2007-2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Bracket and Preview

Visit this page for daily updates during the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs status and follow the action all the way. Also, take a look below at our comprehensive 2007-08 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs preview for East and West.

Conf. Quarterfinals		Conf. Semifinals		Conf. Finals		Stanley Cup Finals
1 Montreal 4 8 Boston 3		1 Montreal 1 6 Philadelphia 4		6 Philadelphia 1 2 Pittsburgh 4		2 Pittsburgh 2 1 Detroit 4
2 Pittsburgh 4 7 Ottawa 0
Eastern Conference
3 Washington 3 6 Philadelphia 4		2 Pittsburgh 4 5 N.Y. Rangers 1
4 New Jersey 1 5 N.Y. Rangers 4
1 Detroit 4 8 Nashville 2		1 Detroit 4 6 Colorado 0		1 Detroit 4 5 Dallas 2
2 San Jose 4 7 Calgary 3
Western Conference
3 Minnesota 2 6 Colorado 4		2 San Jose 2 5 Dallas 4
4 Anaheim 2 5 Dallas 4

Stanley Cup Finals Preview - May 23, 2008

No. 1 (West) DETROIT RED WINGS (54-21-7) vs. No. 2 (East) PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (47-27-8)

2007-08 season series: First meeting since Oct. 7, 2006, when Red Wings won 2-0 at Pittsburgh.

Playoff History: First meeting.

Last Stanley Cup finals appearance: Detroit beat Carolina 4-1 in 2002. Pittsburgh beat Chicago 4-0 in 1992.

Despite taking out the Dallas Stars in the Western Final, Detroit missed postseason goal-scoring leader Johan Franzen, who hasn't played since Game 1 of that series due to a concussion. He has been practicing with the team, but has been ruled out of playing in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. Detroit has received solid goaltending from (former) back-up Chris Osgood, who is 10-2 with 1.60 goals-against average since taking over for Dominik Hasek in first round. Henrik Zetterberg is tied with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby with 21 playoff points, including 11 goals.

Captain Crosby has an NHL-best 17 assists in 14 games. Of the 10 playoff games in which he recorded a point, Crosby netted at least two nine times. The Penguins are a perfect 8-0 at home in playoffs and have won 16 straight at Mellon Arena, dating to shootout loss to San Jose on Feb. 24. It is their longest home postseason winning streak in one year since a six-game run in 1992 - the last time they reached the finals. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has a 1.70 goals-against average in the playoffs.

Betting Line: Detroit is a -165 favorite to beat Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup final at BetUS.

Pick: Detroit in 7.

Conference Finals Preview - May 5, 2008

No. 1 Detroit Red Wings (54-21-7) vs. No. 5 Dallas Stars (45-30-7)

2007-08 Season Series: Detroit 3-1

Playoff History: Detroit 2-0. Last met in 1998 Western Conference Final, won 4-2 by Detroit.

Detroit dominated its opponents, the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche, in the first two rounds, but will likely face a more daunting challenge against Dallas, who also manhandled their foes in the conference quarter- and semi-finals. The big difference is, Detroit faced arguably weaker teams than Dallas did. The Red Wings had their hands full with the No. 8 Nashville Predators, and then beat up a Colorado team that was so decimated by injuries that it played its final game without four of its top six forwards. Dallas, on the other hand, took out the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in the first round, and followed that by beating the San Jose Sharks, a Stanley Cup favorite heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs, in five games.

Detroit has been led by forwards Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, while Dallas has been paced by solid goaltending from Marty Turco and strong play up front by captain Brendan Morrow, who has seven goals, including the OT winner in the deciding Game 6 against San Jose on Sunday. With Turco, only Philadelphia’s Martin Biron has faced more shots in the 2008 playoffs than the Stars’ starter, but Turco’s save percentage (.929) is far better than Biron’s (.914).

Betting Line: Detroit -230 (series price). Bet this series at BetUS.

Pick: Detroit in seven.

