Stanley Cup Playoffs 2018

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Stanley Cup Playoffs 2018
Period April 11, 2018 to June 7, 2018
Stanley Cup winner Washington Capitals (1st title)
finalist Vegas Golden Knights
Playoff MVP RussiaRussia Alexander Ovetschkin (Washington)
Top scorer RussiaRussia Yevgeny Kuznetsov (Washington)
Gates 496 (5.90 per game)
spectator 1,517,955 (18,070 per game)
Events
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The playoffs for the Stanley Cup the year 2018 began on 11 April 2018 and ended on 7 June 2018 with a 4: 1 victory for the Washington Capitals against the Vegas Golden Knights . The Capitals won their first title in franchise history in their second final after 1998 . In addition, they had in the person of Alexander Ovechkin to the Conn Smythe Trophy winning Most Valuable Player in their ranks, which also meets scorer this post-season led and became the first Russian who his team as team captain can lead to win the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, his team-mate and compatriot Yevgeny Kuznetsov placed himself at the top of the scorer ranking .

The Vegas Golden Knights managed to reach their first Stanley Cup final in their debut season - in a season that was already characterized by numerous records. At the same time, they became the first expansion team since the big league expansion of 1967 , which qualified for the playoffs in the first year.

The Chicago Blackhawks missed the post-season for the first time since 2008 , so after nine years the second longest active series of consecutive playoffs ended. The Pittsburgh Penguins , meanwhile, continued the longest run of its kind with their twelfth participation. In addition, only ten games went into overtime in the 2018 playoffs , as few as last in 2000 (9).

mode

After the three teams with the highest points and the two wildcard teams of the respective conference have qualified from each division, the playoffs , which are held in the knockout system , start . In the first round, the division winners meet the wildcard teams of the respective conference, whereby the division winner with the most points meets the worse of the two wildcard teams. The remaining pairings of the Conference quarter-finals will be played within the division among the teams that placed second and third.

Each conference then plays its winner in the conference quarter-finals, conference semifinals and conference finals, who then compete in the final for the Stanley Cup . All series in each round are played in best-of-seven mode, which means that a team needs four wins to reach the next round. The higher ranked team has home rights in the first two games, the next two the opposing team. If no winner has emerged from the round by then, home rights will change from game to game. The higher ranked team has a home advantage in games 1, 2, 5 and 7, i.e. four of the maximum seven games. The winner of the Eastern Conference will receive the Prince of Wales Trophy and the winner of the Western Conference will receive the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl .

For games that remain tied after the regular playing time of 60 minutes, overtime follows , which, in contrast to the regular season, is played with five field players. In addition, it ends with the first goal ( Sudden Death ) and not, as usual in the regular season, with a shootout .

Qualified teams

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
Wild cards

Western Conference

Central Division
Pacific Division
Wild cards

Playoff tree

  Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals Stanley Cup Final
                                         
A1  Tampa Bay Lightning 4th            
EWC2  New Jersey Devils 1  
A1  Tampa Bay Lightning 4th
NHL Eastern Conference.svg Eastern Conference
  A2  Boston Bruins 1  
A2  Boston Bruins 4th
A3  Toronto Maple Leafs 3  
A1  Tampa Bay Lightning 3
  M1  Washington Capitals 4th  
M1  Washington Capitals 4th    
EWC1  Columbus Blue Jackets 2  
M1  Washington Capitals 4th
  M2  Pittsburgh Penguins 2  
M2  Pittsburgh Penguins 4th
M3  Philadelphia Flyers 2  
M1  Washington Capitals 4th
  P1  Vegas Golden Knights 1
C1  Nashville Predators 4th      
WWC2  Colorado Avalanche 2  
C1  Nashville Predators 3
  C2  Winnipeg Jets 4th  
C2  Winnipeg Jets 4th
C3  Minnesota Wild 1  
C2  Winnipeg Jets 1
  P1  Vegas Golden Knights 4th  
P1  Vegas Golden Knights 4th    
WWC1  Los Angeles Kings 0  
P1  Vegas Golden Knights 4th
NHL Western Conference.svg Western Conference
  P3  San Jose Sharks 2  
P2  Anaheim Ducks 0
P3  San Jose Sharks 4th  

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning - (EWC2) New Jersey Devils

The Tampa Bay Lightning won in the first round as the best team in the Eastern Conference 4-1 against the New Jersey Devils . Nikita Kutscherow set a new franchise record for a Lightning playoff series with ten scorer points (five goals and assists each) . In addition, goalkeeper Andrei Wassilewski impressed with a catch rate of 94.1% and an average goal against 2.01. For the Devils, who qualified for the post-season for the first time since their finals in 2012 , it was the first playoff defeat against Tampa after victories in 2003 and 2007 .

April 12, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Ondřej Palát (15:00)
Tyler Johnson (19:31)
Yanni Gourde (21:54)
Alexander Killorn (52:14)
Nikita Kutscherow (58:48) 		5: 2
(2: 0, 1: 1, 2: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		New Jersey Devils
Taylor Hall (33:55)
Travis Zajac (49:35) 		Amalie Arena , Tampa , Florida
Spectators: 19,092
April 14, 2018
3 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Brayden Point (12:15)
Alexander Killorn (23:14)
Tyler Johnson (24:36)
Nikita Kutscherow (26:01)
Alexander Killorn (33:12) 		5: 3
(1: 1, 4: 1, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 0 		New Jersey Devils
Nico Hischier (13:38)
Sami Vatanen (39:34)
Blake Coleman (51:57) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,092
April 16, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		New Jersey Devils
Taylor Hall (32:24)
Will Butcher (44:03)
Stefan Noesen (52:55)
Blake Coleman (59:02)
Ben Lovejoy (59:22) 		5: 2
(0: 0, 1: 1, 4: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 2 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Alexander Killorn (20:42)
Steven Stamkos (40:38) 		Prudential Center , Newark , New Jersey
Spectators: 16,514
Apr. 18, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		New Jersey Devils
Kyle Palmieri (8:23) 		1: 3
(1: 2, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 3 		Tampa Bay Lightning
J. T. Miller (11:30)
Nikita Kutscherow (15:02)
Nikita Kutscherow (58:52) 		Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Spectators: 16,514
Apr. 21, 2018
3 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Mikhail Sergachev (8:97)
Nikita Kutscherow (52:27)
Ryan Callahan (59:58) 		3: 1
(1: 0, 0: 0, 2: 1)
Match report
as of: 4: 1 		New Jersey Devils
Patrick Maroon (57:00) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,029

(A2) Boston Bruins - (A3) Toronto Maple Leafs

The only two representatives of the Original Six of these playoffs met in the first round, with the Boston Bruins prevailing 4-3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs . For Boston it was above all the first line of attack consisting of Brad Marchand , Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrňák that made the difference with 30 scorer points, while Pastrňák even led the entire league in points after the first round (13; together with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel ). In the decisive seventh game Toronto led three times, so that parallels were drawn to the last clash between the two teams in 2013 , when the Maple Leafs gave up a 4-1 lead in the last third in the seventh game.

