The 2000 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1999–2000 season, and the culmination of the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils against the Western Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars. The Devils were led by captain Scott Stevens, head coach Larry Robinson and goaltender Martin Brodeur. The Stars were led by captain Derian Hatcher, head coach Ken Hitchcock and goaltender Ed Belfour.
The Devils defeated the defending champion Stars four games to two to win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. This was the first of two Stanley Cup Final where two relocated teams faced each other; the other being in 2001.
Paths to the Final
New Jersey Devils New Jersey entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing the regular season with 103 points. In the playoffs, they first swept the fifth-seeded Florida Panthers. In the second round they defeated the third-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Devils defeated the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in seven games (in the process becoming the first team since expansion to come back from a 3-1 deficit later than the second round) to advance to the Final.
Dallas Stars Dallas captured the Pacific Division title and entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference after finishing the regular season with 102 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the seventh-seeded Edmonton Oilers in the first round in five games. In the second round, the Stars defeated the eighth-seeded San Jose Sharks, also in five games. In a rematch of the previous year’s Western Conference finals, the Stars again defeated the Colorado Avalanche in seven games to advance to the Final.
Game summaries Despite New Jersey being a lower seed in conference play (4) than Dallas (2), New Jersey's 103 points were one more than Dallas, giving them home-ice advantage in the series. The Devils won the Cup in game six on a one-timer goal by Jason Arnott in double overtime. It was their second Stanley Cup overall and first since 1995.
Game one
Petr Sykora and Jason Arnott each recorded 4 points for New Jersey in game one, and Ken Daneyko scored his first goal of the playoffs during the second period. Ed Belfour was replaced in the third period by Manny Fernandez after allowing 6 goals on 18 shots. New Jersey would go on to win the game by a score of 7–3, giving them a 1–0 series lead. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NJ Jason Arnott (5) Petr Sykora (7) and Patrik Elias (9) 07:22 1–0 NJ DAL Darryl Sydor (1) Jere Lehtinen (3) and Mike Keane (4) 13:13 1–1 2nd NJ Ken Daneyko (1) Sergei Brylin (5) and John Madden (4) 02:52 2–1 NJ NJ Petr Sykora (7) Patrik Elias (10) and Jason Arnott 10:28 3–1 NJ NJ Scott Stevens (3) Jay Pandolfo (4) and Brian Rafalski (4) 16:04 4–1 NJ 3rd NJ Sergei Brylin (2) Randy McKay (6) 02:21 5–1 NJ NJ Petr Sykora (8) Jason Arnott (11) and Patrik Elias (11) 03:02 6–1 NJ NJ Jason Arnott (6) – pp Bobby Holik (7) and Petr Sykora (8) 05:12 7–1 NJ DAL Jon Sim (1) Guy Carbonneau (3) 07:43 7–2 NJ DAL Kirk Muller (2) Guy Carbonneau (4) 07:55 7–3 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st None 2nd DAL Derian Hatcher Slashing 18:20 2:00 3rd DAL Scott Thornton Roughing 03:35 2:00 DAL Dave Manson Slashing 12:05 2:00 DAL Dave Manson Elbowing 19:55 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 5 7 6 18 7 9 10 26
Game two
In game two, Brett Hull scored twice, including the game winner with four minutes and sixteen seconds remaining in regulation. Ed Belfour made 27 saves to secure a 2–1 for Dallas, tying the series at a game apiece. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st DAL Brett Hull (10) Mike Modano (11) and Richard Matvichuk (5) 04:25 1–0 DAL NJ Alexander Mogilny (4) Scott Gomez (6) and Scott Stevens (7) 12:42 1–1 2nd None 3rd DAL Brett Hull (11) Jere Lehtinen (4) and Mike Modano (11) 15:44 2–1 DAL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Claude Lemieux Holding 06:36 2:00 DAL Blake Sloan Roughing 10:56 2:00 NJ Brian Rafalski Roughing 10:56 2:00 DALRichard Matvichuk Roughing 13:52 2:00 NJ Bobby Holik Roughing 13:52 2:00 DAL Richard Matvichuk Roughing 18:27 2:00 2nd None 3rd DAL Jon Sim Holding 10:48 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 3 7 7 17 9 8 11 28
Game three
