2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs The 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs , the championship of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) , were played from April until June . the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils to win their second Stanley Cup . 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 . Defenseman Ray Bourque , who had a career - long tenure in Boston without winning the championship , finally won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche . Bourque and goalkeeper Patrick Roy claimed the Stanley Cup for the final time in their careers . Roy was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff ' s most valuable player . No hat tricks were scored in the 2001 playoffs , and goaltenders combined for a record 19 shutouts . Quarterfinals . Three of the bottom four seeded teams in the Eastern Conference succeeded in the quarterfinals round against their higher seeded opponents : The seven - seed Maple Leafs , the six - seed Penguins , and the five - seed Sabres . The only Western Conference team to be upset was the Detroit Red Wings who had a two games to zero lead in the series , but the Kings had what the Red Wings didn ' t have : persistence . The Red Wings were a heavy favorite to beat the Kings . Each conference saw one sweep series , but neither conference experienced any game - seven series , the series which is arguably the most exciting moment in sports . Eastern Conference . New Jersey Devils v . Carolina Hurricanes . This was only the second time the Carolina Hurricanes had made the playoffs since relocating from Hartford . The playoffs were nothing new for the Devils , they had won the Stanley cup the previous season , and were expected to beat the Canes without difficulty in the first round . The eighth seeds always get underdog status in the first rounds of the playoffs , especially when the opponent is a Martin Brodeur - led , first - seed New Jersey Devils , and the hype against the last - seed Carolina Hurricanes was confirmed by a three games to zero lead by the Devils . The Hurricanes were shut out in two of those three losses , and the first game was lost by four goals , but the Hurricanes seemed resilient , coming back in game four and game five with victories of one - goal margins . Game four featured Hurricanes center Rod Brind ' Amour scoring the game - winning , overtime goal to give their team its first win of the series . In the end , though , the Devils defeated the Hurricanes in game six by four goals , five to one . " We gave them our all " is what head coach Paul Maurice said following the game 6 loss . They would get their revenge a year later however , by defeating the Devils in 6 games and advancing to the Cup finals . Ottawa Senators v . Toronto Maple Leafs . The matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs was one that left many hockey enthusiasts stunned . The second - seed Senators took on their seventh seeded counterpart , the Toronto Maple Leafs , and the Senators expected to roll over the Maple Leafs , but just the reverse happened . Game one was one of two overtime games in the series , and the first game ended with a shot from the blue line by Mats Sundin . Game two was distinguished by the play of the Maple Leafs , leaving the Senators in the dust three goals to zero . The second overtime game was game three where the score was tied at two goals apiece until Cory Cross scored early in the first overtime session . The fourth game was equally punishing by the Maple Leafs as they swept the number two seed . Washington Capitals v . Pittsburgh Penguins . The Penguins and Capitals had formed one of the biggest rivalries in the playoffs as of late . The Capitals playoff history was marked by disappointment and humiliation , including a bitter 5 game loss to these same Penguins the year previous . After game one , a game featuring high - standard goal tending that the Capitals won , the Penguins came roaring back in games two and three , game three being highlighted by rookie Johan Hedberg ' s shutout performance . Game four ended in overtime in favor of Washington , despite goals by Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux , the two superstars of Pittsburgh . In game five , Pittsburgh came out fast with Lemieux having a goal and an assist on top of Andrew Ference ' s goal to win by one goal , two goals to one . The elimination game , game six , went all the way to overtime where Martin Straka scored after stealing the puck from Capitals defenseman Sergei Gonchar to win the series for the Penguins , four games to two . The result was the same for the Caps once again . One more playoff collapse . Both teams would miss the playoffs the following season , and both would fire their coaches . Philadelphia Flyers v . Buffalo Sabres . The Flyers were entering this years playoffs still trying to forget the Eastern Conference finals the previous year . In 2000 they had a 3 – 1 series lead against the eventual cup champs Devils , but lost the next three . Coach Craig Ramsay was fired in the middle of the season , GM Bob Clarke exclaimed his decision was based on the fact that his Flyers were not " tough enough " . He hired ex - Flyer tough guy Bill Barber . The Sabres season was not as complicated , Lindy Ruff led his Sabres to one of their best regular seasons in recent history . In the playoffs , the two teams had met 3 times in 4 years , with the most recent series ending in with a Flyers win . The Sabres would look for revenge in the city of brotherly love . After Philadelphia got stopped by Dominik Hasek and the Sabres in the first two games , one of which was ended by a Jay McKee overtime goal , the Flyers came out in game three determined to win a game before losing the first three , and they did by one goal , but they lost again to the Sabres in game four in overtime , after Curtis Brown banged the puck past