April 12, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand (5:28)
David Backes (35:43)
David Pastrňák (39:22)
Sean Kuraly (47:41)
David Krejčí (51:29) 		5: 1
(1: 1, 2: 0, 2: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Toronto Maple Leafs
Zach Hyman (16:52) 		TD Garden , Boston , Massachusetts
Spectators: 17,565
Apr. 14, 2018,
8 p.m. 		Boston Bruins
David Pastrňák (5:26)
Jake DeBrusk (9:46)
Kevan Miller (12:13)
Rick Nash (15:00)
David Krejčí (23:46)
David Pastrňák (52:34)
David Pastrňák (58:24 ) 		7: 3
(4: 0, 1: 2, 2: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 0 		Toronto Maple Leafs
Mitchell Marner (21:22)
Tyler Bozak (29:02)
James van Riemsdyk (54:53) 		TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Spectators: 17,565
April 16, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Toronto Maple Leafs
James van Riemsdyk (17:05)
Patrick Marleau (23:49)
Auston Matthews (34:47)
Patrick Marleau (56:25) 		4: 2
(1: 0, 2: 2, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 2 		Boston Bruins
Adam McQuaid (23:06)
Zdeno Chára (26:19) 		Air Canada Center , Toronto , Ontario
Spectators: 19,663
April 19, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Toronto Maple Leafs
Tomáš Plekanec (7:43) 		1: 3
(1: 1, 0: 1, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 3 		Boston Bruins
Torey Krug (0:28)
Brad Marchand (36:55)
Jake DeBrusk (44:17) 		Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario
Spectators: 19,689
Apr. 21, 2018,
8 p.m. 		Boston Bruins
David Backes (29:45)
Sean Kuraly (37:18)
Noel Acciari (45:56) 		3: 4
(0: 2, 2: 2, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		Toronto Maple Leafs
Connor Brown (6:36)
Andreas Johnsson (10:12)
Tyler Bozak (30:36)
James van Riemsdyk (31:55) 		TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Spectators: 17,565
Apr. 23, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Toronto Maple Leafs
William Nylander (21:37)
Mitchell Marner (33:25)
Tomáš Plekanec (58:46) 		3: 1
(0: 0, 2: 1, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 3: 3 		Boston Bruins
Jake DeBrusk (21:02) 		Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario
Spectators: 19,604
April 25, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Boston Bruins
Jake DeBrusk (4:47)
Danton Heinen (9:10)
Patrice Bergeron (19:23)
Torey Krug (41:10)
Jake DeBrusk (45:25)
David Pastrňák (51:39)
Brad Marchand (59:09 ) 		7: 4
(3: 2, 0: 2, 4: 0)
Match report
as of: 4: 3 		Toronto Maple Leafs
Patrick Marleau (2:05)
Patrick Marleau (6:12)
Travis Dermott (22:07)
Kasperi Kapanen (26:05) 		TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Spectators: 17,565

(M1) Washington Capitals - (EWC1) Columbus Blue Jackets

The Washington Capitals won the first playoff round, which, as in the previous year, saw numerous close games that were only decided in overtime , 4-2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets . John Carlson with nine points and Alexander Ovetschkin , Yevgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Bäckström with eight points each were decisive on the Washington side. After the Capitals had bet on Philipp Grubauer in goal in the first two games , they subsequently resorted to goalkeeper Braden Holtby again. For the Blue Jackets it was only the fourth playoff participation in the franchise history , with the team still having to wait for the first win in a series.

April 12, 2018
7.30 p.m.
(local time) 		Washington Capitals
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (17:52)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (18:21)
Devante Smith-Pelly (45:12) 		3: 4 n.V.
(2: 0, 0: 1, 1: 2, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 0: 1 		Columbus Blue Jackets
Alexander Wennberg (24:48)
Thomas Vanek (41:31)
Seth Jones (55:34)
Artemi Panarin (66:02) 		Capital One Arena , Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
Apr. 15, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
Jay Beagle (2:12)
Alexander
Ovechkin (13:26) Alexander Ovetschkin (24:09)
TJ Oshie (56:25) 		4: 5 n.V.
(2: 1, 1: 3, 1: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 0: 2 		Columbus Blue Jackets
Cam Atkinson (18:25)
Josh Anderson (28:49)
Cam Atkinson (31:13)
Zach Werenski (38:52)
Matt Calvert (72:22) 		Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
Apr 17, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Columbus Blue Jackets
Pierre-Luc Dubois (31:18)
Artemi Panarin (44:12) 		2: 3 n.V.
(0: 0, 1: 2, 1: 0, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 2 		Washington Capitals
Tom Wilson (25:52)
John Carlson (34:43)
Lars Eller (89:00) 		Nationwide Arena , Columbus , Ohio
Spectators: 19,337
April 19, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Columbus Blue Jackets
Boone Jenner (46:22) 		1: 4
(0: 1, 0: 1, 1: 2)
Match report
as of: 2: 2 		Washington Capitals
Tom Wilson (6:16)
TJ Oshie (29:19)
Alexander Ovetschkin (42:49)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (57:41) 		Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Spectators: 19,385
Apr. 21, 2018
3 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
Nicklas Bäckström (13:22)
Jewgeni Kuznetsov (23:21)
TJ Oshie (36:42)
Nicklas Bäckström (71:53) 		4: 3 n.V.
(1: 1, 2: 1, 0: 1, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		Columbus Blue Jackets
Matt Calvert (10:08)
Matt Calvert (24:45)
Oliver Bjorkstrand (42:30) 		Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
April 23, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Columbus Blue Jackets
Nick Foligno (28:40)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (42:25)
Nick Foligno (48:22) 		3: 6
(0: 1, 1: 2, 2: 3)
Match report
as of: 2: 4 		Washington Capitals
Dmitri Orlow (12:12)
Alexander Owetschkin (32:50)
Alexander Ovetschkin (38:23)
Devante Smith-Pelly (43:56)
Chandler Stephenson (45:30)
Lars Eller (59:46) 		Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Spectators: 18,667

(M2) Pittsburgh Penguins - (M3) Philadelphia Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins prevailed as the reigning Stanley Cup winners in the "Battle of Pennsylvania" in the first round with 4-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers . No team scored more goals in the first round this year than the Penguins (28), while their attackers Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel also topped the scorer list with 13 points each (together with David Pastrňák , Boston). In addition, Guentzel scored four goals in a row in the last game of the series, which was previously only achieved by Newsy Lalonde (1919) and Tim Kerr ( 1985 ) in playoff history . On the Flyers side, only Sean Couturier got more than three scorer points (9), who failed in game four and played the remaining two games with a torn inner ligament . Furthermore, none of the three goalkeepers used by Philadelphia ( Elliott , Neuvirth , Mrázek ) achieved a catch rate of over 86%.