No. 2 Pittsburgh Penguins (47-27-8) vs. No. 6 Philadelphia Flyers (42-29-11)

2007-08 Season Series: Philadelphia 5-3

Playoff History: Philadelphia 3-0. Last met in 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals, won 4-2 by Philadelphia.

The Battle of Pennsylvania will be a heated one, and it could be long if history is any guide. These two teams played one of the most-famous playoff games of all time in the conference semis in 2000. In Game 4 of the best-of-seven series, the teams played five overtimes – 92:01 of extra hockey – before Philadelphia’s Keith Primeau scored the winning goal. It was the third-longest game in Stanley Cup Playoff history.

Philadelphia has proven it’s a giant killer in the 2008 playoffs, knocking off No. Montreal 4-1 with a win in Game 5 Saturday in Montreal, and eliminating the upstart Washington Capitals 4-3 in the first round. But Pittsburgh has lost just once this spring, beating the New Rangers 4-1 in the conference semifinals with its decisive win Sunday, and sweeping the Ottawa Senators in the opening round. Pittsburgh has the deadliest 1-2 punch in the league with young dynamos Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Goalie Martin Biron and unlikely sniper R.J. Umberger have been clutch for the Flyers.

Betting Line: Pittsburgh -220 (series price). Bet this series at Sportsbook.com.

Pick: Pittsburgh in seven.

Eastern Conference Playoff Preview - April 9, 2008

No. 2 Pittsburgh Penguins (47-27-8) vs. No. 7 Ottawa Senators (43-31-8)

2007-08 season series: Ottawa 3-0-1 (one win in overtime)

Playoff History: Ottawa 1-0. The Sens won their first-round playoff series last season, four games to one.

The Penguins are back and may be for real. Pittsburgh won the division title for first time since 1997-98 season, and Evgeni Malkin has been on fire, leading the NHL with 65 points after Jan. 1, including 32 goals. Oh, the Penguins also have a guy named Sidney Crosby, who finished with 72 points in only 53 games. Ottawa led the Eastern Conference as recently as Feb. 23, but has faded down the stretch. The Sens will be without injured captain Daniel Alfredsson and fellow forward Mike Fisher.

Betting Line: The Penguins are a -280 moneyline favorite to win the series at BetOnline.com.

Pick: Penguins get their revenge.

No. 4 New Jersey Devils (46-29-7) vs. No. 5 New York Rangers (42-27-13)

2007-08 season series: New York 7-0-1 (three wins in overtime)

Playoff History: New York 3-1. They last met in 2006 conference quarterfinals, when Devils swept series four straight.

New Jersey outscored Rangers 17-4 in 2006 playoff sweep but scored only nine goals in this season's series with New York. Devils were shut out twice by the Rangers and lost three times in OT. Rangers forwards Scott Gomez (1998) and Brendan Shanahan (1987) were first-round draft choices of New Jersey. In his first season with New York since leaving Devils as free agent, Gomez had one goal and six assists versus New Jersey.

Betting Line: The series is a “pick’em” with each team at -110 moneyline odds to win at betED.com.

Pick: Give an edge to the Rangers, based on season series. Either way, it’s going seven games.

No. 1 Montreal Canadiens (47-25-10) vs. No. 8 Boston Bruins (41-29-12)

2007-08 season series: Montreal 8-0 (one win in overtime)

Playoff History: Montreal 23-7. Last meeting: Montreal 4-3 in 2004 conference quarterfinals.

Canadiens have won 11 straight over Boston, dating to March 20, 2007. Since being recalled from minors on Feb. 4, Carey Price (24-12-3) has become first goaltender under the age of 20 to win 20 games in a season since Tom Barrasso and Patrick Roy did it in 1985-86. The 11-game skid is the Bruins' longest in the franchise's 84-year history against the Canadiens. The Bruins’ Marc Savard has been cleared for full contact in practice after missing the final seven games of the regular season with broken bone in his back. Patrice Bergeron also was cleared for practice contact for first time since serious concussion in October.