goalie Roman Cechmanek . The Flyers prevailed in game five by a two - goal margin , but they were hammered by the Sabres in game six : they gave up a total of eight goals , five of which were surrendered by Cechmanek who was replaced early by Brian Boucher , but Boucher didn ' t make a difference as he gave up three goals , too . Dominik Hasek notched another shutout performance in game six , and the Sabres moved on to the conference semifinals . Western Conference . Colorado Avalanche v . Vancouver Canucks . The Canucks were entering the playoffs for the first time since 1996 after several miserable seasons . The Avalanche were the heavily favoured team after winning the President ' s Trophy as the best team in the regular season . Each of the first three games were decided by one goal , the first game being a high - scoring affair with Chris Drury scoring the game - winner in the last minute of regulation and Rob Blake picking up four points . Peter Forsberg scored the overtime winner in Game 3 and the Avalanche strode away with a three - games - to - none advantage . Game 4 was close until the third period , when Peter Forsberg , Eric Messier , and Joe Sakic scored in 38 seconds to put the series away . Joe Sakic scored in each of the four games , and the Avalanche beat the Canucks in a 4 - game sweep . Detroit Red Wings v . Los Angeles Kings . In what is likely one of the largest upsets in Red Wings history , the seventh - seed Kings took a first - round series from number two Detroit , and Los Angeles came back to win the rest after trailing two games to zero . Game one and game two went to Detroit , game two coming easily by a four - goal margin , but the Kings persevered in game three behind Felix Potvin who netted 22 saves during the game . Game four was a game for the history books : in the third period , Detroit had a three - goal lead with about six minutes to go , but they relinquished the lead to the Kings ' Jozef Stumpel and crew who made a miraculous comeback to tie the game up and force it to overtime . In the extra period , Eric Belanger scored to put the finishing touch on the momentous come - from - behind victory and raise the team ' s spirits up with a tied series . After winning game five in Detroit , the Kings traveled back to Los Angeles to win in overtime on an Adam Deadmarsh goal that won the series . Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood bore the brunt of the blame for this series loss ; the following summer , the Red Wings acquired veteran goaltender Dominik Hasek and waived Osgood . Dallas Stars v . Edmonton Oilers . With four overtime games , three of which came on the heels of one another , the Stars fought off the Oilers after Edmonton tied the series up in game two , one of the two non - overtime games . Game one ended when Jamie Langenbrunner scored the overtime goal with more than seventeen minutes remaining . Game two was a cheeky game with nine roughing penalties , and out of the nine goals scored , only two were even strength goals . The penalty killing for each team was pretty poor : Edmonton scored three powerplay goals out of ten chances , and Dallas scored twice out of six chances . Game three ended very late in the initial overtime period when unlikely hero Benoit Hogue , of the Dallas Stars , scored the game - winning goal with twelve seconds remaining . In game four , it was Mike Comrie who closed the game with his own overtime goal with less than three minutes left in a first overtime period . The final overtime game concluded as Kirk Muller redeemed the Stars after they gave up a two - goal lead , but game six didn ’ t go as the previous game had : the Stars finished off the Edmonton Oilers as Mike Modano , Joe Nieuwendyk , and Brett Hull scored goals to win the series four games to two . St . Louis Blues v . San Jose Sharks . This series featured a rematch of the previous season ' s opening round playoff series , when the Sharks upset the President ' s Trophy - winning Blues in 7 games . Game one of this six - game set featured no goals in the first period , but three goals in the final period , as St . Louis edged the Sharks for the opening game of the series . Pierre Turgeon opened the scoring with a goal on a scramble in front of the net with less than 3 minutes remaining in the second period . The Blues punctuated the victory with an Al Macinnis 5 - on - 3 slap shot Power Play goal nearly 7 minutes into the third period , providing a lead that would prove insurmountable in this game . It was a rough game in the final period as misconduct penalties were dished out without hesitation : 52 total penalty minutes . Game two featured only one goal , and it came courtesy of Scott Thornton in the second period . Game three featured Dallas Drake who netted two goals , Scott Young who assisted three goals , and Pierre Turgeon who netted a Power Play goal and two assists ; game three ended six goals to three for St . Louis . One of Drake ' s goals was a short - handed effort on a 2 - on - 1 break . In game four , Keith Tkachuk scored a Power Play goal with one second remaining in the first period , but the player who would ultimately win game four would be Miikka Kiprusoff who encountered 41 shots and only let two into the net . San Jose won the game three goals to two . Kiprusoff would also play excellent hockey in game five when he stopped 35 shots out of 38 , but San Jose lost the game in overtime to a Bryce Salvador slap shot goal over Kiprusoff ' s left shoulder . The third period of an elimination game is not the most opportune moment to begin a comeback , and the San Jose Sharks realize this as well as anyone as Pavol Demitra scored the game - winning goal in the second period . Roman Turek , though , in the final two minutes of the third period stopped an onslaught of shots by the Sharks , and once the game ended , Chris Pronger , captain of the Blues , tackled Turek to congratulate him on his performance . The St . Louis Blues won the series four games to two . Eastern Conference Semifinals . New Jersey Devils v . Toronto Maple Leafs . Both the Devils and the Maple Leafs were efficient on the powerplay : 6 goals on 32 chances ( 18 % ) for New Jersey , and Toronto also scored 6 goals but on only 26 chances ( 23 % ) . Brodeur and Joseph weren ' t exceptional , saving 130 shots out of 148 ( 88 % ) and 185 shots out of 206 ( 10 % ) faced , respectively . The Leafs were more efficient on the powerplay ( and thus had more efficient penalty killing ) and Joseph was more efficient than Brodeur in the goal . Game One . The Maple Leafs flew out the gate in the Semifinals against New Jersey ; the Devils had a very tough time on the powerplay , and being the top powerplay team in the league was surprising to many when the Devils failed to score on eight opportunities . The game - winning goal came from Nik Antropov in the second period , and Steve Thomas added a powerplay goal in the same period . But one goal was enough in this one , as Curtis Joseph played tremendously well for the Leafs , stopping all 32 shots by the Devils to shut them down in game one . Game Two . Game one and game two were of seeming opposites : game two features nine more goals by the two teams . The Leafs started scoring in the first period , and they led going into the second period one goal to none . The Devils came thrashing back in the second period , scoring four consecutive goals against Joseph , one each by Gomez , Rafalski , Mogilny , and Madden . Entering the period down by thee goals , the Maple Leafs ’ Sundin scored a short - handed goal just 29 seconds in , but the Devils ’ Mogilny would respond with a powerplay goal just 38 seconds after that . Still down three goals , the Maple Leafs had to score quickly to try and return the game ’ s competitiveness , and they did just that . The Leafs ’ Thomas and Sundin would tie the game up with three goals between themselves , one of which came with just 23 seconds remaining in the game . The night would end , however , on a sour note for the Leafs who would give up the game - winning goal to Randy Mckay just five minutes into the overtime period on a two - on - one break . Each team then had a game to its name . Game Three . Game three ’ s scoring would start on the Devils ’ side with Holik ’ s powerplay goal , and the game ’ s scoring would end with a Holik assist to Rafalski . Toronto scored twice in the second period , giving them the lead going into the third period , where Scott Gomez would score early in the period . At exactly seven minutes into the overtime session of play , Rafalski attempted to pass the puck to a teammate , but the puck deflected off the skate of a Toronto defenceman ( Cory Cross ) and past Joseph for the game - winning goal . Rafalski was “ trying to make a pass to Randy McKay . . . but the defenceman turned [ and ] it went off his skate . ” Despite the exemplary goaltending by Joseph in game three , the Leafs ’ offense wasn ’ t nearly as potent as the Devils ’ , who had 17 more shots than the Toronto club . Game Four . Game four ’ s hockey play was overshadowed by the physical abuse Devils defenceman Scott Niedermayer took from Leafs enforcer Tie Domi . With mere seconds remaining in the game , a game Toronto won by two goals , Domi intentionally elbowed Niedermayer in the jaw , and the Devils defenceman left the ice rink on a stretcher , but he would return to his team ’ s locker room in a show of determination . Niedermayer would ultimately miss about two weeks of hockey because of post - concussion symptoms . Domi received a match penalty for what Devils forward John Madden called “ disgusting ” and “ irresponsible ” . The NHL suspended Domi for the rest of the playoffs and a few games the following season . The scoring in game four occurred in only the first two periods : Toronto ’ s Corson in the first and Berezin and Mats Sundin in the second ; the Devils ’ Elias scored a powerplay goal in the second period , as well . Game Five . Game five in New Jersey started with a powerplay goal from McCabe whom Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle , but that would be the only powerplay goal from Toronto in the game . Leafs ’ defenceman Cory Cross initiated scoring early in the second period , but the period would end with the two teams knotted at two goals each , as Devils ’ right winger Petr Sykora and center Jason Arnott scored one goal each . The controversy starts in the third period : with about 30 seconds remaining until overtime , Tomas Kaberle scored a goal on Brodeur just as Toronto Shayne Corson landed on the goalkeeper , but the blame goes to Devils defenceman Colin White who cross - checked Corson into Brodeur . The Devils thought the goal should have been disallowed due to goalkeeper interference , but since the defender was forced into the goalkeeper , the goal was upheld , and the Leafs escaped New Jersey with a road win , giving them a three - games - to - two lead . Game Six . Toronto has the Devils exactly where they want them : with their backs to the wall in an elimination game on the road . The Devils responded well , though , as Petr Sykora scored the first goal early in the first period , but Leafs ’ winger Steve Thomas put a shot past Brodeur early in the second period to tie the game up at one goal apiece . Randy McKay and Brian Rafalski ( game - winning ) would score within five minutes of each other to close the second period and take a two goal lead into the third . Early on in the third period , Mats Sundin would score a powerplay goal to put the Leafs within one goal , but nearly four minutes after that , Jason Arnott would score the final goal of the game , and the Devils went on to win it four goals to two and force game seven . Each team had 26 shots , but the Devils just had the power to put more pucks in the net . The Devils now have the advantage , playing the final , deciding