2018 Stanley Cup playoffs

**The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs** is the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL).

The playoffs began on April 11, 2018 (a few days after the 2017–18 NHL season) and will end with the Stanley Cup Finals in June, to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup.

The Nashville Predators made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins increased their post-season appearance streak to twelve seasons, making it the current longest streak.

The Vegas Golden Knights became the first team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in the league since the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers and the Edmonton Oilers.

They also became the first expansion team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season since the 1967 NHL expansion.

For the fourth time in league history (in 2000, 2001 and 2007), only two Original Six teams, the Boston Bruins & Toronto Maple Leafs clinched a berth for the playoffs.

For the first time since 1966, no playoff games were played in the state of New York and for the fifth time in eight years, all three California-based teams made the playoffs.

The Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs in the same year for the first time in league history

For the first time since 1969, both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs in the same season.

## Playoff Seeds

This is the fifth year in which the top three teams in each division made the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

### Eastern Conference

**Atlantic Division**

* Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions: 113 points
* Boston Bruins: 112 points
* Toronto Maple Leafs: 105 points

**Metropolitan Division**

* Washington Capitals, Metropolitan Division champions: 105 points
* Pittsburgh Penguins: 100 points
* Philadelphia Flyers: 98 points

**Wild Cards**

* Columbus Blue Jackets: 97 points (39 ROWs, 6 points head-to-head vs. New Jersey)
* New Jersey Devils: 97 points (39 ROWs, 2 points head-to-head vs. Columbus)

### Western Conference

**Central Division**

* Nashville Predators, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners : 117 points
* Winnipeg Jets: 114 points
* Minnesota Wild: 101 points

**Pacific Division**

* Vegas Golden Knights, Pacific Division champions : 109 points
* Anaheim Ducks: 101 points
* San Jose Sharks: 100 points

**Wild Cards**

* Los Angeles Kings: 98 points
* Colorado Avalanche: 95 points

## First Round

### Eastern Conference First Round

**(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC2) New Jersey Devils**

The Tampa Bay Lightning finished first in the Atlantic Division earning 113 points. New Jersey finished as the Eastern Conference's second wild card, earning 97 points.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with New Jersey winning both previous series. They last met in the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which New Jersey won in six games.

New Jersey won all three games in this year's regular season series.

Although Taylor Hall scored his first playoff goal in game one, the Devils were beaten 5–2 as Ondrej Palat recorded three points for Tampa Bay

In game two, a four-goal barrage by the Lightning during the second period forced the Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid to be pulled; Tampa won the game 5–3.

The Devils recovered in game three as Taylor Hall scored a goal and two assists in a 5–2 victory.

J. T. Miller and Nikita Kucherov both had three points in a 3–1 victory for the Lightning in game four.

In game five, Kucherov's goal was the series-winner as the Lightning held off a late attack by the Devils to win 3–1.

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the series 4–1, defeating the New Jersey Devils in five games.

**(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (A3) Toronto Maple Leafs**

The Boston Bruins finished second in the Atlantic Division earning 112 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 105 points to finish third in the Atlantic Division.

This was the fifteenth playoff meeting between these two teams with Toronto winning eight of the fourteen previous series; they last met in the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Boston won in seven games.

Toronto won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for the Bruins in game one, winning the game 5–1. During the game, Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri was given a five-minute major for a charging penalty for his hit on Tommy Wingels; he would later be suspended for three games.

David Pastrnak had a hat trick and three assists in a 7–3 victory for the Bruins, becoming the first player since Claude Giroux in 2012 to score a hat trick and three assists.

In game three, Patrick Marleau scored twice for the Maple Leafs in a 4–2 victory; Pastrnak assisted twice on two goals in a 3–1 triumph for the Bruins, taking a 3–1 series lead in the process.

In game five, Toronto prevented a come-back by Boston, fending off the Bruins 4–3 as Frederik Andersen made 42 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Nikita Zaitsev assisted twice in a 3–1 Maple Leafs victory, forcing a seventh game in the series.

In game seven, Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron scored a goal and recorded two assists in a 7–4 victory to advance his team to the second round.

The Boston Bruins won the series 4–3, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games.

**(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) Columbus Blue Jackets**

The Washington Capitals finished first in the Metropolitan Division earning 105 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets finished as the Eastern Conference's first wild card earning 97 points.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Washington won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

Columbus came back from a two-goal deficit in game one to force overtime, during which Artemi Panarin scored 6:02 into the extra session to give the Blue Jackets their first ever lead in a playoff series.

The Blue Jackets overcame another two-goal deficit in game two, taking the game into overtime yet again. Matt Calvert scored the game-winning goal for Columbus as they took a 2–0 series lead.

