2006-07 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Bracket and Preview

Visit this page for daily updates during the 2007 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs status and follow the action all the way. Also, take a look at our comprehensive 2006-07 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs preview below.

Conf. Quarterfinals

Conf. Semifinals

Conf. Finals

Stanley Cup Finals

1	Buffalo	4
8	N.Y. Islanders	1

1	Buffalo	4
6	N.Y. Rangers	2

1	Buffalo	1
4	Ottawa	4

2	Anaheim	4
4	Ottawa	1

4	Ottawa	4
5	Pittsburgh	1

Eastern Conference

2	New Jersey	4
7	Tampa Bay	2

2	New Jersey	1
4	Ottawa	4

3	Atlanta	0
6	N.Y. Rangers	4

2	Anaheim	4
7	Minnesota	1

1	Detroit	4
5	San Jose	2

1	Detroit	2
2	Anaheim	4

3	Vancouver	4
6	Dallas	3

Western Conference

1	Detroit	4
8	Calgary	2

2	Anaheim	4
3	Vancouver	1

4	Nashville	1
5	San Jose	4

Long road to the Stanley Cup begins

Here’s the best way to predict which Western Conference teams will win their series in the first-round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs: tack the name of each team to a wall, wear a blindfold and throw four darts.That’s how much the P-word – parity – rules the West this spring, with all eight teams in the four Western Conference series of the NHL Playoffs having an equally good shot at advancing to the second round.

The NHL’s Eastern Conference is a bit different story, where three teams – the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators – are considered head-and-shoulders above the rest of the pack.

One thing’s for sure: by the time the two Conference champs reach the Stanley Cup Final, sometime in June, it’s quite likely the Western representative will be more exhausted, and more beat up, than their Eastern counterpart.

The No. 1 Sabres, who won the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s top team, have some injury concerns but do have top-scorer C Daniel Briere to lead their attack against left-wingers Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth of the No. 8 New York Islanders, who barely made the playoffs with a shootout win over New Jersey on the last day of the NHL regular season. The Sabres won their season series 3-1.

The No. 7 Tampa Bay Lightning battle the No. 2 New Jersey Devils. The Lightning won the season series 3-1. Tampa Bay is led by the power trio of C Vincent Lecavalier, RW Martin St. Louis and C Brad Richards. The Devils will rely on leading scorer C Patrik Elias and NHL All-Star netminder Martin Brodeur.

The No. 3 Atlanta Thrashers, led by top scorer RW Marian Hossa, go up against RW Jaromir Jagr and the No. 6 New York Rangers. The Thrashers won the season series 3-1.

And finally in the East, the No. 4 Ottawa Senators, led by 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley, will battle Sidney Crosby, who won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s 2006-07 NHL scoring champion, and the No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins had a 3-1 edge in the teams’ season series.

In the West, the No. 8-seed Calgary Flames, who secured a playoff spot on the final weekend of the season, face No. 1 seed Detroit Red Wings. The teams split their season series 2-2. The Flames are led by Captain RW Jarome Iginla, while C Pavel Datsyuk is the top scorer for the Red Wings.

No. 7 Minnesota Wild clash with the No. 2 Anaheim Ducks. The teams also split their season series 2-2. The Ducks will rely heavily on RW Teemu Selanne while the Wild boast a more balanced attack, led by three right-wingers: Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra.

The Dallas Stars, the No. 6 seed, face the No. 3 Vancouver Canucks, who are led by LW Daniel Sedin on offense and NHL All-Star Roberto Luongo in goal. Dallas also features a balanced attack, topped by C Mike Ribeiro. Their season series was also split 2-2.

And finally in the West, the No. 4 Nashville Predators battle the No. 5 San Jose Sharks. Nashville had the edge in their season series (3-1). The Predators’ offense is led by LW Paul Kariya, while the Sharks will look to C Joe Thornton, who finished 2nd in NHL scoring behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby with 114 points.