game in their home rink . Game Seven . The Maple Leafs came roaring out , though , as Steve Thomas scored a powerplay goal about half way through the first period . Unfortunately for the Leafs , though , this would be the final goal of the season for them . Even though New Jersey was trailing at the start of the second period , the Devils had a lot left in the tank : Patrik Elias scored two of the four goals scored by New Jersey in the second period , and the second period concluded with a three - goal lead for them . The Toronto team was going to have to fight back to get in the game , and they needed an early goal in the third period to do that . But the Devils held them off the entire period and John Madden added another goal about half way through the period , and this was the goal that closed the door on the Maples Leafs ’ season . The Devils went on to win five goals to one , and they had finished off the Maple Leafs four games to three in the Eastern Conference Semifinals . Buffalo Sabres v . Pittsburgh Penguins . Entering the series , Buffalo held the best penalty killing ( PK ) squad which killed 88 % , and Pittsburgh entered the series with the fifth best powerplay ( PP ) squad , which scored on 20 % of its opportunities . However , the Buffalo PK and the Pittsburgh PP would underachieve during the series : Pittsburgh only scored 4 times on 27 opportunities ( 14 % ) , so , consequently , Buffalo ' s PK percent dropped to 86 . Buffalo also scored 4 powerplay goals , but on 33 chances ( 12 % ) The Sabres and Penguins had evenly matched goaltending : Pittsburgh goaltenders saved 155 shots out of 172 ( 90 . 2 % ) , and Buffalo ' s saved 166 shots out of 183 ( 90 . 8 % ) . Both teams scored 17 goals during the series , and they also scored the same number of powerplay goals , 4 . Game One . The Sabres just couldn ’ t put the puck past Johan Hedberg in game one , and the Penguins only needed star center Lemieux ’ s first - period goal to finish off Buffalo and take an early series lead . Buffalo goalkeeper Dominik Hasek gave up three goals , the other two of which came courtesy of centers Wayne Primeau and Jan Hrdina in the second half of the third period . Penguins winger Jaromir Jagr , who assisted on the Lemieux goal in the first period , injured his leg in the third period and would miss game two . Both teams were rather inept on the powerplay , wasting five conversion opportunities each . Game Two . The first period had no scoring , despite five different powerplays for the two teams . Then , about halfway through the second period , Penguins center Robert Lang scored a goal to give the Penguins a one goal to zero advantage , but the advantage would only last about three minutes until Sabres center Stu Barnes tied the game up with the only powerplay goal of the game . Pittsburgh would turn on the jets and fly away from the Sabres though , scoring two more goals in the third period , one by defenceman Ference and an empty - net goal by Kovalev . Buffalo gave up two consecutive home games to the Penguins and now had to travel to Pittsburgh for game three . Game Three . For the second consecutive game , there were no goals scored in the first period , even though there were 17 combined shots on goal . The penguins scored on the power play in the second period to take the lead . Sabres center Curtis Brown would tie the game up , though , with an even - strength goal , and the period would end at a one goal tie . Hedberg had been solid in the net for the Penguins , but the third period features three goals against him out of 11 shots . At about the halfway point in the third period , Sabres defenceman Jason Woolley scored the untying goal , and three minutes later , Miroslav Satan would score another goal to give Buffalo a two goal lead . Defenceman James Patrick finished off the game with an empty - net goal , and the Sabres won the game four goals to one . Buffalo came through to win a tough road game where a loss might have secured a series loss . Game Four . Building off the road win in game three , Buffalo scored the first goal in game three very early in the first period by center J . P . Dumont , but the Penguins would respond with a powerplay goal by center Martin Straka . Sabres center Curtis Brown scored a short - handed goal late in the first period to give Buffalo the edge heading into the locker rooms . The second period featured only one goal by Janne Laukkanen , set up by Jagr and Lemieux , and the game was tied up going into the third . Stu Barnes scored twice in the third period , and the Sabres went on to win the game by three , five goals to two . Both teams were effective on the powerplay , each scoring one goal on two chances . Coming off two straight home losses , Buffalo works hard on the road to swipe the two home games back , swinging the series back to Buffalo ’ s advantage . Game Five . Penguins wingman Jaromir Jagr initiated the scoring in game five with a powerplay goal , the only goal in the first period . Pittsburgh would tack on another goal early on in the second period by winger Aleksey Morozov , but Sabres center Chris Gratton would respond with a powerplay goal , and the Penguins still had the lead until they gave up another short - handed goal to Curtis Brown . Curtis Brown ’ s goal forced overtime , and Stu Barnes would score the game - winning goal to give Buffalo the series lead . The Sabres were down by two goals early but fought back and won the game by scoring three unanswered goals . Game five was the first overtime game in the string of three that would end the series . Game Six . Buffalo ’ s right winger Maxim Afinogenov scored in the first half of the first period to give the Sabres and early lead , a lead the team would need because Pittsburgh ’ s Alexei Kovalev tied the game up early in the second period . Donald Audette would break up the tied game with an even - strength goal late in the second period . Pittsburgh