The Capitals took game three 3–2 in double-overtime as Lars Eller scored the game winner.

The Capitals tied the series after game four as Washington's Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist in a 4–1 victory.

Nicklas Backstrom's tip-in was the overtime-winner for the Capitals in game five as they prevented a two-goal comeback by the Blue Jackets.

In game six, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored twice to seal the series for Washington, winning the affair 6–3.

With playoff series victories by Winnipeg and Vegas this season, Columbus is now the only NHL franchise without a playoff series win.

The Washington Capitals won the series 4–2 after coming back from a 2–0 series deficit to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games.

**Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (M3) Philadelphia Flyers**

The Pittsburgh Penguins finished second in the Metropolitan Division earning 100 points; the Philadelphia Flyers earned 98 points to finish third in the Metropolitan.

This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two rivals with Philadelphia winning four of the six previous series. They last met in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Philadelphia won in six games.

Pittsburgh won all four games in this year's regular season series.

In game one, Sidney Crosby capped off a hat trick to end a 7–0 rout over the Flyers. The Flyers defeated the Penguins in game two, riding on Sean Couturier's goal and two assists in a 5–1 victory.

Pittsburgh took game three 5–1 as Crosby recorded a goal and three assists.

Matt Murray recorded a shutout in game four stopping all 26 shots he faced in a 5–0 victory for Pittsburgh.

Prior to game five, Flyers captain Claude Giroux guaranteed his team a victory; he scored the first goal of the game, and Couturier scored game-winning goal with 1:15 left in regulation time to force a sixth game in a 4–2 victory for Philadelphia.

In game six, Jake Guentzel recorded a natural hat trick and scored four goals in total, including two within ten seconds of each other, to seal the series for the Penguins in an 8–5 victory.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the series 4-2, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.

### Western Conference First Round

**(C1) Nashville Predators vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche**

The Nashville Predators earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 117 points; the Colorado Avalanche finished as the Western Conference's second wild card earning 95 points.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Nashville won all four games in this year's regular season series.

Filip Forsberg scored twice in Nashville's 5–2 game one victory, one of which was considered a highlight-reel goal.

Nashville had five different players score in their 5–4 victory over Colorado in game two to take a 2–0 series lead.

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists in game three to take game three for the Avalanche 5–3.

In game four, Pekka Rinne made 31 saves for the Predators who took a 3–1 series lead with a 3–2 win.

Andrew Hammond made 44 saves and Sven Andrighetto scored with 1:28 left in the third period to force a sixth game for the Avalanche in a 2–1 triumph.

The Predators shut out the Avalanche in game six, with Rinne stopping all 22 shots he faced in a 5–0 victory.

The Nashville Predators won the series 4–2, defeating the Colorado Avalanche in six games.

**(C2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (C3) Minnesota Wild**

The Winnipeg Jets finished second in the Central Division earning 114 points. The Minnesota Wild earned 101 points to finish third in the Central.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Winnipeg won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

The Jets also became the first Winnipeg-based NHL team to advance past the opening round of the playoffs since 1987.

After firing 40 shots on Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk, the Jets won game one 3–2, winning their first playoff game in franchise history and the city's first playoff victory since 1996.

In game two, Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist to provide the Jets a 4–1 victory as well as a 2–0 series lead.

In game three, the Wild scored four goals in the second period to chase Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck in a 6–2 affair.

Hellebuyck came back in game four, stopping all 30 shots he faced in a 2–0 victory; he continued his shutout streak in game five, stopping another 30 shots after a first period blitz by the Jets to win the series-clinching game 5–0.

The Winnipeg Jets won the series 4–1, defeating the Minnesota Wild in five games and earned their first playoff series victory in franchise history after entering the league in 1999 as the Atlanta Thrashers.

**(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Los Angeles Kings**

The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division earning 109 points; the Los Angeles Kings earned 98 points to finish as the Western Conference's first wild card.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams and the first playoff series for the Golden Knights. These teams split their four-game regular season series.

This series tied the record for the fewest number of goals scored by both teams in a best-of-seven playoff series: the Golden Knights scored seven goals to the Kings' three goals for a total of ten goals, tying the record set in 2003.

In game one, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 30 shots to give the Golden Knights their first playoff victory.

Even though Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick made 54 saves in game two, the Golden Knights topped Los Angeles in double overtime thanks to Erik Haula's goal at 15:23, taking a 2–0 series lead.

After the Golden Knights took the lead late in the third period of game three with two goals in 21 seconds, Vegas pushed the Kings to the brink of elimination with a 3–2 win; Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves in the victory.

In game four, former-King Brayden McNabb scored the only goal of the game for the Golden Knights as they swept Los Angeles for their first playoff series victory.

