The 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2015–16 season. They began on April 13, 2016, and ended on June 12, 2016, with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the cup by defeating the San Jose Sharks four games to two, for their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
For only the second time in league history (1970 being the only other time), none of the NHL's seven Canadian-based teams qualified for the postseason. In addition, for the second season in a row and only the fifth (and most recent) time since joining the league in 1979, all four former WHA teams (the Edmonton Oilers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche) missed the playoffs. The Washington Capitals made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. This was the final season of the Detroit Red Wings' 25-season playoff appearance streak, the longest streak at the time and tied for third longest in NHL history. The Florida Panthers qualified for the playoffs for only the second time since the 1999–2000 season—both times winning their division—and fifth time in franchise history. For the fourth time in six years, all three California-based teams made the playoffs in the same season. And, for only the second time ever (1996 being the only other time), both Florida-based teams made the playoffs in the same season.
For the first time since 2006, and only the third time in league history, all Original Six teams who made the playoffs (three in total) were eliminated in the first round. The New York Islanders won their first post-season series since the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, ending the third longest post-season win drought in NHL history. For the seventh consecutive season and eleventh out of thirteen seasons, a team from California was in the Western Conference final.
For the first time since 2002, no team lost in a four-game sweep in a playoff series.
Playoff seeds
This was the third year in which the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division Florida Panthers, Atlantic Division champions – 103 points Tampa Bay Lightning – 97 points Detroit Red Wings – 93 points
Metropolitan Division Washington Capitals, Metropolitan Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 120 points Pittsburgh Penguins – 104 points New York Rangers – 101 points
Wild cards New York Islanders – 100 points Philadelphia Flyers – 96 points
Western Conference
Central Division Dallas Stars, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – 109 points St. Louis Blues – 107 points Chicago Blackhawks – 103 points
Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks, Pacific Division champions – 103 points Los Angeles Kings – 102 points San Jose Sharks – 98 points
Wild cards Nashville Predators – 96 points Minnesota Wild – 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 was at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top three teams in each division made the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference, for a total of eight teams from each conference. The Wild Card seeded in the Western Conference were previously Central 1 vs Wild Card 1 and Pacific 1 vs Wild Card 2 in the 2014 and 2015 playoffs. In the 2016 playoffs the Wild Card seeded in the Western Conference swapped places Central 1 vs Wild Card 2 and Pacific 1 vs Wild Card 1, while the Eastern Conference Wild Card seeded remain to the same Atlantic 1 vs Wild Card 1 and Metropolitan 1 vs Wild Card 2.
In the first round, the lower seeded wild card in the conference played against the division winner with the best record while the other wild card played against the other division winner, and both wild cards were de facto #4 seeds. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. In the first two rounds, home ice advantage was awarded to the team with the better seed; in the last two rounds, it was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
Legend A1, A2, A3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Atlantic Division, respectively M1, M2, M3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Metropolitan Division, respectively C1, C2, C3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Central Division, respectively P1, P2, P3 – The first, second, and third place teams from the Pacific Division, respectively WC1, WC2 – The first and second place teams in the Wild Card, respectively
First round
Eastern Conference first round
(A1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) New York Islanders
The Florida Panthers finished first in the Atlantic Division, earning 103 points. The New York Islanders finished as the Eastern Conference's first wild-card, earning 100 points. This was the first meeting between these two teams. Florida won two of the three games of the regular season series. This was the first time that a Stanley Cup playoff series was played at the Barclays Center. The series contained the two teams with the longest playoff win drought in the league (the Islanders had not won a series since 1993, and the Panthers since 1996). The team that both clubs defeated for their last respective playoff series victory were the Pittsburgh Penguins, of which Panthers' right winger Jaromir Jagr was a member.
The Islanders defeated the Panthers in six games and won a playoff series for the first time since 1993. John Tavares scored a goal and two assists for the Islanders in a 5–4 win in game one. In game two, Roberto Luongo recorded 41 saves in a 3–1 win to help the Panthers tie the series. The Islanders came back from a two-goal deficit in the second period to win game three in overtime on Thomas Hickey's wrist shot. In game four, Jaromir Jagr had an assist to reach 200 points overall in the playoffs. The Panthers won the game 2–1. Games five and six both ended in double-overtime with identical scores of 2–1 and New York winning both games. In game five, Alan Quine scored the game-winner on a power play 16:00 into the second overtime. Thomas Greiss made 47 saves in the victory. In game six, Tavares scored the first New York goal with 54 seconds left in the third period to send the game into overtime. In the second overtime, Tavares scored his second goal and the series winner.