would persevere and score the tying goal very late in the third period courtesy of Mario Lemieux , so this match headed to overtime . Martin Straka was the hero of the Penguins on that night , as he scored the game - winning goal about halfway through the overtime period . Both teams didn ’ t score on any of the combined seven chances they saw , and the fabled game seven was due . Game Seven . The first period was an uneventful one , featuring no goals and few penalties , but the second period was a different story . Buffalo struck first as J . P . Dumont scored very early in the period , but that one - goal lead wouldn ’ t last because Andrew Ference scored a powerplay goal to even things up at one goal apiece . Just about 30 seconds into the third period , Buffalo struck again as winger Steve Heinz scored a powerplay goal . Robert Lang would score to tie the game up at two goals apiece , so it was on to overtime in game seven . Penguins defenceman Darius Kasparaitis would win the game and the series for the Pittsburgh as he scored off of passes from Jagr and Lang . Pittsburgh would be facing the New Jersey Devils in the conference finals , but they relished the victory on the ice . Western Conference Semifinals . Colorado Avalanche v . Los Angeles Kings . The powerplay teams for both clubs were not extraordinary , but the goalkeeping was . The Kings save percentage over the seven games was 92 ( 179 shots saved out of 196 ) , and the Avalanche save percentage was 95 ( 165 shots saved out of 175 ) . The powerplay for the Kings scored 3 goals out of 30 opportunities ( 10 % ) , and the Avalanche scored 5 goals on 36 chances ( 13 % ) . Given the exceptional goaltending by the two franchises , the low powerplay percentage is understandable . Game One . Despite 37 shots on goal against Kings ’ goalkeeper Felix Potvin , the Colorado Avalanche lost their first game of the playoffs . The teams traded goals in all three periods of play : Glen Murray had a goal for the Kings , and center Chris Drury scored a goal for the Avalanche in the first period , and in the second period defenceman Rob Blake stepped into one to give the Avalanche a temporary lead until Nelson Emerson put one past Avalanche goalkeeper Roy to even it up at two goals apiece . Murray would score another goal for the Kings in the third period to give the Kings the lead , but center Peter Forsberg tied it up at three with a powerplay goal late in the third . In overtime , the Avalanche took two minor penalties , one of which cost them the game to a game - winning powerplay goal by Kings defenceman Jaroslav Modry . Snatching a game from the Avalanche on the road was critical to the Kings ’ chances of winning the series , being the seventh seed playing the first seed . Game Two . The first period of game two featured only penalties and no goals . The second period was a more exciting as Avalanche winger Ville Nieminen scored a powerplay goal to give his team a one - goal lead . As it turned out , Nieminen ’ s goal was the game - winning goal , but Captain Joe Sakic put another goal past Potvin late in the third period to clinch the victory and tie the series at one game apiece . Patrick Roy stopped all 20 shots he faced , notching his 16th playoff shutout . Game Three . Rob Blake started the scoring as he launched the puck past Potvin , but Kings left winger Luc Robitaille tied the game at one goal apiece with a powerplay goal , and Forsberg tacked on another goal for the Avalanche in the second period . About halfway into the third period was when things started picking up speed : Avalanche winger Milan Hejduk scored to give his team a two - goal lead , but two minutes later , Kings ’ center Glen Murray would score a powerplay goal to reduce the lead to just one goal for the Avalanche , and about 30 seconds after Murray ’ s goal , Avalanche defenceman Jon Klemm scored his first goal of the playoffs to retake a two - goal lead for his club . As time wound down in the final minute of the game , Kings winger Ziggy Palffy scored to cut the lead in half , but it wasn ’ t enough as the Avalanche went on to win despite take 11 less shots on goal than the Kings . Many credit the Avalanche victory to the poor officiating where each official didn ’ t blow the whistles on blatant violations or made calls that they should not have made . At one instance , the linesman kicked the puck that created a two forwards - on - one - defenceman scoring opportunity that the Avalanche scored the game - winning goal on . Avalanche star Joe Sakic injured his shoulder in this game and would sit out part of the series . Game Four . Game four highlighted Avalanche goalkeeper Patrick Roy at his best : he stopped all 21 shots against him and recorded his second shutout in the series . There was only scoring in the second period : goals by Avalanche winger Tanguay , winger Hejduk , and center Drury . After losing the first game of the playoffs — at home — the Avalanche won three straight , two of which were in Los Angeles . They were going back to Colorado to try and end the series in five games . Game Five . Game five was a goalkeeper game which featured outstanding play from both Patrick Roy and Felix Potvin . The game ended with one goal for Los Angeles courtesy of star player Luc Robitaille about halfway through the third period . 