April 11, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Rust (2:38)
Carl Hagelin (10:07)
Jewgeni Malkin (14:09)
Jake Guentzel (27:50)
Sidney Crosby (29:01)
Sidney Crosby (47:41)
Sidney Crosby (50:42 ) 		7: 0
(3: 0, 2: 0, 2: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Philadelphia Flyers
 PPG Paints Arena , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
Spectators: 18,556
Apr. 13, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Patric Hörnqvist (45:27) 		1: 5
(0: 1, 0: 1, 1: 3)
Match report
as of: 1: 1 		Philadelphia Flyers
Shayne Gostisbehere (19:23)
Sean Couturier (20:47)
Travis Konecny (41:29)
Nolan Patrick (45:10)
Andrew MacDonald (59:44) 		PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Spectators: 18,648
Apr. 15, 2018
3 p.m. 		Philadelphia Flyers
Travis Sanheim (33:42) 		1: 5
(0: 1, 1: 3, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 2 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby (10:25)
Derick Brassard (22:48)
Jewgeni Malkin (26:48)
Brian Dumoulin (26:53)
Justin Schultz (47:08) 		Wells Fargo Center , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
Spectators: 19,955
Apr. 18, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Philadelphia Flyers
 0: 5
(0: 2, 0: 2, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 3 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Yevgeny Malkin (4:33)
Phil Kessel (14:37)
Kris Letang (28:04)
Sidney Crosby (30:56)
Riley Sheahan (55:46) 		Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Spectators: 19,644
Apr. 20, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Rust (32:00)
Jake Guentzel (36:45) 		2: 4
(0: 1, 2: 1, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		Philadelphia Flyers
Claude Giroux (17:29)
Valtteri Filppula (38:15)
Sean Couturier (58:45)
Matt Read (59:42) 		PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Spectators: 18,632
April 22, 2018
3 p.m. 		Philadelphia Flyers
Sean Couturier (2:15)
Andrew MacDonald (15:48)
Sean Couturier (20:40)
Scott Laughton (32:14)
Sean Couturier (57:07) 		5: 8
(2: 2, 2: 2, 1: 4)
Match report
as of: 2: 4 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby (6:30)
Carl Hagelin (7:17)
Patric Hörnqvist (33:35)
Jake Guentzel (39:06)
Jake Guentzel (40:30)
Jake Guentzel (52:48)
Jake Guentzel (52:58 )
Bryan Rust (59:29) 		Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Spectators: 19,861

Western Conference

(C1) Nashville Predators - (WWC2) Colorado Avalanche

The Nashville Predators , winners of the Presidents' Trophy as the best team of the regular season and last year's finalist , managed a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche in the first round . In the first playoff series between the two teams, it was mainly the third row of attacks by the Predators that made the difference in the person of Nick Bonino , Colton Sissons and Austin Watson and together to 19 scorer points and a plus / minus rating of +18 came. Colorado, on the other hand, suffered significant losses in goalkeeper Semyon Varlamow and defender Erik Johnson , while from game four also the second goalkeeper Jonathan Bernier was canceled and was replaced by Andrew Hammond .

April 12, 2018
8.30 p.m.
(local time) 		Nashville Predators
Austin Watson (23:16)
Craig Smith (28:50)
Filip Forsberg (46:08)
Filip Forsberg (52:10)
Colton Sissons (58:03) 		5: 2
(0: 1, 2: 1, 3: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Colorado Avalanche
Nikita Sadorow (6:36)
Blake Comeau (24:51) 		Bridgestone Arena , Nashville , Tennessee
Spectators: 5,301
Apr. 15, 2018
2 p.m. 		Nashville Predators
Kevin Fiala (21:01)
Viktor Arvidsson (32:36)
Ryan Johansen (36:32)
Austin Watson (47:16)
Ryan Hartman (58:51) 		5: 4
(0: 1, 3: 1, 2: 2)
Match report
as of: 2: 0 		Colorado Avalanche
Gabriel Bourque (2:34)
Nathan MacKinnon (37:08)
Gabriel Landeskog (49:14)
Alexander Kerfoot (59:24) 		Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Spectators: 17,369
April 16, 2018,
8 p.m. 		Colorado Avalanche
Blake Comeau (1:50)
Gabriel Bourque (13:24)
Nathan MacKinnon (18:07)
Nathan MacKinnon (24:25)
Gabriel Landeskog (58:24) 		5: 3
(3: 0, 1: 1, 1: 2)
Match report
as of: 2: 1 		Nashville Predators
Ryan Johansen (30:23)
Colton Sissons (47:12)
Austin Watson (58:45) 		Pepsi Center , Denver , Colorado
Spectators: 18,087
Apr. 18, 2018,
8 p.m. 		Colorado Avalanche
Gabriel Landeskog (45:20)
Alexander Kerfoot (51:01) 		2: 3
(0: 1, 0: 2, 2: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 3 		Nashville Predators
Filip Forsberg (15:33)
Colton Sissons (27:18)
Craig Smith (31:49) 		Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Spectators: 18,087
April 20, 2018 at
8:30 p.m. 		Nashville Predators
Nick Bonino (50:18) 		1: 2
(0: 0, 0: 0, 1: 2)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		Colorado Avalanche
Gabriel Landeskog (55:49)
Sven Andrighetto (58:32) 		Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Spectators: 17,504
Apr. 22, 2018,
5 p.m. 		Colorado Avalanche
 0: 5
(0: 2, 0: 2, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 4 		Nashville Predators
Mattias Ekholm (7:02)
Austin Watson (10:19)
Filip Forsberg (20:38)
Nick Bonino (28:26)
Viktor Arvidsson (42:36) 		Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Spectators: 18,087

(C2) Winnipeg Jets - (C3) Minnesota Wild

The Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 to win the first playoff series in their franchise history , while the City of Winnipeg saw their first win in a series since 1987 , from the original Winnipeg Jets at the time . For the Jets, Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien recorded five points each, while goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck became the third American in NHL history after Mike Richter and Brent Johnson to record consecutive shutouts in the playoffs . The Wild on the other hand, which failed for the third time in a row in the first round, had significant injury-related failures in Ryan Suter and from the fourth game also in Zach Parise .