Betting Line: The Canadiens are a -340 favorite to win the series at Bodog.

Pick: Montreal all the way.

No. 3 Washington Capitals (43-31-8) vs. No. 6 Philadelphia Flyers (42-29-11)

2007-08 season series: Series tied 2-2 (Washington won one in overtime)

Playoff History: Washington 2-1. Last meeting: Philadelphia 4-2 in 1989 Patrick Division semifinals.

Washington’s Alex Ovechkin led NHL with 65 goals and 112 points. He led an amazing Capitals turnaround this season, as the Capitals had the worst record in the NHL (6-14-1) on Nov. 23. Coach Glen Hanlon was fired and replaced with Bruce Boudreau, who led the Capitals to a stellar 37-17-7 record the rest of the season, enabling the Capitals to become the first NHL team to qualify for playoffs after being in 14th place in the conference at the midpoint of the season. Ironically, the Flyers actually had the league's best turnaround with 39-point increase. Washington was second at plus-24. .

Betting Line: The Capitals are a -140 favorite to win the series at BetJam.

Pick: Take Washington in seven.

Western Conference Playoff Preview - April 10, 2008

No. 1 Detroit Red Wings (54-21-7) vs. No. 8 Nashville Predators (41-32-9)

2007-08 season series: Detroit 5-3-0, Nashville 3-3-2

Playoff History: 1 (Detroit, 1-0)

The No. 8-seed has beaten a No. 1 seven times since 1994. Detroit was the No. 1 on two of those occasions (in 1994 against San Jose and in 1996 against Edmonton, the last time a No. 8 beat a No. 1). Detroit beat Nashville three times in four tries in a 22-day stretch in March, with three of the games decided by one goal.

Betting Line: The Red Wings are a -600 favorite to win the series at Sportsbook.com.

Pick: Detroit is aging, but they’ll take out Nashville.

No. 2 San Jose Sharks (49-23-10) vs. No. 7 Calgary Flames (42-30-10)

2007-08 season series: San Jose 1-1-2, Calgary 3-1-0

Playoff History: 2 (1-1)

San Jose is white-hot, coming off the best points-percentage March in NHL history (13-0-2, .933). Interestingly, Calgary head coach Mike Keenan stands fifth all-time in playoff wins (91) but hasn't coached in a playoff game since May 16, 1996 with St. Louis. San Jose went 16-2-2 after acquiring defenseman Brian Campbell at the trade deadline (Campbell had 19 points and was plus-9).

Betting Line: The Sharks are a -170 favorite to win the series at Bodog.

Pick: This is the first-round upset that occurs almost every year. Take Calgary.

No. 3 Minnesota Wild (44-28-20) vs. No. 6 Colorado Avalanche (44-31-7)

2007-08 season series: Minnesota 5-2-1, Colorado 3-4-1

Playoff History: 1 (Minnesota, 1-0)

Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom has been money in clutch games the past two seasons, going 18-2-6 in March and April both years. Colorado won seven games it trailed after two periods this season, second best in the NHL. Colorado’s success will depend largely on the health of aging veterans, particularly Peter Forsberg and captain Joe Sakic and defenseman Adam Foote.

Betting Line: The Wild are a slight, -135 favorite to win the series at BetUS.

Pick: Colorado will win – if it can stay healthy.

No. 4 Anaheim Ducks (47-27-8) vs. No. 5 Dallas Stars (45-30-7)

2007-08 season series: Anaheim 3-5-0, Dallas 5-2-1

Playoff History: 1 (Anaheim, 1-0)

Anaheim is trying to become the first back-to-back Stanley Cup champion since Detroit in 1997 and 1998. Dallas won only four of its final 14 games. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle has 25 playoff wins the past two seasons, tying the NHL record for most playoff wins in the first two years as a head coach.

Betting Line: Anaheim is a -210 favorite to win the series at BetJam.

Pick: The Ducks are as good, and probably better, than last season’s championship team.