time in three years after playing in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004 . ( 3 ) Minnesota Wild vs . ( 6 ) Colorado Avalanche . The first three games of the conference quarterfinals series between the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche each ended with 3 – 2 scores in overtime , with the Avalanche taking the first game and the Wild winning the next two . But five different Colorado players scored goals in Game 4 to give them the win . Then Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny scored less than 80 seconds apart in the third period of Game 5 to win it for the Avs . Colorado then captured the series in Game 6 , aided by Jose Theodore ' s 34 saves out of 35 shots . ( 4 ) Anaheim Ducks vs . ( 5 ) Dallas Stars . The defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks came into the 2008 playoffs finishing second in the Pacific Division behind the San Jose Sharks , and they were slotted as the fourth seed in the West facing the fifth seeded Dallas Stars in the opening round . Despite winning five of eight games against the Ducks during the regular season , the Stars had lost their last two matchups and only collected six total points in the month of March ( out of a possible 22 points ) . Consequently , the defending champions were heavy favorites against the Stars , who had not made it out of the first round in over five years . Dallas stunned the undisciplined Ducks , posting a 4 – 0 shutout in Game 1 , with all four goals coming on the powerplay . Anaheim went into in Game 2 with a much more focused attack but could only manage a 2 – 2 tie after two periods . Dallas then took control of the series , getting three goals in the third period . The series shifted to Dallas with the Stars having a 2 – 0 series lead . In Game 3 , the Ducks avoided a 3 – 0 deficit by taking control early in the game and jumping out to a 4 – 0 lead , with two goals coming from Ducks captain Chris Pronger . Anaheim won the game , 4 – 2 . Anaheim ' s leading goal scorer in the regular season , Corey Perry , returned from injury in Game 4 . However , the Ducks could not keep up with the Stars ' home - ice advantage , and scored their only goal of the game with eight seconds left . Dallas won the game 3 – 1 and took a commanding 3 – 1 series lead . Game 5 returned to Anaheim — where the Stars had already won the first two games of the series — as the Ducks attempted to avoid elimination . The Stars kept it close , but the Ducks took control late in the game , getting their first contributions of the series from Perry . The Ducks won 5 – 2 to send the series back to Dallas . In Dallas , the Ducks struck first , getting another goal from Perry , but the Stars scored four goals in the third period with defenseman Stephane Robidas scoring a goal and then setting up Stu Barnes for the game winner just one minute later to give the Stars the series win . Conference Semifinals . Eastern Conference Semifinals . ( 1 ) Montreal Canadiens vs . ( 6 ) Philadelphia Flyers . The Philadelphia Flyers won four consecutive games to eliminate the Eastern Conference top seeded Montreal Canadiens . The Canadiens took Game 1 with Tom Kostopoulos ' s goal in overtime , but then had a hard time getting past Flyers goaltender Martin Biron for the rest of the series . Montreal goaltender Carey Price started to struggle with the Flyers , and was replaced by Jaroslav Halak late in Game 3 . Price regained his starting job in Game 5 , and the Canadians jumped to a 3 – 1 lead early in the second period , but the Flyers scored three consecutive goals en route to a 6 – 4 series clinching victory . ( 2 ) Pittsburgh Penguins vs . ( 5 ) New York Rangers . The semifinal matchup , between two Atlantic Division rivals , began on April 25 . After overcoming a 3 – 0 deficit midway through the second period , the Penguins took the lead with 1 : 41 remaining , and held on to win the game 5 – 4 . In Game Two Penguins ' goaltender Marc - Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots to achieve his second shutout of the playoffs ; the Penguins won the game 2 – 0 to take a 2 – 0 lead in the series . Game Three shifted the series to New York , where the Rangers were undefeated against the Penguins during the regular season . Martin Straka scored his second goal of the series to tie the game at one , in the first period . But in late in the second Evgeni Malkin netted his second game - winning goal of the series to give the Penguins a 3 – 0 lead in the series . Facing elimination in Game Four , Rangers ' goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 29 shots that he faced , and Jaromir Jagr scored twice as New York shutout the Penguins , 3 – 0 . Game Five was played in Pittsburgh , after falling to a 2 – 0 deficit the Rangers battled back to tie the game , which was forced into overtime . Pittsburgh ' s Marian Hossa , scored his fourth goal of the series , at the 7 : 10 mark of the first overtime , to win the series for the Penguins . The Penguins went on to play another division rival , the Philadelphia Flyers , for the Eastern Conference championship . Western Conference Semifinals . ( 1 ) Detroit Red Wings vs . ( 6 ) Colorado Avalanche . The Red Wings and Avalanche met for the sixth time in the playoffs , with the winner of the series later winning the Stanley Cup 3 times . Once bitter rivals , this series proved to be no contest as the Red Wings scored 21 total goals in four games to sweep the Avalanche , the first ever sweep in the two teams playoff matchups against each other . Detroit ' s Johan Franzen scored 9 goals , including two hat tricks , breaking the franchise record for goals in a playoff series , and also scoring as many goals as the entire Avalanche team . Meanwhile , Colorado was depleted with several key players out with