April 11, 2018
6:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Winnipeg Jets
Mark Scheifele (37:37)
Patrik Laine (44:51)
Joe Morrow (52:47) 		3: 2
(0: 0, 1: 0, 2: 2)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Minnesota Wild
Matt Cullen (41:46)
Zach Parise (43:58) 		Bell MTS Place , Winnipeg , Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
Apr. 13, 2018
6.30 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
Tyler Myers (28:41)
Paul Stastny (47:42)
Andrew Copp (49:24)
Patrik Laine (57:58) 		4: 1
(0: 0, 1: 0, 3: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 0 		Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise (59:15) 		Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
April 15, 2018
6:00 p.m. 		Minnesota Wild
Mikael Granlund (9:47)
Zach Parise (17:50)
Matt Dumba (23:32)
Eric Staal (34:40)
Jordan Greenway (35:00)
Marcus Foligno (38:23) 		6: 2
(2: 1, 4: 1, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 2 		Winnipeg Jets
Blake Wheeler (4:50)
Tyler Myers (26:42) 		Xcel Energy Center , Saint Paul , Minnesota
Spectators: 19,175
Apr 17, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Minnesota Wild
 0: 2
(0: 1, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 3 		Winnipeg Jets
Mark Scheifele (19:32)
Mark Scheifele (59:49) 		Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Spectators: 19,277
April 20, 2018
6.30 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
Jacob Trouba (0:31)
Bryan Little (5:32)
Brandon Tanev (11:10)
Joel Armia (11:59)
Mark Scheifele (40:32) 		5: 0
(4: 0, 0: 0, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 4: 1 		Minnesota Wild
 Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321

(P1) Vegas Golden Knights - (WWC1) Los Angeles Kings

In the first playoff series in their history, the Vegas Golden Knights managed a sweep against the Los Angeles Kings . Both teams played emphatically defensive ice hockey, so they set an NHL record for a best-of-seven series with a total of only ten goals , which was established in 2006 between Minnesota and Anaheim . At the same time, the clash was dominated by the two goalkeepers, with Marc-André Fleury for the Golden Knights (97.7%  catch rate ; 0.65  goals against , 2  shutouts ) and Jonathan Quick for the Kings (94.7%; 1 , 55) have outstanding statistics.

April 11, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Vegas Golden Knights
Shea Theodore (3:23) 		1: 0
(1: 0, 0: 0, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Los Angeles Kings
 T-Mobile Arena , Paradise , Nevada
Spectators: 18,479
Apr. 13, 2018,
7 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
Alex Tuch (14:47)
Erik Haula (95:23) 		2: 1 n.V.
(1: 0, 0: 1, 0: 0, 0: 0, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 2: 0 		Los Angeles Kings
Paul LaDue (35:55) 		T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Spectators: 18,588
Apr. 15, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Los Angeles Kings
Alex Iafallo (13:14)
Anže Kopitar (57:56) 		2: 3
(1: 0, 0: 0, 1: 3)
Match report
as of: 0: 3 		Vegas Golden Knights
Cody Eakin (46:10)
James Neal (54:23)
William Karlsson (54:44) 		Staples Center , Los Angeles , California
Spectators: 18,484
Apr 17, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Los Angeles Kings
 0: 1
(0: 0, 0: 1, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 0: 4 		Vegas Golden Knights
Brayden McNabb (24:04) 		Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Spectators: 18,422

(P2) Anaheim Ducks - (P3) San Jose Sharks

The Pacific Division's second series also ended in a sweep , with the San Jose Sharks beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-0 . The main players for San Jose were Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture with five points each , Tomáš Hertl , Evander Kane and Marcus Sörensen with three goals each and goalkeeper Martin Jones with a catch rate of 97.0% and only four goals against in four games. For the two teams from California, it was only the second meeting in the playoffs after the first round in 2009 that Anaheim won 4-2. At the same time, the Sharks managed the second sweep in franchise history after beating Vancouver 4-0 in 2013 . In addition, the 8-1 in the third game marked the biggest win for San Jose in the Stanley Cup playoffs, together with the 7-0 over Edmonton in the preseason .

April 12, 2018
7.30 p.m.
(local time) 		Anaheim Ducks
 0: 3
(0: 0, 0: 3, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 0: 1 		San Jose Sharks
Evander Kane (27:07)
Evander Kane (33:51)
Brent Burns (35:15) 		Honda Center , Anaheim , California
Spectators: 17,174
April 14, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Anaheim Ducks
Jakob Silfverberg (0:40)
Hampus Lindholm (27:51) 		2: 3
(1: 2, 1: 1, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 0: 2 		San Jose Sharks
Marcus Sörensen (9:41)
Logan Couture (14:41)
Tomáš Hertl (21:11) 		Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Spectators: 17,430
April 16, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		San Jose Sharks
Logan Couture (3:44)
Joonas Donskoi (21:15)
Marcus Sörensen (23:41)
Eric Fehr (33:43)
Tomáš Hertl (36:49)
Joe Pavelski (50:04)
Evander Kane (57: 16)
Timo Meier (59:36) 		8: 1
(1: 1, 4: 0, 3: 0)
Match report
as of: 3: 0 		Anaheim Ducks
Rickard Rakell (13:40) 		SAP Center , San José , California
Spectators: 17,562
Apr. 18, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		San Jose Sharks
Marcus Sörensen (5:43)
Tomáš Hertl (49:09) 		2: 1
(1: 0, 0: 0, 1: 1)
Match report
as of: 4: 0 		Anaheim Ducks
Andrew Cogliano (47:53) 		SAP Center, San José, California
Spectators: 17,562

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning - (A2) Boston Bruins

In the second round, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins, the two teams with the highest points in the Eastern Conference, faced each other, with Tampa winning 4-1. For the teams it was the second clash in the playoffs after 2011 , when Boston won 4-3 in the conference final. The difference in favor of the Lightning made among other things their squad depth, so all but three field players recorded at least one scorer point, while for the Bruins only eight players appeared in the scorer list. A main reason for this was Tampa's superiority in 5-on-5, so from game two onwards Boston only scored goals in outnumbered or outnumbered. The Bruins paid particular attention to Brad Marchand , who licked Ryan Callahan's face in game four and was then - after similar incidents in the recent past - explicitly requested by the NHL not to do this in the future.

April 28, 2018
3:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Daniel Girardi (22:31)
Mikhail Sergachev (33:22) 		2: 6
(0: 1, 2: 2, 0: 3)
Match report
as of: 0: 1 		Boston Bruins
Rick Nash (17:11)
Patrice Bergeron (20:42)
Rick Nash (32:33)
Brad Marchand (43:32)
Patrice Bergeron (50:11)
Jake DeBrusk (53:41) 		Amalie Arena , Tampa , Florida
Spectators: 19,092
Apr. 30, 2018
7:00 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Yanni Gourde (11:47)
Tyler Johnson (30:14)
Ondřej Palát (54:08)
Brayden Point (59:34) 		4: 2
(1: 1, 1: 0, 2: 1)
Match report
as of 1: 1 		Boston Bruins
Charlie McAvoy (18:30)
Torey Krug (55:58) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,092
0May 2, 2018
7 p.m. 		Boston Bruins
Patrice Bergeron (14:12) 		1: 4
(1: 3, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
as of 1: 2 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Ondřej Palát (1:47)
Ondřej Palát (3:19)
Anthony Cirelli (16:43)
Steven Stamkos (59:18) 		TD Garden , Boston , Massachusetts
Spectators: 17,565
0May 4, 2018
7 p.m. 		Boston Bruins
David Pastrňák (15:28)
Patrice Bergeron (22:04)
Patrice Bergeron (46:36) 		3: 4 n.V.
(1: 2, 1: 0, 1: 1, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 3 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Brayden Point (4:36)
Nikita Kutscherow (9:53)
Steven Stamkos (52:56)
Daniel Girardi (63:18) 		TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Spectators: 17,565
0May 6, 2018
3 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Brayden Point (30:43)
JT Miller (34:00)
Anton Strålman (58:31) 		3: 1
(0: 1, 2: 0, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 4: 1 		Boston Bruins
David Krejčí (19:12) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,092

