The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2010–11 season. It began on April 13, 2011, after the conclusion of the regular season.NHL Announces 2010–11 Regular Season Schedule, nhl.com, June 22, 2010. The first game of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins was held on June 1, and Boston went on to capture their first Stanley Cup championship since 1972 (sixth overall) in the deciding seventh game on June 15.
The Canucks made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. The Detroit Red Wings increased their post-season appearance streak to twenty seasons, the longest active streak at the time. The New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996, ending their 13-year run of consecutive postseason appearances, the second longest streak at the time. This was the last time the Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs until 2026, where they would go on to have the all-time record for the longest playoff appearance drought. This was also the last time that the Florida Panthers missed the playoffs during their 10-season drought, which was previously the all-time longest drought from the tournament. For the first time since the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs only two Canadian teams made the playoffs: the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks. For the first time in NHL history, all three California-based teams, the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks, made the playoffs. San Jose went on to the Western Conference Final, marking the fifth time in eight seasons that a California-based team did so.
This season marked the only time that all six division champions advanced to the second round, as the NHL has since reverted to a four-division alignment. For the first time in the history of major professional sports in North America, two different teams came back from a 3–0 deficit to tie a series, with the Chicago Blackhawks forcing game seven against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, and the Detroit Red Wings doing the same against the San Jose Sharks in the second round (both lost). Previously, only the 1975 New York Islanders came back from two 3–0 series deficits in the same season (winning one).
By winning game seven of the Stanley Cup Final, Boston became the first team to win three game sevens in one year, a feat that has since been matched by the 2014 Los Angeles Kings. They also became the second team in three seasons (and only the third team in NHL history) to win the Stanley Cup after losing the first two games of the Finals on the road. Vancouver remained the only team without a Stanley Cup to reach game seven of the Finals, as they also lost game seven of their previous Finals appearance in 1994.
Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. Bruins forward David Krejci led all playoff scorers with 23 points in 25 games.
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 Washington Capitals, Southeast Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 107 points Philadelphia Flyers, Atlantic Division champions – 106 points (44 ) Boston Bruins, Northeast Division champions – 103 points Pittsburgh Penguins – 106 points (39 ) Tampa Bay Lightning – 103 points Montreal Canadiens – 96 points (41 ) Buffalo Sabres – 96 points (38 ) New York Rangers – 93 points
Western Conference Vancouver Canucks, Northwest Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 117 points San Jose Sharks, Pacific Division champions – 105 points Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions – 104 points Anaheim Ducks – 99 points (43 ) Nashville Predators – 99 points (38 , 4 points head-to-head vs. Phoenix, +25 goal differential) Phoenix Coyotes – 99 points (38 , 4 points head-to-head vs. Nashville, +5 goal differential) Los Angeles Kings – 98 points Chicago Blackhawks – 97 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 Final, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference quarterfinals
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers
The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season champions, earning 107 points. The New York Rangers narrowly qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 93 points after narrowly missing the playoffs entirely the previous year. This was the sixth playoff series between the two franchises; Washington had won three of the previous five meetings between these teams. The two teams last met in the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, in which the Capitals defeated the Rangers in seven games. In the regular season series, the Rangers held a 3–1–0 record, winning the last three games by a combined score of 15–1,
The Capitals defeated the Rangers in five games. In game one, Capitals' forward and captain Alexander Ovechkin answered a Rangers goal by Matt Gilroy in the third period to tie the game 1–1, before Alexander Semin then scored late into overtime to give Washington a 1–0 series lead. In game two, Capitals goaltender Michael Neuvirth shut out the Rangers 2–0, with Jason Chimera and Jason Arnott potting goals for Washington in the second period for a 2–0 series lead. The Rangers would respond in game three with a victory at home by striking first and never trailing. After Washington tied the game twice, Brandon Dubinsky scored the game-winning goal late in regulation for a 3–2 win to cut the series lead to 2–1. The Rangers tried to even the series in game four with a trio of goals in the second period for a 3–0 lead, but Washington stormed back with their own trio of goals to tie the game 3–3, forcing overtime. The Capitals' Jason Chimera then scored the game-winning goal in double overtime for a 3–1 series advantage, in what is currently the Capitals' longest playoff game victory, lasting 92 minutes and 36 seconds. The series would finally end in game five back at Washington D.C., where the Capitals took an insurmountable 3–0 lead that resulted in a 3–1 victory after Wotjek Wolski scored New York's only goal with less than a minute remaining. The Rangers only scored eight goals in this series while the Capitals scored 13. This is currently the last series where the Capitals have defeated the Rangers, with the Rangers winning four straight series against Washington since then.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres
The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 106 points, winning the tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Penguins on regulation + overtime wins (44 to 39). The Buffalo Sabres earned the seventh seed with 96 points, losing the tiebreaker to Montreal in regulation + overtime wins (41 to 38). This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams; Philadelphia had won five of the eight previous playoff series. They last met in the 2006 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which ended with Buffalo defeating Philadelphia in six games.
