2001 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff 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 their second Stanley Cup.

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.^[1] This was the first of ten consecutive seasons in which the Florida Panthers missed the playoffs, which became the longest playoff drought in NHL history (later equaled by the Edmonton Oilers); the record stood until the Buffalo Sabres surpassed it in 2022. This was also the most recent season in which the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning missed the playoffs in the same year. To date, this is also the last season in which the two top seeds overall from each Conference made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.