(M1) Washington Capitals - (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins

For the third time in a row, the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins faced each other in the second round , with Washington winning the series 4-2. They defeated the Penguins, who were already stylized as "fear opponents", who won nine of the previous ten playoff matches between the two teams. Only in 1994 had the Capitals recorded the only victory so far. On the Washington side, goalkeeper Braden Holtby was particularly convincing with a catch rate of 92.1% and an average goal against 2.15, as did Alexander Ovetschkin and Yevgeny Kuznetsov with seven and six points respectively. Meanwhile, Capitals attacker Tom Wilson made headlines , who was suspended for three games after a check against the head of Zach Aston-Reese , which among other things resulted in a lower jaw fracture. In the Penguins, on the other hand, a changeable performance by goalkeeper Matt Murray as well as inadequate offensive production of the back attack rows were identified, so Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each scored eight points and thus more than any player in the Capitals, while other top performers such as Phil Kessel or Derick Brassard ( both without scoring) fell short of expectations. In addition, Crosby and Guentzel were eliminated, although at the end of the second round they led the entire league in the scoring standings (21 each).

April 26, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Washington Capitals
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (0:17)
Alexander Ovetschkin (40:28) 		2: 3
(1: 0, 0: 0, 1: 3)
Match report
as of: 0: 1 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Patric Hörnqvist (42:59)
Sidney Crosby (45:20)
Jake Guentzel (47:48) 		Capital One Arena , Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
Apr 29, 2018
3 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovetschkin (1:26)
Jakub Vrána (14:54)
Brett Connolly (22:08)
Nicklas Bäckström (59:53) 		4: 1
(2: 0, 1: 1, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 1 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Kris Letang (33:04) 		Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
0May 1, 2018
7.30 p.m. 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel (24:33)
Patric Hörnqvist (26:49)
Sidney Crosby (36:27) 		3: 4
(0: 0, 3: 2, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 1: 2 		Washington Capitals
John Carlson (20:48)
Chandler Stephenson (31:04)
Matt Niskanen (45:06)
Alexander Ovetschkin (58:53) 		PPG Paints Arena , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
Spectators: 18,634
0May 3, 2018
7:00 p.m. 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel (29:21)
Jewgeni Malkin (37:31)
Jake Guentzel (59:02) 		3: 1
(0: 0, 2: 1, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 2: 2 		Washington Capitals
T. J. Oshie (32:55) 		PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Spectators: 18,650
0May 5, 2018
7 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
John Carlson (18:22)
Brett Connolly (18:55)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (40:52)
Jakub Vrána (55:22)
TJ Oshie (58:29)
Lars Eller (59:54) 		6: 3
(2: 1, 0: 2, 4: 0)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Jamie Oleksiak (2:23)
Sidney Crosby (24:43)
Patric Hörnqvist (27:45) 		Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
0May 7, 2018
7 p.m. 		Pittsburgh Penguins
Kris Letang (31:52) 		1: 2 n.V.
(0: 0, 1: 1, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 4 		Washington Capitals
Alex Chiasson (22:13)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (65:27) 		PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Spectators: 18,621

Western Conference

(C1) Nashville Predators - (C2) Winnipeg Jets

Already in the second round, the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets faced the two best-scoring teams of the past season, with the Jets winning the series 4-3. Both teams could hardly use their home advantage, so five of the seven games were won on foreign ice, while the Jets set an NHL record with 19 away goals scored in a series. Your center Mark Scheifele has meanwhile marked all of his seven goals scored away from home, setting a new playoff record and taking over the top scorer list for this post-season with a total of eleven goals . In addition, he and his teammate Blake Wheeler scored the most points (11) in this series. In the duel between the two goalkeepers nominated for the Vezina Trophy , Pekka Rinne was unable to convince on the side of Nashville, so he was replaced by Juuse Saros in three of four home games and ended the series with a catch rate of 90.0% and a goal against goals of 3.49 ; on the other hand, Connor Hellebuyck stood with 92.9% blocked shots and only 2.49 goals conceded per game. In addition, the Predators' offensive could not match the performances of the regular season, while PK Subban scored the most goals (4) for Nashville as a defender.

Apr. 27, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Nashville Predators
Kevin Fiala (41:23) 		1: 4
(0: 1, 0: 2, 1: 1)
Match report
as of: 0: 1 		Winnipeg Jets
Brandon Tanev (14:51)
Paul Stastny (29:01)
Mark Scheifele (37:51)
Mark Scheifele (59:24) 		Bridgestone Arena , Nashville , Tennessee
Spectators: 17,307
April 29, 2018
6:00 p.m. 		Nashville Predators
Ryan Johansen (0:27)
PK Subban (25:04)
Viktor Arvidsson (38:41)
Ryan Johansen (45:45)
Kevin Fiala (85:37) 		5: 4 n.V.
(1: 2, 2: 0, 1: 2, 0: 0, 1: 0)
Match report
: 1: 1 		Winnipeg Jets
Dustin Byfuglien (12:47)
Mark Scheifele (13:16)
Brandon Tanev (45:11)
Mark Scheifele (58:55) 		Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Spectators: 17,274
0May 1, 2018
7:00 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
Paul Stastny (22:38)
Dustin Byfuglien (25:11)
Jacob Trouba (25:29)
Dustin Byfuglien (39:15)
Blake Wheeler (55:01)
Blake Wheeler (59:09)
Brandon Tanev (59:29 ) 		7: 4
(0: 3, 4: 0, 3: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 1 		Nashville Predators
Mike Fisher (4:53)
PK Subban (10:06)
Austin Watson (17:35)
Filip Forsberg (47:40) 		Bell MTS Place , Winnipeg , Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
0May 3, 2018
8.30 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
Patrik Laine (59:09) 		1: 2
(0: 1, 0: 1, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 2: 2 		Nashville Predators
Ryan Hartman (17:20)
PK Subban (34:36) 		Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
0May 5, 2018 at
8:30 p.m. 		Nashville Predators
Yannick Weber (31:08)
Ryan Johansen (37:59) 		2: 6
(0: 0, 2: 4, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 2: 3 		Winnipeg Jets
Paul Stastny (27:44)
Kyle Connor (32:30)
Dustin Byfuglien (34:35)
Kyle Connor (37:01)
Mark Scheifele (40:28)
Mathieu Perreault (46:23) 		Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Spectators: 17,513
0May 7, 2018
8.30 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
 0: 4
(0: 1, 0: 1, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 3: 3 		Nashville Predators
Viktor Arvidsson (1:02)
Filip Forsberg (28:16)
Filip Forsberg (45:55)
Viktor Arvidsson (55:58) 		Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
May 10, 2018
7 p.m. 		Nashville Predators
P. K. Subban (3:54 pm) 		1: 5
(1: 2, 0: 1, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 3: 4 		Winnipeg Jets
Tyler Myers (8:41)
Paul Stastny (10:47)
Mark Scheifele (37:50)
Paul Stastny (51:59)
Mark Scheifele (57:27) 		Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Spectators: 17,523