The series started out with a 1–0 shutout victory for Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller in game one, while Philadelphia came back to win games two and three. Miller got another 1–0 shutout victory in game four to tie the series at 2–2. In game five, Buffalo was up 3–0 at the end of the first period, but Philadelphia scored three goals to send the game to overtime. However, Tyler Ennis of Buffalo would score the overtime winner. In game six, Buffalo looked in good position to win after being up 3–1 after the first period, but Philadelphia rallied back, winning the game 5–4 on Ville Leino's overtime winner. In game seven, Philadelphia went up 4–0 about two minutes into the third period on a goal by Leino. Philadelphia ended up winning the game by a score of 5–2, winning the series four games to three. This was the last time the Sabres appeared in the playoffs until 2026.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens
The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Northeast Division with 103 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned the sixth seed with 96 points, winning the tiebreaker over Buffalo in regulation + overtime wins (41 to 38). One of the greatest rivalries in North American professional sports, this was the 33rd meeting of these teams in the postseason, which is the most frequent playoff series in NHL history. Montreal had a record of 24–8 against Boston in the 32 previous series played by the franchises, winning 18 straight between 1946 and 1987. Boston had only beaten Montreal en route to winning the championship once before, in 1929. The most recent meeting of these teams in the postseason was in the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which ended with Boston sweeping Montreal.
During the season, Montreal won four of six meetings. The February 9 game in which Boston won 8–6 featured six fights, a goalie fight, and a total of 187 penalty minutes. The March 8 game, where the Canadiens beat the Bruins 4–1, was marred when the Bruins' Zdeno Chara checked Habs' Max Pacioretty into the glass, and the resulting injury ended Pacioretty's season. The NHL did not suspend Chara for the hit, however Montreal Police opened a criminal investigation into the incident.
In this series, the Boston Bruins dropped their first two games at home, but came back to hang on to a game three victory in Montreal. In game four, Andrei Kostitsyn gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3–1 lead, which they couldn't take advantage of, falling 5–4 on an overtime goal by former Montreal Canadien Michael Ryder. In game five, Boston's Michael Ryder made a miraculous glove save while teammate and goaltender Tim Thomas was out of position, and the contest went into double overtime for Nathan Horton to win it 2–1 for Boston. In game six, Montreal scored twice on 5-on-3 power plays and won it 2–1. Game seven was also forced into overtime, where Nathan Horton again won the game 4–3 and sent the Bruins to the second round of the playoffs. Boston became the first team to win a seven-game post-season series despite being held scoreless on the power play.
On April 10, the scheduled date of the French-language Canadian federal election debate between party leaders was changed from April 14 to April 13 so it would not conflict with game one of the series. Games six and seven were played back-to-back due to a Lady Gaga concert, held on April 25 at the Bell Centre, and the requirement that the first round of the playoffs end by April 27.