Dates April 11–June 9, 2001 Runner-up New Jersey Devils Start date 2001 Teams 16 | Champions Colorado Avalanche Champion Colorado Avalanche MVP Patrick Roy | |
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Semifinalists Pittsburgh Penguins
St. Louis Blues Scoring leader(s) Joe Sakic (Colorado)
(26 points) Similar 2004 Stanley Cup play, 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, 1917 Stanley Cup Finals, 2006 Stanley Cup play, 1918 Stanley Cup Finals | ||
The 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 11, 2001 and ended on June 9, 2001, when the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche defeated the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils to win its second Stanley Cup.
Contents
- Eastern Conference
- Western Conference
- Playoff bracket
- 1 New Jersey Devils vs 8 Carolina Hurricanes
- 3 Washington Capitals vs 6 Pittsburgh Penguins
- 4 Philadelphia Flyers vs 5 Buffalo Sabres
- 1 Colorado Avalanche vs 8 Vancouver Canucks
- 4 St Louis Blues vs 5 San Jose Sharks
- 1 New Jersey Devils vs 7 Toronto Maple Leafs
- 5 Buffalo Sabres vs 6 Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1 Colorado Avalanche vs 7 Los Angeles Kings
- 3 Dallas Stars vs 4 St Louis Blues
- 1 New Jersey Devils vs 6 Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1 Colorado Avalanche vs 4 St Louis Blues
- Stanley Cup Finals
- Skaters
- Goalies
- Television
- References
Defenceman Ray Bourque, who had a 21-year tenure in Boston, won his first Stanley Cup in his final professional year. Joe Sakic, Swedish center Peter Forsberg, defenceman Rob Blake, and goalkeeper Patrick Roy claimed the Stanley Cup for the final time in their careers. Roy was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, his third, the most by any player. No hat tricks were scored in the 2001 playoffs, and goaltenders combined for a record 19 shutouts. This was the first of 10 consecutive seasons that the Florida Panthers missed the playoffs, the longest playoff drought in NHL history.
Eastern Conference
- New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 111 points
- Ottawa Senators, Northeast Division champions – 109 points
- Washington Capitals, Southeast Division champions – 96 points
- Philadelphia Flyers – 100 points
- Buffalo Sabres – 98 points
- Pittsburgh Penguins – 96 points
- Toronto Maple Leafs – 90 points
- Carolina Hurricanes – 88 points
Western Conference
- Colorado Avalanche, Northwest Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 118 points
- Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions – 111 points
- Dallas Stars, Pacific Division champions – 106 points
- St. Louis Blues – 103 points
- San Jose Sharks – 95 points
- Edmonton Oilers – 93 points
- Los Angeles Kings – 92 points
- Vancouver Canucks – 90 points
Playoff bracket
(1) New Jersey Devils vs. (8) Carolina Hurricanes
This was Carolina's second post-season appearance since relocating from Hartford.
(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Pittsburgh Penguins
Martin Straka scored the series-winning goal.
(4) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) Buffalo Sabres
In the first period of Game 1, Dominik Hasek made a save on Mark Recchi's penalty shot opportunity.
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (8) Vancouver Canucks
This was Vancouver's first appearance in the playoffs since the 1995-96 season.
(4) St. Louis Blues vs. (5) San Jose Sharks
Pavol Demitra scored the series-winning goal in the final game.
(1) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Toronto Maple Leafs
In Game 1, Nik Antropov scored the game-winning goal in the second period. Curtis Joseph saved all 32 shots by the Devils.
In Game 2, the Leafs led by one goal going into the second period. The Devils scored four consecutive goals against Joseph, one each by Gomez, Rafalski, Mogilny and Madden. The Maple Leafs' Sundin scored a short-handed goal 29 seconds into the third period, and the Devils' Mogilny scored a power-play goal 38 seconds after that. The Leafs' Thomas and Sundin combined to score three goals, and the game required overtime, during which the Devils' Randy Mckay scored the game-winning goal.