injuries , including Peter Forsberg ( who played 1 game in the series ) , Ryan Smyth , Paul Stastny , and Wojtek Wolski . ( 2 ) San Jose Sharks vs . ( 5 ) Dallas Stars . Dallas opened the series having not lost in regulation to the Sharks in San Jose since 2006 , however , as in the Anaheim series , the Stars were seeded lower than the Sharks , who had home ice advantage . Game 1 went to overtime after a late goal by Jonathan Cheechoo which tied the game , but Dallas captain Brenden Morrow scored in overtime to finish the game at 3 – 2 . In Game 2 , defenceman Sergei Zubov returned from a hernia injury that had kept him out since January . Stars ' center Brad Richards keyed a four goal outburst in the third period for Dallas , scoring a goal and three assists to lead The Stars to a 5 – 2 win . The Stars became only the fifth team in NHL history to win games 1 and 2 on the road in back to back series in the playoffs . In Game 3 in Dallas , the Stars won again in overtime on a rare goal from defenceman Mattias Norstrom . With the Stars leading the Sharks 3 – 0 in the series , San Jose fought off elimination with third period goals from Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek in Game 4 . San Jose came back home for Game 5 . Dallas took a two goal lead into the third period , however , the Sharks tied the game with goals by Michalek and Brian Campbell . Overtime was needed for the third time in five games , but just 1 : 05 into the first overtime , San Jose center Joe Pavelski converted a turnover to keep the Sharks alive in the playoffs down 3 – 2 . Brenden Morrow had two goals disallowed in the game for illegally kicking the puck into the net and bunting one in with his hand . In Game 6 , Stars right wing Antti Miettinen opened the scoring in the second period off a rebound from Mike Modano . Minutes into the third period , San Jose winger Ryane Clowe tied the game on an odd shot from the halfboards . Replay showed the puck appeared to have been played with an illegal hand pass . Stars goaltender Marty Turco protested , but no official review took place , and the goal was allowed to stand . The game required overtime for the fourth time in the series . The game played on until the early hours of the morning and featured a fantastic goaltending duel between Turco and Sharks ' goalie Evgeni Nabokov , each trading spectacular saves throughout all four overtimes . Just past the 9 : 00 mark of the fourth overtime , with Brian Campbell in the Sharks ' penalty box for tripping , Brenden Morrow tipped home a pass from defenceman Stephane Robidas to end the eighth longest game in NHL history and win the series for the Stars 4 – 2 . Goaltenders Turco and Nabokov set team records for saves in a game with 61 and 53 respectively . Conference Finals . Eastern Conference Finals . ( 2 ) Pittsburgh Penguins vs . ( 6 ) Philadelphia Flyers . The Eastern Conference finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers began on May 9 . Game One was tied with seven seconds remaining in the first period when Evgeni Malkin scored to give the Penguins a 3 – 2 lead . Malkin scored the first shorthanded goal of his career in the second to give the Penguins a 4 – 2 win and a 1 – 0 series lead . With less than a minute left in the second period , of Game Two , Mike Richards scored his third goal of the series to tie the game at two . But Maxime Talbot and Jordan Staal added goals for the Penguins to give them their second consecutive 4 – 2 victory . The series shifted to Philadelphia for Game Three , where the Penguins struggled in the regular season . R . J . Umberger scored half - way through the first period to pull the Flyers within one goal , but the Flyers failed to score again . After getting two more goals in the third the Penguins won the game 4 – 1 , to gain a 3 – 0 series lead . Facing elimination in Game Four , the Flyers jumped out to a 3 – 0 lead in the first period . Penguins ' Jordan Staal scored twice in the third period , but Joffery Lupul tallied his second goal of the game to win the game for the Flyers , 4 – 2 . With the series returning to Pittsburgh , the Penguins won their eighth consecutive home game to win the Prince of Wales Trophy , by a final score of 6 – 0 . Western Conference Finals . The Red Wings and Stars met in the playoffs for the first time since the 1998 Western Conference Finals . Detroit took a 1 - 0 series lead in Game 1 , winning 4 - 1 , with Red Wings winger Johan Franzen scored his league leading 12th playoff goal . The Red Wings won Game 2 by a 2 - 1 margin ; rookie Darren Helm scored his first career playoff goal . A scrum followed the game , originating when Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood ' s stick struck Stars center Mike Ribeiro , who retaliated with a two handed slash to Osgood ' s chest ; no suspensions were given . The Red Wings dominated the Stars in Game 3 in Dallas , winning 5 - 2 . Center Pavel Datsyuk recorded a hat trick for the Red Wings , while Osgood stopped 16 shots for the win . But the Stars would avoid elimination in Game 4 , winning 3 - 1 . Back in Detroit for Game 5 , Stars goaltender Marty Turco stopped 38 shots as the Stars won , 2 - 1 . It was Turco ' s first ever win at Joe Louis Arena at the professional level . But the Red Wings would return to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2002 , winning Game 6 by a score of 4 - 1 . Stanley Cup Final . The 2008 Stanley Cup Final was won by the Detroit Red Wings over the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games . The series was broadcast in Canada by CBC ' s " Hockey Night in Canada " . In Quebec , RDS televised the series . In the United States , Versus televised Games 1 and 2 , while NBC broadcast the remainder . In the United Kingdom , all games were shown on Five ( channel ) .