(P1) Vegas Golden Knights - (P3) San Jose Sharks

It was only for the second time in the last 22 years of the playoffs (besides 2011 ) that the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks faced each other, two teams who had progressed through a sweep in the previous round . Vegas won the series 4-2 and moved into the conference finals in the debut season. As in the first round, Marc-André Fleury was a key factor in the success of the Golden Knights, so he recorded two shutouts and ended the series with a catch rate of 93.5%. The first row of attacks around William Karlsson , Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith , which together came to 25 points scorer, was decisive for Vegas . The Sharks, who continued to suffer a significant injury-related loss in Joe Thornton , suffered one of their biggest playoff defeats with the 7-0 in the first game of the series, along with the 9-2 win against Calgary in 1995 .

April 26, 2018
7:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Vegas Golden Knights
Cody Eakin (4:31)
Erik Haula (4:57)
Jonathan Marchessault (6:02)
Alex Tuch (11:43)
Shea Theodore (23:28)
Colin Miller (44:32)
James Neal (48: 09) 		7: 0
(4: 0, 1: 0, 2: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		San Jose Sharks
 T-Mobile Arena , Paradise , Nevada
Spectators: 18,444
April 28, 2018,
5 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
William Karlsson (17:59)
William Karlsson (20:26)
Nate Schmidt (53:28) 		3: 4 n.V.
(1: 0, 1: 3, 1: 0, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
: 1: 1 		San Jose Sharks
Brent Burns (22:00)
Logan Couture (31:08)
Brent Burns (34:07)
Logan Couture (85:13) 		T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Spectators: 18,671
Apr. 30, 2018
7:00 p.m. 		San Jose Sharks
Timo Meier (26:59)
Evander Kane (47:49)
Tomáš Hertl (58:03) 		3: 4 n.V.
(0: 0, 1: 3, 2: 0, 0: 1)
Match report
: 1: 2 		Vegas Golden Knights
Colin Miller (29:40)
Jonathan Marchessault (33:09)
Reilly Smith (34:26)
William Karlsson (68:17) 		SAP Center , San José , California
Spectators: 17,562
0May 2, 2018
7 p.m. 		San Jose Sharks
Marcus Sörensen (15:37)
Joonas Donskoi (19:54)
Tomáš Hertl (25:35)
Joe Pavelski (51:43) 		4: 0
(2: 0, 1: 0, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 2: 2 		Vegas Golden Knights
 SAP Center, San José, California
Spectators: 17,562
0May 4, 2018
7 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
James Neal (19:57)
Alex Tuch (24:52)
Erik Haula (28:59)
Alex Tuch (48:36)
Jonathan Marchessault (58:39) 		5: 3
(1: 0, 2: 0, 2: 3)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		San Jose Sharks
Kevin Labanc (49:35)
Tomáš Hertl (51:44)
Mikkel Bødker (55:44) 		T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Spectators: 18,693
0May 6, 2018
4.30 p.m. 		San Jose Sharks
 0: 3
(0: 0, 0: 2, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 4 		Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault (26:33)
Nate Schmidt (35:38)
Cody Eakin (58:09) 		SAP Center, San José, California
Spectators: 17,562

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning - (M1) Washington Capitals

The Eastern Conference final contested the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals as the respective division winners, which happened for the first time since the introduction of this playoff mode. Tampa reached this round for the third time in four years, while Washington played its first Conference final since 1998 . The two teams have faced each other twice in the playoffs, with Tampa emerging as winners in both 2003 and 2011 . The Lightning managed to convert a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead in the series before Braden Holtby became the fourth goalkeeper in NHL history (after Curtis Joseph , Dominik Hašek and Henrik Lundqvist ), the one in game six and seven each managed a shutout , so that the Capitals won the conference final 4: 3. Overall, the Canadian stayed clean for the last 159 minutes and saved all 61 shots during this period. On the part of Washington, Yevgeny Kuznetsov and Alexander Ovetschkin were also decisive , who were the best scorers of the series with ten and seven points respectively and also took over the lead of the scorer list for the entire playoffs. Meanwhile, the Lightning failed to use their home advantage, while the team revealed problems on the offensive, especially at the end of the series, and Andrei Wassilewski ended the seven games with a catch rate of 90.6% and an average goal conceded of 3.16.

May 11, 2018
8:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos (43:45)
Ondřej Palát (53:03) 		2: 4
(0: 2, 0: 2, 2: 0)
Match report
as of: 0: 1 		Washington Capitals
Michal Kempný (7:28)
Alexander Ovetschkin (19:54)
Jay Beagle (22:40)
Lars Eller (26:42) 		Amalie Arena , Tampa , Florida
Spectators: 19,092
May 13, 2018
8 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Brayden Point (7:08)
Steven Stamkos (10:22) 		2: 6
(2: 1, 0: 3, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 0: 2 		Washington Capitals
Tom Wilson (0:28)
Devante Smith-Pelly (22:50)
Lars Eller (38:58)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (39:57)
Alexander Ovetschkin (43:34)
Brett Connolly (52:57) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,092
May 15, 2018
8 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
Brett Connolly (30:31)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (56:58) 		2: 4
(0: 1, 1: 3, 1: 0)
Match report
as of: 2: 1 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos (13:53)
Nikita Kutscherow (21:50)
Victor Hedman (23:37)
Brayden Point (36:03) 		Capital One Arena , Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
May 17, 2018
8:00 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
Dmitri Orlow (4:28)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (25:18) 		2: 4
(1: 2, 1: 0, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 2: 2 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Brayden Point (5:38)
Steven Stamkos (8:32)
Alexander Killorn (51:57)
Anthony Cirelli (59:58) 		Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
May 19, 2018
7.15 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
Cédric Paquette (0:19)
Ondřej Palát (9:04)
Ryan Callahan (20:33) 		3: 2
(2: 0, 1: 1, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 3: 2 		Washington Capitals
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (24:21)
Alexander Ovetschkin (58:24) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,092
May 21, 2018
8 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
T. J. Oshie (35:12)
Devante Smith-Pelly (50:02)
TJ Oshie (59:10) 		3: 0
(0: 0, 1: 0, 2: 0)
Match report
as of: 3: 3 		Tampa Bay Lightning
 Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
May 23, 2018
8 p.m. 		Tampa Bay Lightning
 0: 4
(0: 1, 0: 2, 0: 1)
Match report
as of: 3: 4 		Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovetschkin (1:02)
André Burakovsky (28:59)
André Burakovsky (36:31)
Nicklas Bäckström (56:17) 		Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Spectators: 19,092