The Golden Knights defeated the Los Angeles Kings in a four-game sweep.

**(P2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (P3) San Jose Sharks**

The Anaheim Ducks finished second in the Pacific Division earning 101 points. The San Jose Sharks earned 100 points to finish third in the Pacific Division.

This was the second playoff meeting between these teams; they last met in the 2009 Western Conference Quarterfinals (which Anaheim won in six games). San Jose won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

Evander Kane scored twice in his first playoff game and Sharks goaltender Martin Jones posted a 25-save shutout blanking the Ducks 3–0 in game one.

In game two, Logan Couture scored a goal and recorded an assist in a 3–2 victory.

Martin Jones made 45 saves as the Sharks routed the Ducks 8–1 in game three; eight different players scored for San Jose in the victory.

Tomas Hertl broke the tie for San Jose, scoring the series-clinching goal midway through the third period of game four as the Sharks defeated Anaheim 2–1.

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks in a four-game sweep.

## Second Round

### Eastern Conference Second Round

**(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A2) Boston Bruins**

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams; their only previous series occurred in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, which Boston won in seven games. Boston won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

In game one, the line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak combined for eleven points in a 6–2 triumph.

Brayden Point scored a goal and recorded three assists in the Lightning's 4–2 victory in game two, evening the series.

Ondrej Palat scored twice in the Lightning's 4–1 win in game three taking a 2–1 series lead.

Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos forced overtime in game four with his goal in the third period and Daniel Girardi scored the game-winning goal to give the Lightning a 4–3 victory.

During game four, Brad Marchand licked the face of Tampa Bay forward Ryan Callahan during a scrum. Marchand received no penalty or further punishment from the League.

The Lightning scored twice in the second period of game five to take the lead and Anton Stralman scored an empty-net goal to give Tampa Bay a 3–1 victory and a 4–1 series win.

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the series 4–1 as they defeated the Boston Bruins in five games.

**(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins**

This is the third consecutive year that these two rivals have met in the second round and is the eleventh overall playoff meeting with Pittsburgh winning nine of the ten previous series.

They last met in the previous year's Eastern Conference Second Round which Pittsburgh won in seven games. These teams split their four-game regular season series.

### Western Conference Second Round

**(C1) Nashville Predators vs. (C2) Winnipeg Jets**

This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Nashville won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

**(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (P3) San Jose Sharks**

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Vegas won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

In game one, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 33 shots he faced and Vegas scored with seven different players to defeat San Jose 7–0.

The Sharks used double-overtime to take game two 4–3 as Logan Couture's second goal of the game ended the Golden Knights' playoff winning streak.

Game three also went into overtime, however, this time the Golden Knights' William Karlsson got the best of the Sharks, scoring the overtime-winner in a 4–3 victory for Vegas.

Martin Jones shut out the Golden Knights in game four, stopping all 34 shots he faced, giving the Sharks a 4–0 victory to even the series 2–2.

After the Golden Knights put up a 4–0 lead in game five, including two goals from rookie Alex Tuch, the Sharks scored three goals in the third period to come within one goal. However, Vegas halted the comeback when Jonathan Marchessault scored an empty-net goal to secure a 5–3 win.

In game six, Marc-Andre Fleury recorded a 28-save shut out in a 3–0 victory to send the Golden Knights to their first Conference Finals.

The Vegas Golden Knights won the series 4–2, defeating the San Jose Sharks in six games.

## Television

The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs will mark the seventh postseason under NBC Sports' current 10-year contract for American television rights to the NHL.

All national coverage of games will be aired on either NBCSN, the NBC broadcast network, NHL Network, USA Network, or CNBC.

Due to original programming commitments involving CNBC and USA Network, two first round games on April 18th were aired on the Golf Channel.

During the first round, excluding games exclusively broadcast on NBC, the regional rights holders of each participating U.S. team will produce local telecasts of their respective games.

For the second year, the national broadcasts will not be blacked out on television in the markets of participating teams, and could co-exist with the local broadcasts (however, NBC-provided coverage will be restricted in Pittsburgh & Las Vegas, where AT&T SportsNet holds the regional rights to the Penguins and the Golden Knights, respectively).

In Canada, for the fourth postseason under Rogers Media's current 12-year contract, coverage will be broadcast by Sportsnet networks and CBC Television under the "Hockey Night in Canada" brand, and streamed on Sportsnet Now, CBCSports.ca (for games televised by CBC), or the subscription service Rogers NHL Live.

The Winnipeg Jets' first round series against the Minnesota Wild was aired on Sportsnet instead of over the air on CBC like the Toronto Maple Leafs–Boston Bruins series, despite the fact that Sportsnet is not available on basic cable in Winnipeg (while the Jets' regional broadcaster TSN3 is)