2011 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) began on April 13 , 2011 , after the conclusion of the 2010 – 11 NHL regular season . Game 1 of the Finals was held on June 1 , while Game 7 was held on June 15 . The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in the Finals to capture their first Stanley Cup championship since 1972 . Playoff seeds . After the regular season , the standard 16 teams qualified for the playoffs . The Vancouver Canucks were the Western Conference regular season champions and the Presidents ' Trophy winners with the best record in the NHL at 117 points . The Washington Capitals earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 107 points . This is the first time all three California - based teams ( San Jose Sharks , Los Angeles Kings , and Anaheim Ducks ) and all four Pacific coast teams ( with the Vancouver Canucks ) have made the playoffs in the same year . Western Conference . With 95 points , the Dallas Stars tied a record set by the 2006 – 07 Colorado Avalanche for the team with the highest season point total that failed to make the playoffs . 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 . Thus , the Vancouver Canucks have home ice advantage in this year ' s Finals . Each best - of - seven series follows a 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 1 format : the higher - seeded team plays at home for games one and two ( and games five and seven , if necessary ) , and the lower - seeded team is at home for games three and four ( and game six , if necessary ) . Conference Quarterfinals . Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . ( 1 ) Washington Capitals vs . ( 8 ) New York Rangers . The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season champions , earning 107 points . The New York Rangers qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 93 points . This was the sixth playoff series between the two franchises ; Washington had won three of the previous five meetings between these teams . The two teams had previously met in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs , in which the Capitals defeated the Rangers in seven games . In the regular season series , the Rangers held a 3 – 1 – 0 record , winning the last three games by a combined score of 15 – 1 , although the Rangers were only able to score eight goals in this series , losing it in five games . ( 2 ) Philadelphia Flyers vs . ( 7 ) Buffalo Sabres . The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 106 points , winning the tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Penguins on regulation + overtime wins ( 44 to 39 ) . The Buffalo Sabres earned the seventh seed with 96 points , losing the tiebreaker to Montreal on regulation + overtime wins ( 38 to 41 ) . This was the ninth meeting of these two teams in the postseason ; Philadelphia had won five of the eight previous playoff series . Their previous matchup occurred during the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals , which ended with Buffalo defeating Philadelphia in six games . The series started out with a 1 – 0 shutout victory for Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller in Game 1 , while Philadelphia came back to win Games 2 and 3 . Miller got another 1 – 0 shutout victory in Game 4 , to tie the series up 2 – 2 . In Game 5 , Buffalo was up 3 – 0 at the end of the first period , but Philadelphia scored three goals to send the game to overtime . However , Tyler Ennis of Buffalo would score the overtime winner . In Game 6 , Buffalo looked in good position to win after being up 3 – 1 after the 1st period , but Philadelphia rallied back , winning the game 5 – 4 on Ville Leino ' s overtime winner . In Game 7 , Philadelphia went up 4 – 0 about 2 minutes into the 3rd period on a goal by Ville Leino . Due to that , Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller was pulled for the first time in the series , and Philadelphia won the game by a score of 5 – 2 , to win the series 4 – 3 . ( 3 ) Boston Bruins vs . ( 6 ) Montreal Canadiens . The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Northeast Division with 103 points . The Montreal Canadiens earned the sixth seed with 96 points , winning the tiebreaker over Buffalo on regulation and overtime wins ( 41 to 38 ) . This was the 33rd meeting of these teams in the postseason , which is the most frequent playoff series in NHL history . Montreal had a record of 24 – 8 against Boston in the 32 previous series played by the franchises , winning 18 straight between 1946 and 1987 . Boston had only beaten Montreal en route to winning the championship once before , in 1929 . The most recent meeting of these teams in the postseason was in 2009 , which ended with Boston sweeping Montreal . In this series , the Boston Bruins dropped their first 2 games at home , but came back to hang on to a Game 3 victory in Montreal . In Game 4 , Andrei Kostitsyn gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3 – 1 lead , which they couldn ' t take advantage of , falling 5 – 4 on an overtime goal by former Montreal Canadien Michael Ryder . Game 5 was sent into double overtime for Nathan Horton to win it 2 – 1 for Boston , but in Game 6 , Montreal scored twice on 5 - on - 3 power plays and won it 2 – 1 . Game 7 was also forced into overtime , where Nathan Horton again won the game 4 – 3 and sent the Boston to the second round of the playoffs . It can be said that the eventual Stanley Cup Champions were pushed the hardest in the 2011 playoffs by Montreal , with Boston taking 3 of their 4 wins in overtime and being the first team to win a postseason series despite being held scoreless on the power play . On April 10 , the scheduled date of the French - language Canadian federal election debate between party leaders was changed from April 14 to April 13 so it would not conflict with Game 1 of the series . Games 6 and 7 were played back - to - back due to a Lady Gaga concert , held on April 25 at the Bell Centre , and the requirement that the first round of the playoffs