2024 Stanley Cup playoffs

2024 Stanley Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 20 – June 24, 2024
Teams16
Defending championsVegas Golden Knights
Final positions
ChampionsFlorida Panthers
Runner-upEdmonton Oilers
Tournament statistics
Scoring leader(s)Connor McDavid (Oilers) (42 points)
MVPConnor McDavid (Oilers)
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The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2023–24 season. The playoffs began on April 20, 2024, and concluded on June 24, 2024, with the Florida Panthers winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, defeating the Edmonton Oilers four games to three in the Stanley Cup Finals.[1][2]

The New York Rangers made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. Both the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs extended their respective playoff streaks to eight consecutive seasons, the longest active streaks in the NHL.[3] For the second year in a row and third 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.

For the fifth consecutive season, and eighth in the last ten seasons, a Florida-based team made it to the penultimate round.[4] For the first time since 2015, the New York Rangers became the only Presidents' Trophy winning team to hold this award twice and advance to the semifinal round of the playoffs in the last ten years.[5] For the first time since 2018, three of the four conference finalists, the Rangers, Panthers and Stars, were their respective division champions.[6] During game four of the Stanley Cup Finals, Connor McDavid set the playoff record for most assists in one year, eclipsing the previous record set by Wayne Gretzky in 1988.[7] The Edmonton Oilers became the tenth team to tie a series after trailing 3–0 in a series and the third time in the Stanley Cup Finals.[8]

  1. ^ Brehm, Mike (October 4, 2023). "Key dates for 2023-24 NHL season: When is season finale and more?". USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023-24 NHL DATES OF INTEREST" (PDF). National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Most Consecutive Playoff Appearances".
  4. ^ "Prince of Wales Trophy".
  5. ^ Cherwoo, Vin A. (May 21, 2024). "Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers set to face Panthers in Eastern Conference final". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Mendes, Ian; Gentille, Sean; McIndoe, Sean (May 22, 2024). "Are the 2024 NHL conference finals the strongest of the salary-cap era?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Nugent-Bowman, Daniel (June 15, 2024). "Connor McDavid breaks Wayne Gretzky's record for most assists in a single playoff". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  8. ^ Dubow, Josh (June 24, 2024). "The Oilers join 9 other NHL teams that forced a Game 7 after trailing a series 3-0". AP news. Retrieved June 24, 2024.

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