2000 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs, was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), that began on April 12, 2000, and concluded on June 10. The New Jersey Devils defeated the reigning champion Dallas Stars in a six-game series to win their second Stanley Cup title in franchise history.

Sixteen teams qualified for the playoffs, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series in each round, ending with each conference's champion playing a best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Stanley Cup.

The Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks both missed the playoffs this year. This would not happen again until 2014, when all four Western Canadian teams missed the playoffs.

For the first time in history, only two Original Six teams made it to the playoffs (Toronto and Detroit). This would only happen again in 2001 (Toronto and Detroit), 2007 (New York Rangers and Detroit), 2018 (Boston and Toronto), and 2019 (Boston and Toronto).

Also, for the first time in history, both the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens missed the playoffs in the same season.

In addition, both conference finals went to the maximum seven games. This did not happen again until 2015.



Playoff seeds
The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top three seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the five remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Eastern Conference

 * 1) Philadelphia Flyers, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 105 points
 * 2) Washington Capitals, Southeast Division champions – 102 points
 * 3) Toronto Maple Leafs, Northeast Division champions – 100 points
 * 4) New Jersey Devils – 103 points
 * 5) Florida Panthers – 98 points
 * 6) Ottawa Senators – 95 points
 * 7) Pittsburgh Penguins – 88 points
 * 8) Buffalo Sabres – 85 points

Western Conference

 * 1) St. Louis Blues, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 114 points
 * 2) Dallas Stars, Pacific Division champions – 102 points
 * 3) Colorado Avalanche, Northwest Division champions – 96 points
 * 4) Detroit Red Wings – 108 points
 * 5) Los Angeles Kings – 94 points
 * 6) Phoenix Coyotes – 90 points
 * 7) Edmonton Oilers – 88 points
 * 8) San Jose Sharks – 87 points

Playoff bracket
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winners seeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.

The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Buffalo Sabres
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams; with Philadelphia winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the 1998 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Buffalo won in five games. Philadelphia won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) Pittsburgh Penguins
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams; with Pittsburgh winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Pittsburgh won in six games. Pittsburgh won three of the four games in this year's regular season series. Games 2 & 3 were played in Pittsburgh with Game 4 being played in Washington due to scheduling conflicts.

(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (6) Ottawa Senators
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Ottawa won three of the four games in this year's regular season series. Ottawa won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points.

(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) Florida Panthers
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New Jersey won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

(1) St. Louis Blues vs. (8) San Jose Sharks
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. St. Louis won this year's five-game regular season series earning nine of ten points.

(2) Dallas Stars vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers
This was the fourth consecutive and sixth overall playoff match-up between these two teams; with Dallas winning three of the five previous series. Dallas won last year's Western Conference Quarterfinals in a four-game sweep. Dallas won this year's four-game regular season series earning seven of eight points.

(3) Colorado Avalanche vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. These teams split their four-game regular season series.

(4) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Los Angeles Kings
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. These teams split their five-game regular season series.

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Pittsburgh Penguins
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with Philadelphia winning both previous series. They last met in the 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Philadelphia won in five games. Philadelphia won this year's five-game regular season series earning nine of ten points.

Game four was the third-longest game in playoff history, as well as the longest since the NHL expanded in 1967.

(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) New Jersey Devils
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Toronto won this year's four-game regular season series earning seven of eight points.

Martin Brodeur set a Stanley Cup playoff record in game six for the least shots against required (6) to record a shutout in a single game.

(2) Dallas Stars vs. (8) San Jose Sharks
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams; with Dallas winning the only previous series. Their only previous meeting was in the 1998 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which Dallas won in six games. San Jose won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.

(3) Colorado Avalanche vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings
This was the second consecutive playoff meeting and fourth overall playoff match-up between these two teams; with Colorado winning two of the three previous series. Colorado won last year's Western Conference Semifinals in six games. Detroit won four of the five games in this year's regular season series.

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) New Jersey Devils
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, which New Jersey won in six games. This was Philadelphia's sixth appearance in the Conference Finals; they last made it to the Conference Finals in 1997 where they defeated the New York Rangers in five games. This was New Jersey's fourth appearance in the Conference Finals; they last made it to the Conference Finals in 1995. New Jersey won four of the five games during this year's regular season series.

The Devils overcame a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Flyers in seven games. In game seven Devils' forward Patrik Elias scored the series-winner at 17:28 of the third period. Eric Lindros suffered a concussion after getting hit by Scott Stevens in the first period of game seven and did not return; as a result of the hit this was the last game he played as a Flyer.

(2) Dallas Stars vs. (3) Colorado Avalanche
This was the second consecutive playoff meeting and second postseason match-up between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Western Conference Final, which Dallas won in seven games. Dallas made their third consecutive and fifth overall appearance in the Conference Finals; while Colorado made their second consecutive and sixth overall appearance in the Conference Finals. Colorado won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points.

Stanley Cup Finals
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Dallas made their second consecutive and fourth overall appearance in the Finals, after defeating the Buffalo Sabres in six games the year before. New Jersey made their second Finals appearance and first since defeating the Detroit Red Wings in four games in 1995. Dallas won both games in this year's regular season series.

Skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points.

Goaltenders
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.