2023 Stanley Cup playoffs

2023 Stanley Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 17 – June 13, 2023
Teams16
Defending championsColorado Avalanche
Final positions
ChampionsVegas Golden Knights
Runner-upFlorida Panthers
Tournament statistics
Scoring leader(s)Jack Eichel (Golden Knights) (26 points)
MVPJonathan Marchessault (Golden Knights)
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The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2022–23 season. The playoffs began on April 17, 2023, three days after the end of the regular season, and concluded on June 13, 2023, with the Vegas Golden Knights winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, defeating the Florida Panthers four games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals.[1]

The Boston Bruins made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners after setting the league record for the most wins and points in a single regular season. The Pittsburgh Penguins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2005–06 NHL season, ending the NHL's and major North American sports' longest active playoff streak at sixteen consecutive seasons. The new longest active playoffs streak in major North American sports belonged to MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers, who qualified for the postseason every year since 2013.[2] The longest active Stanley Cup playoff streak moved to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at seven consecutive seasons after the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals also had their eight-season playoff streaks end.[3] As a result, this is the first time since 1976 that the longest active playoff streak was less than ten consecutive seasons. The Seattle Kraken became the second fastest NHL expansion team since 1991 to qualify for the playoffs, after the Vegas Golden Knights, and the first to clinch their inaugural playoff appearance in their second season in the league since the Quebec Nordiques in 1981.[4][5] The Kraken also became the first NHL exclusive expansion team to make their first playoff appearance in their second season since the Atlanta Flames in 1974.[5] All three New York metropolitan area teams (the Devils, Islanders and Rangers) made the playoffs in the same year for the first time since 2007.[6] For the first time since 1990 and second time since entering the NHL as expansion teams in the 1967–68 NHL season, both Pennsylvania-based teams (the Flyers and Penguins) missed the playoffs in the same season.

This postseason marked the second consecutive and fourth time overall that the league played 50 or more games in the opening round of the playoffs since this round was changed to a best-of-seven format in 1987.[7] In addition, visiting teams in the first round went 31–19 overall to set a new league record for the most road wins in a single round.[8] Among these opening round road victories, the Florida Panthers overcame a 3–1 series deficit to upset the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in seven games,[9] the Seattle Kraken defeated the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in seven games to win their first playoff series,[10] and the Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road in game six to win their first series since the 2004 Eastern Conference quarterfinals.[11]

For the fourth consecutive year, a Florida-based team reached the Stanley Cup Finals. For the first time, the conference finals consisted exclusively of teams located in the Sun Belt, with the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final, and the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final.[12]

  1. ^ "NHL Announces Key Dates for Remainder of 2022-23 Season". NHL Enterprises, L.P. March 15, 2023. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Rosen, Dan (April 12, 2023). "Penguins eliminated from playoff contention, 16-year postseason run ends". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  3. ^ Rasmussen, Karl (April 12, 2023). "Penguins' 16-Year Playoff Streak Snapped As Islanders Clinch Wild Card". SI.com. ABG-SI LLC. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. ^ Baker, Geoff (April 6, 2023). "Second-season joy! Kraken beat Coyotes to clinch the franchise's first playoff berth". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Kraken Clinch First Stanley Cup Playoffs Spot in Sophomore Season". NHL Enterprises, L. P. April 7, 2023. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Sears, Ethan (April 12, 2023). "Islanders whip Canadiens to clinch playoff spot". NYPost.com. NYP Holdings, Inc. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "First Round Recap by #NHLStats – 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs". NHL Enterprises, L. P. May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  8. ^ "Stanley Cup Playoffs road teams had historic run in 1st round". NHL Enterprises, L. P. May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference FLA-BOSG7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference SEA-COLG7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference TOR-TBG6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Hawkins, Stephen (May 17, 2023). "Sunny NHL playoffs: Every Stanley Cup semifinalist is from Sun Belt for first time". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved May 18, 2023.