(A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A3) Detroit Red Wings
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division, earning 97 points. The Detroit Red Wings earned 93 points to finish third in the Atlantic. This was the second meeting between these teams; their only previous meeting was in last year's Eastern Conference First Round which Tampa Bay won in seven games. The teams split their four-game regular season series this year.
The Lightning defeated the Red Wings in five games. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov scored twice and goalie Ben Bishop made 34 saves in a 3–2 win in Game 1. Tyler Johnson recorded two goals in Game 2 in a 5–2 win for the Lightning. In Game 3, Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard was replaced with Petr Mrazek, who stopped all 16 shots in a 2–0 win. In Game 4, Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Jonathan Drouin assisted on all three goals scored by Tampa Bay in a 3–2 win. In the final game of the series, Alex Killorn scored with 1:43 left in the third period to give the Lightning a 1–0 lead and the series win.
Games 3 and 4 were the last playoff games ever played at Joe Louis Arena. The arena closed after the 2016-17 as the Red Wings moved into Little Caesars Arena. This was the last of 25 consecutive playoff appearances by the Red Wings, and is to date the last time in which they made the playoffs.
(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers
The Washington Capitals earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 120 points. The Philadelphia Flyers finished as the Eastern Conference's second wild-card, earning 96 points. This was the fifth meeting between these teams; with both teams splitting the four previous series. They last met in the 2008 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which Philadelphia won in seven games. These teams split the four-game regular season series.
The Capitals defeated the Flyers in six games. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby shut out the Flyers in game one, stopping all 19 shots he faced in a 2–0 win. In game two, Holtby made 41 saves and a fluke goal by Capitals forward Jason Chimera turned to be the game-winning goal in a 4–1 win. The Capitals scored a franchise record five power play goals to rout the Flyers 6–1 in game three. In game four, Philadelphia avoided elimination by switching goaltender Steve Mason, who gave up six goals in the previous game, to Michal Neuvirth who made 31 saves in a 2–1 win. The Flyers forced a sixth game after Neuvirth made 44 saves in a 2–0 win in game five; the Flyers had 11 shots in a playoff win, the fewest ever in franchise history. Nicklas Backstrom scored the only goal for the Capitals in game six for his team to move onto the second round.
(M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (M3) New York Rangers
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished second in the Metropolitan Division, earning 104 points. The New York Rangers earned 101 points in the regular season to finish third in the Metropolitan. This was the seventh meeting between these teams, and the third meeting in three consecutive seasons, with Pittsburgh losing the last two but winning four of the six overall. They last met in last year's Eastern Conference First Round, which the Rangers won in five games. Pittsburgh won three of the four games of the regular season series.
The Penguins defeated the Rangers in five games. Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist scored a hat trick in a 5–2 win in game one. J. T. Miller had three assists to help the Rangers win 4–2 in game two. In game three, Pittsburgh scored three times after New York took a 1–0 lead to win 3–1. Evgeni Malkin scored two power play goals and Matt Murray made 31 saves in game four for the Penguins in a 5–0 win. In game five, after the Penguins' four-goal second period, of which Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault pulled Henrik Lundqvist, who had given up six goals on 23 shots. The Penguins ended the series with a 6–3 victory. It was the first time the Rangers were eliminated in the opening round since 2011, snapping a five-year advancement streak. This was also the first playoff series in which two goaltenders on the same team played in and subsequently won their playoff debut, with Jeff Zatkoff winning game one and Matt Murray winning game three./
Western Conference first round
(C1) Dallas Stars vs. (WC2) Minnesota Wild
The Dallas Stars finished first in the Central Division, earning 109 points. The Minnesota Wild finished as the Western Conference's second wild-card, earning 87 points. This was the first meeting in the playoffs between Minnesota's current NHL franchise and its former NHL franchise (then known as the North Stars). Dallas won four of the five games of the regular season series.