After the teams were tied at one goal apiece in the first period of game three, Petr Sykora scored the game-winning goal on a power play in second period, and Martin Brodeur made 22 saves, giving the Devils a 2–1 victory, and a 2–1 series lead. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st DAL Sylvain Cote (2) – pp Unassisted 13:38 1–0 DAL NJ Jason Arnott (7) Brian Rafalski (5) and Colin White (5) 18:06 1–1 2nd NJ Petr Sykora (9) – pp Jason Arnott (12) and Brian Rafalski (6) 12:27 2–1 NJ 3rd None Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Sergei Nemchinov Slashing 12:46 2:00 NJ Vladimir Malakhov Interference 13:51 2:00 NJ Claude Lemieux Cross-checking 15:02 2:00 2nd DAL Brett Hull Interference 08:09 2:00 DAL Sylvain Cote Elbowing 11:03 2:00 3rd NJ Martin Brodeur Delay of game 15:45 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 9 7 23 10 16 5 31
Game four
After the Stars took a 1–0 lead in the second period, the Devils capitalized three times in the third period due to defensive errors by Dallas in the third period to a commanding 3–1 series lead. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd DAL Joe Nieuwendyk (7) – pp Darryl Sydor (6) and Brett Hull (12) 18:02 1–0 DAL 3rd NJ Sergei Brylin (3) Alexander Mogilny (3) and Vladimir Malakhov (4) 02:27 1–1 NJ John Madden (3) – sh Sergei Nemchinov (2) and Ken Daneyko (2) 04:51 2–1 NJ NJ Brian Rafalski (2) Patrik Elias (12) 06:08 3–1 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DAL Brenden Morrow Tripping – Obstruction 14:38 2:00 DAL Dave Manson Slashing 17:27 2:00 NJ Scott Niedermayer Holding – Obstruction 17:27 2:00 2nd NJ Petr Sykora Hooking 05:45 2:00 DAL Mike Keane Boarding 08:45 2:00 NJ Randy McKay Hooking 11:59 2:00 NJ Vladimir Malakhov Cross-checking 11:59 2:00 3rd NJ Colin White Interference 03:17 2:00 DAL Jon Sim Slashing 11:59 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 7 4 17 8 8 15 31
Game five
With Dallas facing elimination, both goaltenders remained unbeatable to set a record. It set a new record for the longest scoreless tie in a Stanley Cup Final game (106:21), passing the previous record set by Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.
Mike Modano scored the game-winning goal at 6:21 of the third overtime, deflecting a shot from Brett Hull past Martin Brodeur, giving the Stars a 1–0 victory, keeping the Stars' hopes alive and forcing a sixth game back in Dallas. Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1stNone2ndNone3rdNoneOTNone2OTNone3OT DAL Mike Modano (10) Brett Hull (13) and Jere Lehtinen (5) 06:21 1–0 DAL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DAL Derian Hatcher Hooking 11:01 2:00 NJ Bobby Holik Interference 11:43 2:00 2nd NJ Petr Sykora High-sticking 14:23 2:00 DAL Jere Lehtinen High-sticking 17:01 2:00 3rd DAL Brenden Morrow Tripping – Obstruction 13:45 2:00 OT None 2OT None 3OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT 2OT 3OT Total 7 11 9 10 8 3 48 11 6 5 5 12 2 41
Game six
A scoreless first period gave way to both teams scoring a goal in the span of 69 seconds, with Mike Keane's goal proving crucial to overtime when neither scored in the third period. The first overtime saw no scoring, but in double overtime, Jason Arnott scored the game winning goal past Ed Belfour to win the game for the Devils and give them their second Stanley Cup in five years. Scott Stevens was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for his dominant defensive play, unmatched physicality, and leadership during the playoffs. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd NJ Scott Niedermayer (5) – sh Darryl Sydor (6) and Brett Hull (12) 05:18 1–0 NJ DAL Mike Keane (2) Scott Thornton (3) and Mike Modano (13) 06:27 1–1 3rdNoneOTNone2OT NJ Jason Arnott (8) Patrik Elias (13) and Scott Stevens (8) 08:20 2–1 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Ken Daneyko Slashing 04:46 2:00 DAL Jon Sim Elbowing 06:54 2:00 NJ Ken Daneyko High-sticking 13:45 2:00 2nd NJ Brian Rafalski Holding 03:30 2:00 DAL Derian Hatcher Roughing 13:48 2:00 NJ Scott Stevens Roughing 13:48 2:00 DAL Scott Thornton Roughing 19:21 2:00 NJ Colin White Roughing 19:21 2:00 3rd None OT NJ Jason Arnott Cross-checking 18:43 2:00 2OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT 2OT Total 11 13 7 11 3 45 7 9 13 1 1 31
This was the first Final that featured two relocated teams competing for the Stanley Cup, as well as the first Final in which both teams had won the Stanley Cup previously after relocation (the Devils in 1995, and the Stars in 1999).