In Game 3, Rafalski scored the game-winning goal off a deflection in overtime. The Devils recorded 17 more shots than Toronto.
In Game 4, Toronto's Corson scored in the first period, and Berezin and Mats Sundin scored in the second. The Devils' Elias scored a power-play goal in the second period. Maple Leafs' forward Tie Domi checked Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer, who left the ice rink on a stretcher.
In Game 5, Leafs' defenseman Cory Cross initiated scoring early in the second period, and Devils' right winger Petr Sykora and center Jason Arnott scored one goal each. In the third period, Toronto's Tomas Kaberle scored a goal.
In Game 6, Brian Rafalski scored the game-winning goal for the Devils.
In Game 7, the Devils' Patrik Elias scored two goals in the second period.
(5) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Pittsburgh Penguins
In Game 1, Penguins center Lemieux scored the game-winning goal in the first period. Centers Wayne Primeau and Jan Hrdina also scored. Penguins winger Jaromir Jagr, who assisted on the Lemieux goal in the first period, injured his leg in the third period and did not play in Game 2.
In Game 2, the Penguins' Robert Lang, Ference and Kovalev scored goals. Sabres centre Stu Barnes scored.
In Game 3, Sabres defenceman Jason Woolley scored the game-winning goal. His teammates Curtis Brown, Miroslav Satan and James Patrick also scored.
In Game 4, Stu Barnes scored two goals, including the game-winning goal. Buffalo's Jean-Pierre Dumont, Curtis Brown scored also scored. The Penguins' Martin Straka and Janne Laukkanen scored.
In Game 5, Stu Barnes scored the game-winning goal in overtime. His teammates Chris Gratton and Curtis Brown also scored goals. The Penguins' Jaromir Jagr and Aleksey Morozov scored. Martin Straka had an unsuccessful penalty shot.
In Game 6, Martin Straka scored the game-winning goal in overtime. His teammates Mario Lemieux Alexei Kovalev also scored. Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov and Donald Audette scored for the Sabres.
In Game 7, Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Pittsburgh's Andrew Ference and Robert Lang also scored. Buffalo's Jean-Pierre Dumont and Steve Heinze scored for the Sabres.
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings
In Game 1, the Avalanche took two minor penalties, one of which led to the game-winning power play goal by Kings defenseman Jaroslav Modry.
In Game 3, Avalanche centre Joe Sakic injured his shoulder and would sit out part of the series.
Game 6 featured 65 shots and one goal, scored by Kings winger Glen Murray in the second overtime.
(3) Dallas Stars vs. (4) St. Louis Blues
In Game 1, Dallas Stars centre Mike Modano injured his leg and did not play again in the series. Dallas was swept for the first time since 1984, during the franchise's Minnesota North Stars era.
(1) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Pittsburgh Penguins
Game 3 was Martin Brodeur's 11th career postseason shutout, and it was also the first home shutout loss for the Penguins since 1975.
In Game 4, Martin Brodeur recorded his 12th career playoff shutout.
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (4) St. Louis Blues
In Game 1, Joe Sakic's penalty shot goal was awarded when Blues goaltender Roman Turek was ruled to have thrown his stick.
Stanley Cup Finals
The 2001 Finals was the first and only playoff series between these two teams. Colorado made its second Finals appearance and first since defeating Florida in four games in 1996. New Jersey made its second consecutive and third overall Finals appearance after defeating Dallas the year before. It was the previous Finals match-up to feature the top two seeds.
Skaters
Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic led the playoffs in scoring for the second time in his career. Patrik Elias of the New Jersey Devils finished second in playoff scoring with 23 points. The table lists the top 10 point producers.
Goalies
The following table lists goalies with at least 420 minutes.
Television
The playoff television rights were split between ESPN and ABC, with ABC receiving the latter five games.