end by April 27 . ( 4 ) Pittsburgh Penguins vs . ( 5 ) Tampa Bay Lightning . The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the Eastern Conference with 106 points , losing the tiebreaker for the Atlantic Division title to the Philadelphia Flyers on regulation + overtime wins ( 39 to 44 ) . The Tampa Bay Lightning earned 103 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Conference . This was the first playoff series between these two teams . To start the series , Penguins goaltender Marc - Andre Fleury shut out Tampa Bay 3 – 0 in Game 1 , with the Lightning responding with a 5 – 1 win . Unfortunately for the Lightning , they dropped Games 3 and 4 both in overtime , only to answer with a huge 8 – 2 victory in Pittsburgh , forcing a Game 6 at home that ended 4 – 2 in favor of the Tampa Bay Lightning . In Game 7 , Lightning forward Sean Bergenheim scored about 5 minutes into the second period . The Lightning managed to hold on to that 1 – 0 lead , advancing to the Eastern Conference Semi - Finals . Western Conference Quarterfinals . ( 1 ) Vancouver Canucks vs . ( 8 ) Chicago Blackhawks . The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions and Presidents ' Trophy winners , earning 117 points . The Chicago Blackhawks qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 97 points . This was the third straight year that Vancouver has met Chicago in the playoffs . Chicago previously eliminated Vancouver in the second round in both 2009 and 2010 ; both of those series went to six games . After losing the first three games of the series , Chicago won the next three . This was the seventh time in NHL history that a team forced a seventh game after trailing 3 – 0 in a playoff series . However , Vancouver won the seventh game in overtime to avoid becoming the fourth team in NHL history to lose a series after taking a 3 – 0 series lead . ( 2 ) San Jose Sharks vs . ( 7 ) Los Angeles Kings . The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference after winning the Pacific Division with 105 points . The Los Angeles Kings earned the seventh seed with 98 points . This was the first meeting of these teams in the postseason . The series started out with a bang in Game 1 , with Dany Heatley scoring only 28 seconds into the game . That game was later on won by Joe Pavelski in overtime , but a good response by the Kings in Game 2 gave them a 4 - 0 shut out victory in San Jose . In Game 3 , San Jose became the fifth team in NHL playoff history to win a game by after being faced with a 4 – 0 deficit , where Devin Setoguchi of San Jose scored the game winning goal in overtime , to make the final score 6 - 5 . Still at home , Los Angeles lost Game 4 by a score of 6 – 3 . In Game 5 , at San Jose , Los Angeles would win by a score of 3 – 1 . However , that would not be enough , as Joe Thornton of San Jose scored the game winning goal in overtime of Game 6 to eliminate Los Angeles from the playoffs , in a 4 - 2 series win . ( 3 ) Detroit Red Wings vs . ( 6 ) Phoenix Coyotes . The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference after winning the Central Division with 104 points . This was Detroit ' s 20th straight appearance in the postseason . The Phoenix Coyotes earned the sixth seed with 99 points , losing tiebreakers to both the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators . This was a rematch of the previous year ' s first round series , in which Detroit defeated Phoenix in seven games . The Red Wings had 13 different goal scorers in the series . ( 4 ) Anaheim Ducks vs . ( 5 ) Nashville Predators . The Anaheim Ducks entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the Western Conference with 99 points , winning tiebreakers over the Nashville Predators and the Phoenix Coyotes . The Nashville Predators also earned 99 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall . They lost the tiebreaker to Anaheim by having fewer games won in regulation and overtime ( 38 to 43 ) . This was the first playoff series between these two teams . After making the playoffs for the sixth time in 12 seasons , Nashville moved on to the second round for the first time in franchise history . Conference Semifinals . Eastern Conference Semifinals . ( 1 ) Washington Capitals vs . ( 5 ) Tampa Bay Lightning . This was the second playoff series between these two teams . Washington and Tampa Bay previously met in the first round of the 2003 playoffs , where Tampa Bay defeated Washington in six games . In the six - game regular season series between these teams , Washington won four games ( including one win in a shootout ) . In Game 1 , Sean Bergenheim , the player with the winning goal in Game 7 against Pittsburgh , opened the scoring for Tampa Bay , but goals from Alexander Semin and Eric Fehr put Washington up 2 – 1 , only for Tampa Bay to regain the lead and win with Steven Stamkos ' s late 2nd period power play goal . Late in Game 2 , Tampa Bay was up 2 – 1 , when Alexander Ovechkin received a pass from behind the net to tie the game at 2 , but in overtime , Tampa Bay forward Vincent Lecavalier put in his second goal of the game to win it for Tampa Bay . Game 3 was a hard fought game for Washington , after being up 3 – 2 to start the third period . However , Washington would ultimately lose Game 3 by a score of 4 – 3 . Washington would then lose Game 4 by a score of 5 – 3 , to fall to Tampa Bay in a 4 – 0 series sweep . ( 2 ) Philadelphia Flyers vs . ( 3 ) Boston Bruins . This was sixth playoff series between these two teams . It was a rematch of the second - round series that was played the previous year , in which Philadelphia defeated Boston in seven games . Boston won the first three games of the 2010 series ; however , Philadelphia rallied to win the final four games , and became the third team in NHL history to win a series by coming back from a 3 – 0 series deficit . However , in the 2011 series , Philadelphia was not able to repeat that feat , as Boston swept Philadelphia out of the playoffs to move to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 . This series featured some goaltending trouble for Philadelphia ; Boston outscored Philadelphia 20 – 7 in four games . Brian Boucher started the first three games , but was pulled in all three : he was removed from Games 1 and 3 due to performance , and he was briefly removed from Game 2 due to injury . In all , Philadelphia started three different goaltenders in the 11 games that they played in the 2011 playoffs ; six of those games featured a change of goalie . Western Conference Semifinals . ( 1 ) Vancouver Canucks vs . ( 5 ) Nashville Predators . This was the first playoff series between these two teams . It was also the first time that the Nashville Predators played in the second round of the playoffs . Vancouver and Nashville had split the four - game regular season series between them . Vancouver won this series in six games to advance to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1994 . Each game in this series was decided by just a single goal ( with the exception of an empty net goal scored by Vancouver in Game 4 ) . ( 2 ) San Jose Sharks vs . ( 3 ) Detroit Red Wings . This was the fifth playoff series between these two teams . This was a rematch of the second - round series that took place the previous year , in which San Jose defeated Detroit in five games . After losing the first three games , Detroit won the next three , to force a seventh game . This was the eighth time this feat had been achieved in NHL history , the third time in the last two seasons , and the second time in the 2011 playoffs . Chicago had accomplished the same feat against Vancouver in the Quarterfinals , ultimately losing that series . Since the New York Islanders twice forced a game seven after being down 3 – 0 during the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs , there had been 112 consecutive failed attempts to repeat that feat prior to the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs , after which it has happened in three of the seven possible series . San Jose won the seventh game by a score of 3 – 2 to avoid becoming the fourth team in NHL history to lose a series after taking a 3 – 0 series lead . It allowed them their second consecutive trip to the Conference Finals . Six of the games were decided by only one goal ; the only exception was a 3 – 1 win for Detroit in game six , in which Darren Helm of Detroit scored an empty net goal . Conference Finals . Eastern Conference Finals . ( 3 ) Boston Bruins vs . ( 5 ) Tampa Bay Lightning . This was the first playoff series between these teams . Boston won three of the four games that were played in the regular season . Bruins rookie Tyler Seguin scored a goal and an assist in his first career playoff game in Game 1 . In Game 2 he tied the NHL record for points by a teenager in a single playoff period with four points , two goals and two assists ( held by Trevor Linden ) . The 1 – 0 Game 7 Boston victory featured remarkable discipline from both teams , as no penalties were called during the game . This was the first time this has happened in the playoffs in over twenty years . Nathan Horton recorded his second Game 7 winning goal in this year ' s playoffs . His first was scored against Montreal in round one . Western Conference Finals . ( 1 ) Vancouver Canucks vs . ( 2 ) San Jose Sharks . This was the first playoff series between these teams . Vancouver won three of the four games that were played in the regular season ; their only loss to San Jose came in a shootout . Both Vancouver and San Jose played in a series during the 2011 playoffs ( Quarterfinals and Semifinals , respectively ) where each took a 3 – 0 series lead , only to see the opposing team win the next three games to force a seventh game . However , both won their respective seventh games to advance to the next round of the playoffs . San Jose , facing elimination in game five , held a 2 – 1 lead near the end of the game , until Ryan Kesler forced overtime by scoring with only 13 . 2 seconds left in the third period after a controversial icing call . After a scoreless first overtime , Kevin Bieksa would score the series - winning goal 10 : 18 into the second overtime , to send Vancouver to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994 . The Canucks had previously won the Western Conference Finals on May 24 , 1994 , 17 years to the day before this year ' s Conference Finals win . Both games went to double overtime . Stanley Cup Finals . As the Presidents ' Trophy winners , the Vancouver Canucks earned home ice advantage over the Boston Bruins in the Finals . This was the first playoff series between Vancouver and Boston . Vancouver and Boston met only once in the 2010 – 11 regular season , on February 26 . Boston won that game by a score of 3 – 1 . This was Vancouver ' s third appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals ; in both of their previous appearances , they lost to a team from New York . In 1982 , they were swept by the Islanders . In 1994 , they lost to the Rangers in seven games . This was Boston ' s first appearance in the Finals since their five - game loss to the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 . Boston last won the Stanley Cup in 1972 , when they defeated the New York Rangers in six games . In a back - and - forth series , the Bruins triumphed in seven games . This series was marked by home team dominance , as the Canucks and Bruins each won their first three games at home . All of Vancouver ' s wins were close affairs at Rogers Arena : two 1 – 0 wins in Games 1 and 5 , and a 3 – 2 overtime victory in Game 2 . In Boston , the Bruins buried the Canucks in an avalanche of goals , winning Games 3 , 4 , and 6 by scores of 8 – 1 , 4 – 0 , and 5 – 2 respectively . In the seventh and deciding game , the Bruins defeated the Canucks 4 – 0 . Statistical leaders . Skaters . These are the top ten skaters based on points . If the list exceeds ten skaters because of a tie in points , goals take precedence , and all 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 are bolded .