For the Stars, this was the first time since the New York Islanders lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 Final that a defending Stanley Cup champion lost in the Final. This would happen again in 2001, as the Devils made a return trip to the Final, but lost in seven games to the Colorado Avalanche.
This was the last Stars' appearance in the Stanley Cup Final until 2020, in which they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Team rosters Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
Dallas Stars #NatPlayerPositionHandAcquiredPlace of birthFinals appearance 20 G L Carman, Manitoba third 21 C R Sept-Îles, Quebec fifth 3 D R Quebec City, Quebec first 35 G L Etobicoke, Ontario first 44 C L Sudbury, Ontario first 2 – C D L 1990Sterling Heights, Michigan second 16 RW R Belleville, Ontario third 12 RW R Winnipeg, Manitoba fifth 15 RW R 1993Cloquet, Minnesota second 26 RW R 1992Espoo, Finland second 36 C R 1997Murmansk, Soviet Union first 6 D L Prince Albert, Saskatchewan first 29 RW R Port Credit, Ontario second 24 D L 1991Edmonton, Alberta second 9 – A C L 1988Livonia, Michigan third 45 LW L 1997Carlyle, Saskatchewan first 22 C L Kingston, Ontario second 25 – A C L Oshawa, Ontario third 4 D R Lethbridge, Alberta second 49 LW L 1996New Glasgow, Nova Scotia second 10 C L Peace River, Alberta fifth 11 RW R Park Ridge, Illinois second 5 D L Edmonton, Alberta third 17 LW L London, Ontario first 56 – A D R Moscow, Soviet Union third
New Jersey Devils #NatPlayerPositionHandAcquiredPlace of birthFinals appearance 25 – A C R Collingwood, Ontario first 6 D L 1990Powell River, British Columbia first 30 G L 1990Montreal, Quebec second 10 RW R 1993Montreal, Quebec first 18 LW/C L 1992Moscow, Soviet Union second 3 D L 1982Windsor, Ontario second 26 LW L 1994Třebíč, Czechoslovakia first 23 C L 1998Anchorage, Alaska first 16 LW R Jihlava, Czechoslovakia second 15 C L Vancouver, British Columbia first 22 RW R Buckingham, Quebec fifth 11 C L Toronto, Ontario first 7 D L Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union first 21 – A RW R Montreal, Quebec second 89 RW L Khabarovsk, Soviet Union first 12 C L Moscow, Soviet Union second 27 D L 1991Edmonton, Alberta second 29 LW L 1993Tychy, Poland first 20 LW L 1993Winchester, Massachusetts first 28 D R Dearborn, Michigan first 4 – C D L Kitchener, Ontario second 17 RW L 1995Plzeň, Czechoslovakia first 31 G L Providence, Rhode Island second 5 D L 1996New Glasgow, Nova Scotia first
Stanley Cup engraving
The 2000 Stanley Cup was presented to Devils captain Scott Stevens by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Devils 2–1 double overtime win over the Stars in game six.
The following Devils players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1999–2000 New Jersey Devils
Engraving notes New Jersey successfully requested an exemption to engrave the names of four players who did not automatically qualify.