 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 30–June 24, 2013 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Los Angeles Kings |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Runner-up | Boston Bruins |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | David Krejci (Bruins) (26 points) |
| MVP | Patrick Kane (Blackhawks) |
The 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2012–13 season. They began on April 30, 2013,[1] following the conclusion of the regular season. The regular season was shortened to 48 games and the playoffs were pushed to a later date due to a lockout. The playoffs ended on June 24, 2013, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games to win the Stanley Cup.[1] Patrick Kane won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoffs MVP, with 19 points (9 goals and 10 assists).
The Blackhawks made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. The Detroit Red Wings increased their postseason appearance streak to twenty-two seasons, the longest active streak at the time. The Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs for the first time since 2004, breaking the longest active drought at the time. The 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs marked the first time since 1996 that every Original Six team advanced to the playoffs in the same year. Additionally, four Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver), the most since 2006. The first round series between Montreal and Ottawa was the first playoff series between two Canadian teams since 2004. For the second time in three years, all three teams from California made the playoffs.[2] The New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers missed the playoffs this year, marking the first time this happened since the Devils relocated in 1982.
For the first time since 1945, the four semifinalists were the previous four Stanley Cup champions: Pittsburgh (2009), Chicago (2010), Boston (2011), and Los Angeles (2012).[3] In fact, Detroit, the 2008 Stanley Cup champions, were the last team to be eliminated in the conference semifinals, so the last five teams remaining were the previous five champions. The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals were contested between Blackhawks and Bruins, the first meeting in the Finals between the two teams, and the first time that two Original Six teams competed in the Finals since Montreal defeated the New York Rangers in the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals.[4] It is also the most recent Stanley Cup Finals to feature two Original Six teams.
The Blackhawks also became the first Presidents' Trophy winners to win the Stanley Cup since the Red Wings in 2008. To date they are the most recent team to accomplish this feat and most recent Presidents' Trophy winners to even reach the Finals.
These playoffs featured 27 overtime games, the most since 1993 and the second-most in NHL history.
- ^ a b "NHL's 99-day schedule starts with 13 games Jan. 19". NHL.com. January 12, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
Stanley Cup Playoffs begin: Tuesday, Apr. 30; Latest possible date for Stanley Cup Finals: Friday, June 28
- ^ Hicks, Brandon (June 27, 2013). "The (completely fake) 2013 NHL awards". Cbc.ca. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- ^ Roarke, Shawn (May 30, 2013). "Past four Cup champs comprise Conference Finalists". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ "Blackhawks, Bruins in 1st Original 6 matchup in Cup finals since Canadiens, Rangers in 1979". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.