Western Conference

(C2) Winnipeg Jets - (P1) Vegas Golden Knights

In the final of the Western Conference , the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights faced each other, with the Golden Knights prevailing 4: 1 and thus made it into the final of the Stanley Cup. Both teams played their first conference final, which was last in 2003 between the Minnesota Wild and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . The Jets were also the first Canadian team since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 to reach the final of the Western Conference. As in the previous rounds, Marc-André Fleury convinced in goal and, with an average of just over 2.0 conceded goals and a catch rate of 93.8%, played a key role in the continued success of the Golden Knights. The best scorer in the series was Jonathan Marchessault , who posted four goals and three assists for Vegas. On the side of the jets, Connor Hellebuyck could not confirm his previous playoff performances and recorded an average goal against 2.36 and a catch rate of 90.6%. In addition, Winnipeg missed a noteworthy offensive production of the back attack rows, so Patrik Laine - apart from the front row around Blake Wheeler , Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor - was the only striker with more than two points scorer.

May 12, 2018
6:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Winnipeg Jets
Dustin Byfuglien (1:05)
Patrik Laine (6:49)
Joel Armia (7:35)
Mark Scheifele (29:54) 		4: 2
(3: 1, 1: 1, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Vegas Golden Knights
Brayden McNabb (8:10)
William Karlsson (35:55) 		Bell MTS Place , Winnipeg , Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
May 14, 2018
7:00 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
Kyle Connor (47:17) 		1: 3
(0: 2, 0: 0, 1: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 1 		Vegas Golden Knights
Tomáš Tatar (13:23)
Jonathan Marchessault (17:23)
Jonathan Marchessault (48:45) 		Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321
May 16, 2018
6:00 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault (0:35)
James Neal (25:40)
Alex Tuch (28:13)
Jonathan Marchessault (59:57) 		4: 2
(1: 0, 2: 1, 1: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 1 		Winnipeg Jets
Mark Scheifele (25:28)
Mark Scheifele (40:18) 		T-Mobile Arena , Paradise , Nevada
Spectators: 18,477
May 18, 2018
5 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
William Karlsson (2:25)
Tomáš Nosek (30:12)
Reilly Smith (53:02) 		3: 2
(1: 0, 1: 1, 1: 1)
Match report
as of: 3: 1 		Winnipeg Jets
Patrik Laine (29:29)
Tyler Myers (45:34) 		T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Spectators: 18,697
May 20, 2018
2 p.m. 		Winnipeg Jets
Josh Morrissey (17:14) 		1: 2
(1: 1, 0: 1, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 4 		Vegas Golden Knights
Alex Tuch (5:11)
Ryan Reaves (33:21) 		Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Spectators: 15,321

Stanley Cup Final

(P1) Vegas Golden Knights - (M1) Washington Capitals

In the final of the 2018 playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights faced the Washington Capitals . Washington won with a 4: 1 victory his first Stanley Cup and placed with Alexander Ovechkin to the Conn Smythe Trophy winning Most Valuable Player . This led the list of goalscorers with 15 goals, this mark had last surpassed Joe Sakic with 18 goals in the 1996 playoffs . He also became the first Russian to lead his team to the Stanley Cup victory as captain , and only the second left winger after Bob Gainey ( 1979 ), who received the Conn Smythe Trophy as an MVP.

Vegas made its first final in its debut season, while Washington made it to the final for the second time since 1998 . It was also the first time since the final between the Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 that neither of the two finalists had previously won a Stanley Cup. George McPhee , General Manager of the Golden Knights, meanwhile met his old team, which he had looked after in the same position for over 15 years.

The final was rated primarily as a duel between the two goalkeepers, so Marc-André Fleury met for Vegas and Braden Holtby with previously outstanding statistics. Fleury was unable to confirm this, so his catch quota fell from 94.7% in the playoffs to 85.3% in the final series, while his goalscoring rate rose from 1.68 to over 4.0. Holtby, on the other hand, had 91.6% in the final and about 2.6 goals against per game. In addition, the offensive production of the back line of attack was identified as a reason for Washington's success, with Devante Smith-Pelly scoring three goals while Lars Eller and André Burakovsky scored four points each. The best scorers in the series were Yevgeny Kuznetsov (8) and Nicklas Bäckström (7 points). On the other hand, the Golden Knights in particular did not manage to build on the performances from the previous three rounds, with William Karlsson , Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith only recording four goals together.

May 28, 2018
5:00 p.m.
(local time) 		Vegas Golden Knights
Colin Miller (7:15)
William Karlsson (18:19)
Reilly Smith (23:21)
Ryan Reaves (42:41)
Tomáš Nosek (49:44)
Tomáš Nosek (59:57) 		6: 4
(2: 2, 1: 1, 3: 1)
Match report
as of: 1: 0 		Washington Capitals
Brett Connolly (14:41)
Nicklas Bäckström (15:23)
John Carlson (28:29)
Tom Wilson (41:10) 		T-Mobile Arena , Paradise , Nevada
Spectators: 18,575
May 30, 2018
5 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
James Neal (7:58)
Shea Theodore (37:47) 		2: 3
(1: 1, 1: 2, 0: 0)
Match report
as of: 1: 1 		Washington Capitals
Lars Eller (17:27)
Alexander Ovetschkin (25:38)
Brooks Orpik (29:41) 		T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Spectators: 18,702
0June 2, 2018
8 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovetschkin (21:10)
Yevgeny Kuznetsov (32:50)
Devante Smith-Pelly (53:53) 		3: 1
(0: 0, 2: 0, 1: 1)
Match report
as of: 2: 1 		Vegas Golden Knights
Tomáš Nosek (43:29) 		Capital One Arena , Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
0June 4, 2018
8 p.m. 		Washington Capitals
T. J. Oshie (9:54)
Tom Wilson (16:26)
Devante Smith-Pelly (19:39)
John Carlson (35:23)
Michal Kempný (53:39)
Brett Connolly (58:51) 		6: 2
(3: 0, 1: 0, 2: 2)
Match report
as of: 3: 1 		Vegas Golden Knights
James Neal (45:43)
Reilly Smith (52:26) 		Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Spectators: 18,506
0June 7, 2018
5 p.m. 		Vegas Golden Knights
Nate Schmidt (29:40)
David Perron (32:56)
Reilly Smith (39:31) 		3: 4
(0: 0, 3: 2, 0: 2)
Match report
as of: 1: 4 		Washington Capitals
Jakub Vrána (26:24)
Alexander Ovetschkin (30:14)
Devante Smith-Pelly (49:52)
Lars Eller (52:23) 		T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Spectators: 18,529

Stanley Cup winner

The 22 players listed below were automatically qualified for the engraving on the trophy by playing in the Stanley Cup final or by playing more than half of the regular season games. Travis Boyd , Shane Gersich , Jakub Jeřábek and Nathan Walker did not meet these conditions, so that they were not immortalized at the Stanley Cup. In addition, all players except Brooks Orpik , who was successful with Pittsburgh in 2009 , won their first Stanley Cup.