26 shots for the Kings and 20 for the Avalanche , but the goalkeeper battle in game five was only the beginning . Back to L . A . Game Six . Out of 65 shots between both teams only one goal would fly into a net past the keepers . This game featured no goals at all until the second overtime , and the hero was Kings winger Glen Murray . The goal came at two minutes and fourteen seconds into the second overtime , and the Los Angeles Kings held the Avalanche to zero goals for the second straight game , making it eight consecutive periods . The last time the Avalanche scored a goal in the series was in game four when the Avalanche had a two - game lead in the series . This game was the second one that went into any multiple overtime periods . The Kings fought back and earned a game - seven match in Denver . Game Seven . The exciting game seven hype was confirmed when the first goal in the game came late in the first period when Avalanche defenceman Blake scored a powerplay goal to give the team a one - goal lead . This goal was also significant for the Avalanche because Joe Sakic had his first point since his injury earlier in the series . The Kings Nelson Emerson would tie the game up in the second period , but the Avalanche would accelerate away from Los Angeles in the third period . Chris Drury started off scoring for Colorado in the third period , followed by Nieminen , Shjon Podein , and Hejduk ’ s empty - net goal after the Kings pulled Potvin with about five minutes to go . Colorado scored twice on three powerplay opportunities in the game , and they had ten more shots than the Kings did . The Avalanche face the St . Louis Blues in the Conference Finals . Dallas Stars v . St . Louis Blues . Both Power Play squads were not efficient . The Stars ’ powerplay team scored 1 goal on 17 chances ( 5 . 8 % ) , and the Blues ’ powerplay team also scored 1 goal but on 16 chances ( 6 . 2 % ) . The goaltending for St . Louis ’ Roman Turek had the series of his life , saving 106 shots out of 112 ( 94 . 7 % ) . Stars goaltender Ed Belfour could not match Turek , stopping only 113 shots out of 126 ( 90 % ) . Game One . St . Louis and Dallas exchanged goals 53 seconds apart , the first by Blues center Pavol Demitra , and the response goal came from unassisted from Dallas ’ John MacLean . Marty Reasoner would score the go - ahead goal late in the first to give the Blues a lead going into the second period . St . Louis ’ offense picked apart the Dallas defense , and they piled on the goals in the second , with a goal by Reasoner on a 2 - on - 1 break along with a goal by center Pierre Turgeon on a 3 - on - 2 break . Dallas Stars defenceman Brad Lukowich would score the only other goal for Dallas , also unassisted . Dallas Stars star center Mike Modano injured his leg in game one , and he would not return in the series . Game Two . Marty Reasoner scored an even - strength goal less than two minutes into the game to give the Blues an early lead . This goal was set up by a turnover at the Dallas blue line by Darryl Sydor leading to a 2 - on - none breakaway featuring Keith Tkachuk and Reasoner . Right winger Scott Young ’ s shorthanded goal in the middle of the first period would expand the lead to two goals . The second period featured no goals , but Dallas would try and make a comeback with less than one minute in the game when Joe Nieuwendyk scored . That goal would be the only one they would put past Roman Turek who shone for the second consecutive game . St . Louis went into Dallas and stole two home games away from the Stars , so the pressure was on the Stars to rebound and steal one back in St . Louis . Game Three . Dallas came out in game three and left winger Mike Keane scored the opening goal . Stars right winger Brett Hull opened the second - period scoring with a Power Play goal of his own , but St . Louis left winger Jochen Hecht would cut the Dallas lead in half after flipping an Al MacInnis slap shot rebound into the open side of the net . Nevertheless , the Stars maintained the lead entering the final period . The Stars fended off the Blues offense well for more than 17 minutes of the third period , but then Blues defenseman Alexander Khavanov scored to even the game at two goals apiece . The two teams battled through 20 scoreless minutes of overtime , leading to the first double overtime of the playoff year . Blues hero Cory Stillman scored the game - winning goal on a slap shot from the top of the right circle after receiving a pass from Scott Mellanby nearly half way through the period , giving the Blues the victory and would be an insurmountable three - game advantage in the series . Game Four . The first period of this elimination game featured no goals , only penalties . St . Louis put the first marker up on the board in the second period as defenseman Khavanov scored a 4 - on - 4 goal on the rebound of a Pierre Turgeon breakaway chance . About five minutes later , Keith Tkachuk scored a Power Play goal on the rebound of a MacInnis slap shot to give the Blues a two - goal cushion . Joe Niewendyk responded with a goal late in the second period , but in the long run , it turned out to be futile . St . Louis poured it on in the third period with two more goals , one by defenseman Chris Pronger and an empty - net goal by Scott Young . The Dallas Stars were the higher seed by one position , but the Blues , on the strength of former Dallas Star Roman Turek ' s goaltending , played their best hockey of the season . The series was only the second of the playoff season to see only four games ( the other being a first - round Avalanche - Canucks series ) . The Stars could not overcome Turek , who lived up to his " Large " nickname , when they needed to most and were swept out of the playoffs for the first time since 1984 , when they were known as the Minnesota North Stars . Eastern Conference Finals . New Jersey Devils v . Pittsburgh Penguins . Game One . Devils centre Petr Sykora scored a pair of goals in the opening game of the finals in New Jersey . The one that mattered , the game - winning goal , came in the second period when he put the puck past Johan Hedberg to break the 1 - goal tie . Pittsburgh came out fast , though , as Martin Straka scored the first goal a little over three minutes into the contest . The Devils scored three unanswered goals , one in each period , following Straka ’ s powerplay goal . Game Two . The Devils came out firing in the first period , scoring twice in the first period and holding the Penguins to only seven shots , none of which got past Martin Brodeur . Wingman Jay Pandolfo scored an even - handed goal , while Petr Sykora scored one short - handed in the first period . But the Devils would give it up : the Penguins scored three goals in the second half of the second period to give the Pittsburgh team the first lead of the game . Aleksey Morozov stole back a goal when he scored a short - handed goal at about halfway through period two . Winger Alexei Kovalev and teammate Corbet also scored to cap off a three - goal second period ; Mario Lemieux assisted on the goals by Morozov and Kovalev . Robert Lang would score early in the third period to cushion the Penguins lead , and the Penguins came out on top , stealing a game on the road . Game Three . New Jersey dominated Pittsburgh in game three . Brian Rafalski and Jason Arnott scored in the first period , while the Devils defense didn ’ t allow any goals . Goalkeeper Brodeur was a brick wall all game though . The second period featured back and forth play without any goals . Patrik Elias would score in the first two minutes of the third period and put the icing on the cake . As good as Brodeur was with a shutout on 20 shots , Johan Hedberg was arguably better , saving 33 shots out of 36 . The shutout was Brodeur ’ s eleventh career in the postseason , and it was also the first time the Penguins were shutout at home in the postseason since 1975 . The Devils had the momentum they needed to win game four . Game Four . Game Four was a blowout . Patrik Elias scored late in the first period to give the Devils a one - goal lead going into the second period , but they would pour it on . Rafalski and Sykora scored in the second , and Arnott scored an unassisted goal in the third while Rafalski netted his second of the game with a powerplay goal . The Penguins didn ’ t score in the game , and the team didn ’ t register ten shots in any one period , but Martin Brodeur was dominant in the net with his second consecutive shut out . The Devils claimed an opportunity to close the series out in New Jersey in game five . Game Five . In just under a minute , winger Jason Arnott scored the first goal in game five , and it looked like the Devils were going to dominate in game five as much as they did in game four . Morozov countered the goal with one of his own late in the third period , and the game was knotted at a goal apiece going into the second period . Arnott was not done , however , because he would score the first goal of the second period on the powerplay and reclaim the lead for his team . Bobby Holik added to Arnott ’ s goal , and the Devils took a temporary , two - goal lead . Martin Straka scored shortly after Holik ’ s goal to put the Penguins at only a one - goal deficit going into the third period . Early in the third period , though , the Devils would quash any hopes of a comeback when John Madden slapped the puck past Hedberg to give the Devils another two - goal lead . They would eventually hold onto the lead and win the series . Western Conference Finals . Colorado Avalanche v . St . Louis Blues . Colorado was forced to play the remainder of the playoffs without one of their top stars , Peter Forsberg , because he underwent surgery to remove a ruptured spleen . Game One . Joe Sakic was the hero in game one when he scored two of the team ’ s four goals , one of which he scored on a penalty shot awarded when Blues goaltender Roman Turek was ruled to have thrown his stick . Hejduk started the scoring in the game , though , with a Power Play goal at the fourth minute of the first period . The Blues responded very early in the second period when Scott Young scored an unassisted , shorthanded breakaway goal . It turned out to be the only goal for the Blues in game one . The Avalanche scored two more goals , and the Blues lost game one by three goals , 4 – 1 . Game Two . Colorado defenseman Ray Bourque opened scoring four seconds into a Power Play in the first period of game two . Blues wingman Mellanby scored a Power Play goal on a perfect mid - air deflection of an Al MacInnis wrist shot in the second period to tie the game at a goal apiece . At the 18th minute , though , Colorado defenseman Adam Foote shot the puck past Roman Turek to give Colorado a one - goal lead going into the third period . Colorado scored two more goals in the third period , and St . Louis scored one more , which gave the Avalanche the 4 – 2 win over the Blues . Game Three . Two Power Play goals opened the action between the Blues and Avalanche in game three . St . Louis winger Demitra scored the first goal , and Colorado defenseman Bourque scored soon after to even the game . Shortly before the halfway point of the first period , Dan Hinote broke the 1 – 1 tie . The two teams amassed 26 minutes of penalty time in the first period and 14 more minutes in the second period . Period two featured no goals . Halfway through the third period , Blues winger Mellanby evened the score up at two apiece on a 2 - on - 1 break , scoring his third goal of the playoffs . Avalanche winger Eric Messier and Blues player Jamal Mayers each scored in the third period , and the tie resulted in overtime . The first overtime featured no goals or any penalties . The second overtime , though , featured the game - winning goal by Blues winger Scott Young halfway through the period on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Roy . The Blues took almost twice as many shots as the Avalanche in game three : 60 shots for St . Louis and only 33 for Colorado . Patrick Roy was lauded by Avalanche head coach Bob Hartley after the loss : “ Patrick is strong , and he ’ s giving us a chance to win every game . ” Game Four . Within one minute and 18 seconds , Colorado scored three goals against Turek and the Blues . The scoring spree began in the 14th minute of the first period . The Avalanche club was in prime position to win on the road going into the second period with a three - goal lead . St . Louis center Pierre Turgeon had other plans , and he scored two consecutive goals for the Blues in a five - minute span just before the 10th minute . Blues winger Jamal Mayers tied things up in the third period in under a minute . Within five minutes of the overtime ’ s start , Avalanche winger Stephane Yelle won the game for his club on a deflection shot . Game Five . The first period of game five featured some minor penalties and no goals . Avalanche winger Milan Hejduk broke the tie in the second period with a Power Play goal , his seventh of the playoffs . Shortly after , Blues defenseman Bryce Salvador evened the game with a goal . The third period featured no goals . Less than half a minute into the overtime , Avalanche center Joe Sakic scored the game - winning , series - clinching Power Play goal . Stanley Cup Finals . New Jersey Devils v . Colorado Avalanche . The Stanley Cup Finals series featured an ideal scenario : the two top seeds from each conference . Game One . Colorado center Joe Sakic scored his 10th and 11th goal of the playoffs in the first and second periods . The Avalanche smothered the New Jersey defense and scored five goals in the game . The Devils did not score any goals , and in the third period , after the game was 5 – 0 , things culminated in a fistfight between the Avalanche ’ s Dingman and the Devils ’ Odonnell . The third period had a total tally of 44 penalty minutes accumulated by both clubs . Game Two . In the first period , goals were scored by Colorado ’ s Sakic , New Jersey ’ s Bob Corkum and N . J . ’ s Turner Stevenson . The 2 – 1 lead by the Devils held throughout the game as they defeated the Avalanche to even the series at one game apiece . The Devils victory would be important because the team stole home - rink advantage from the Colorado club . Game Three . In New Jersey , Devils center Jason Arnott scored an early power - play goal , but in the 10th minute , the Avalanche evened the score when Martin Skoula found the back of the net . Neither team scored any goals in the second period . Early in the third , however , Colorado defenceman Ray Bourque scored a power - play goal to break the tie . Five minutes later , Colorado winger Dan Hinote scored the team ’ s third goal , and the Devils didn ’ t respond . The win by Colorado marked another road win in the series , shifting the home - rink advantage back to Colorado . Game Four . In the first period , Colorado scored an early goal when Rob Blake shot the puck past Devils goalkeeper Martin Brodeur . Patrik Elias and New Jersey responded when he scored a short - handed goal to even the score at one goal apiece . Later in the second , though , Avalanche center Chris Drury scored to give the Avalanche a one - goal lead going into the third period . But the third period belonged to the Devils : Scott Gomez and Petr Sykora each scored a goal in the third , and Brodeur stopped every puck that went his way . The New Jersey offense overwhelmed the Avalanche defense as they managed 35 shots . Colorado managed only 12 shots . New Jersey again evened the series , this time at two games apiece . Game Five . Back in Colorado , Devils forward Patrik Elias started the scoring for the Devils as they jumped out to an early one - goal lead . Precisely seven minutes following that goal , Colorado winger Alex Tanguay tied the game when he scored a power - play goal , but in the late minutes of the first period , New Jersey forward Alexander Mogilny scored the goal that wound up winning the game for the Devils . In the second period , Devils forward Sergei Brylin scored a power - play goal to give the Devils a two - goal lead , and in the third period , center John Madden piled a fourth goal onto the Devils ’ scoreboard . The Devils won and reclaimed the home - rink advantage . They forced the Avalanche to try and win on the road to force a seventh game in Denver . Game Six . The sixth game parallels the first game for the Colorado Avalanche . The Devils tested the Avalanche early with a barrage of shots on Patrick Roy . After stopping them all , and with two minutes remaining in the first period , Colorado defenceman Adam Foote scored an unassisted goal to give the Avalanche the first point on just their fourth shot . Early in the second period , Avalanche winger Ville Nieminen scored a power - play goal , and late in the second period , Drury scored his 11th goal of the playoffs to give the Avalanche a commanding lead going into the third period . Alex Tanguay scored the only goal of the third period , and the Avalanche won to force a seventh game in Denver for the Stanley Cup . Despite Colorado ’ s high number of penalty minutes , the Devils were unable to put anything past Colorado goalie Patrick Roy . Game Seven . Around the eighth minute , the Avalanche started the scoring when Alex Tanguay smacked the puck past Brodeur , and New Jersey trailed going into the second period by a goal . The Colorado club scored two consecutive goals in the second period : another by Tanguay , his sixth of the playoffs , and a power - play goal scored by Sakic , his 13th of the playoffs . Shortly after Sakic ’ s goal , though , Petr Sykora and the Devils sprang into life when he scored a power - play goal . It left the Devils with only two goals to overcome . Roy and the Avalanche would prove too much for the Devils in the third period as Colorado wins the game and the series . Conn Smythe Award . Colorado Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy received the prestigious , playoff MVP award for the third time in his career . He remains the only player to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy three times . Playoff Scoring Leader . Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic lead the playoffs in scoring for the second time in his career . He lead with 13 goals and 26 points . Patrik Elias of the New Jersey Devils finished second in playoff scoring with 23 points . He lead the playoffs with 14 assists .