With 10 Europeans , the Capitals have the second largest line-up of its kind in NHL history, together with the Chicago Blackhawks of 2015 . Only the Detroit Red Wings immortalized in the playoffs 2008 with twelve players more players from Europe at the Stanley Cup. In addition, Lars Eller became the first Dane to win the cup.

Stanley Cup Winner: Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals logo

Goalkeepers: Philipp Grubauer , Braden Holtby

Defenders: Madison Bowey , John Carlson , Christian Djoos , Michal Kempný , Matt Niskanen , Dmitri Orlow , Brooks Orpik

Attackers: Nicklas Bäckström , Jay Beagle , André Burakovsky , Alex Chiasson , Brett Connolly , Lars Eller , Evgeni Kuznetsov , TJ Oshie , Alexander Ovetschkin  ( C ), Devante Smith-Pelly , Chandler Stephenson , Jakub Vrána , Tom Wilson

Head Coach: Barry Despite   General Manager: Brian MacLellan

Best scorer

Abbreviations: Sp = games, T = goals, V = assists, pts = points, +/- = plus / minus , SM = penalty minutes; Fat: best value

player team Sp T V Pt +/- SM
Yevgeny Kuznetsov Washington Capitals 24 12 20th 32 +12 16
Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 24 15th 12 27 +8 8th
Nicklas Bäckström Washington Capitals 20th 5 18th 23 -1 6th
Reilly Smith Vegas Golden Knights 20th 5 17th 22nd +5 10
Jake Guentzel Pittsburgh Penguins 12 10 11 21st +10 8th
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 12 9 12 21st +7 6th
TJ Oshie Washington Capitals 24 8th 13 21st +5 31
Jonathan Marchessault Vegas Golden Knights 20th 8th 13 21st +8 10
Blake Wheeler Winnipeg Jets 17th 3 18th 21st +2 10
Mark Scheifele Winnipeg Jets 17th 14th 6th 20th +6 10

Brooks Orpik of the Washington Capitals achieved the best plus / minus statistics with a value of +17.

Best goalkeeper

The combined table shows the three best goalkeepers in the categories conceded goals and catch quota as well as the leaders in the categories shutouts and wins.

Abbreviations: GP = games, TOI = ice age (in minutes), W = wins, L = defeats, OTL = overtime defeats, GA = goals conceded, SO = shutouts , Sv% = shots saved (in%), GAA = goals conceded; Bold: Season best

Only goalkeepers who have played 240 minutes of play are recorded. Sorted by the best goals against.

player team GP TOI W. L. GA SO Sv% ATM
Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings 4th 271: 26 0 4th 7th 0 94.7 1.55
Braden Holtby Washington Capitals 23 1385: 45 16 7th 50 2 92.2 2.16
Marc-André Fleury Vegas Golden Knights 20th 1258: 35 13 7th 47 4th 92.7 2.24
Martin Jones San Jose Sharks 10 584: 40 4th 6th 22nd 2 92.8 2.26

Web links

Commons : Stanley Cup Playoffs 2018  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Emily Kaplan: Vegas first to clinch playoff berth in inaugural season since '79 -80. espn.com, March 27, 2018, accessed March 31, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Corey Long: Lightning led by Kucherov, defense in first round against Devils. nhl.com, April 22, 2018, accessed April 22, 2018 .
  3. ^ Matt Kalman: Bruins advance to second round behind top line, Game 7 poise. nhl.com, April 26, 2018, accessed April 27, 2018 (English).
  4. ↑ Craig Merz: Blue Jackets failed by lack of killer instinct against Capitals. nhl.com, April 24, 2018, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Adam Kimelman: Flyers hurt by key injuries in first-round loss to Penguins. nhl.com, April 23, 2018, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  6. ^ Don Brennan: Guentzel offensive outburst one for the ages. nationalpost.com, April 22, 2018, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Rick Sadowski: Avalanche beset by injuries in first-round loss to Predators. nhl.com, April 23, 2018, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  8. ^ Robby Stanley: Predators got boost from third line in first round against Avalanche. nhl.com, April 23, 2018, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Scott Billeck: Jets propelled by Hellebuyck, home ice in opening-round victory. nhl.com, April 21, 2018, accessed April 21, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Jessi Pierce: Wild plagued by injuries, lack of offense in first-round loss to jets. nhl.com, April 21, 2018, accessed April 21, 2018 .
  11. ^ Dan Greenspan: Kings doomed by lack of production in first-round sweep. nhl.com, April 18, 2018, accessed April 18, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Eric Gilmore: Sharks keyed by four-line balance, discipline in sweep of Ducks. nhl.com, April 19, 2018, accessed April 19, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Corey Long: Lightning use scoring depth, even-strength play to advance. nhl.com, May 7, 2018, accessed May 6, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Matt Stevens: Stop Licking Opponents, NHL Tells Brad Marchand. 'It Is What It Is,' He Says. nytimes.com, May 7, 2018, accessed May 7, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Wes Crosby: Penguins doomed by lack of depth in second round. nhl.com, May 8, 2018, accessed May 8, 2018 .
  16. ^ Brian McNally: Capitals ride Holtby, Defense to Eastern Conference Final. nhl.com, May 8, 2018, accessed May 8, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Scott Billeck: Jets roadwork helps pave way to conference final. nhl.com, May 11, 2018, accessed on May 11, 2018 .
  18. ^ Robby Stanley: Predators pay price for home-ice failures against jets. nhl.com, May 11, 2018, accessed on May 11, 2018 .
  19. ^ Danny Webster: Golden Knights ride Fleury, lineup adjustments to advance. nhl.com, May 7, 2018, accessed May 7, 2018 .
  20. ^ Brian McNally: Capitals reach final behind Holtby, success on road. nhl.com, May 24, 2018, accessed on May 24, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Corey Long: Lightning fail to generate offense in series loss to capitals. nhl.com, May 24, 2018, accessed on May 24, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Scott Billeck: Grind gets to Jets in the Western Conference Final. nhl.com, May 20, 2018, accessed on May 21, 2018 .
  23. ^ Danny Webster: Defense gets Golden Knights to Stanley Cup Final. nhl.com, May 20, 2018, accessed on May 21, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Danny Webster: Golden Knights' magic runs out in Stanley Cup Final. nhl.com, June 8, 2018, accessed June 8, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Brian McNally: Capitals Carried by Ovechkin in triumphant run to the Stanley Cup. nhl.com, June 8, 2018, accessed June 8, 2018 .