The Stanley Cup Playoffs rolled into Round 2 with some fantastic matchups, stunning game-winners, and a heaping side order of controversy. We recount hockey’s Elite Eight through 58 statistics…
800,000 entries NHL.com received for its 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge
0 entries that nailed each of Round 1’s winners and series length correctly
1.3 seconds remaining in regulation when Joel Ward scored the winning goal in Game 1 in New York:
484,000 Twitter followers of @NYRangers, which boycotted capital letters during the Blueshirts’ series versus the, yep, Capitals
15.9 pounds, difference in average weight between Round 2’s biggest team (Washington, 210.1 pounds) and its lightest (Calgary (194.2 pounds)
65°F temperature in Pominville, according to a Minnesota Round 2 weather report:
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128 kilomtres per hour, speed of Alex Ovechkin’s wrist shot in Game 1, after which he chirped Henrik Lundqvist: “All series, baby. All series.”
9 inches, approximately, Lightning forward Valteri Filppula was offside in the zone entry that led to Game 1’s winning double-overtime goal by linemate Nikita Kucherov:
4 points, each, scored by Anaheim duo Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in a 6-1 Game 1 romp over Calgary
20 age of Washington’s Andre Burakovsky, the youngest Capital to score two goals in a playoff game, a feat he accomplished in Game 4 against Henrik Lundqvist, his favourite goaltender as a kid
22 consecutive games at Honda Center, regular season and playoffs, in which the Flames have failed to win (0-17-6)
64 times you can watch this gif of poor Matt Stajan until it is no longer funny:
31 penalty minutes accrued in Game 2 by Montreal tough guy Brandon Prust, who complained afterward that referee Brad Watson insulted him personally
5,000 dollars Prust was fined by the NHL “for derogatory public comments directed toward Referee Brad Watson”
0 benefit-of-the-doubt future calls Prust will likely earn from officials
4 consecutive power plays in which the Lightning scored in Game 2, tying a franchise record (2011) and snapping an 0-for-25 slump.
23 NHL superstars who made less money combined this year than Floyd Mayweather made in one night:
12 games, length of Steve Stamkos’s post-season goal drought, which was snapped with a Game 2 beauty. “There was definitely a release of a few things built up there,” he said of his post-score scream.
80 number on the back of the Anaheim Ducks sweater given to the Dalai Lama, whom we swore was a Bruins fan:
2 Chicago home wins Patrick Kane dedicated to his friend, Pat Eddy, after scoring two goals in Game 2:
2 game-winning goals scored in the final two seconds of regulation in one week (Tyler Johnson, Joel Ward)
92 number a fan painted on a pair of Ben Bishop-inspired glow-in-the-dark Tampa Bay Lightning shoes, in honour of the club’s birth year:
14 consecutive one-goal playoff games played by the Rangers, an NHL record
11 consecutive Game 3s won by the Rangers on the road until the Capitals stumped them 1-0 in Washington
8 Chicago Blackhawks cheeseburgers some dude barbecued:
5 of the Wild’s six playoff shutout losses that have come on home ice
3 consecutive post-seasons in which Corey Crawford has recorded a shutout, a Blackhawks franchise first
94 per cent of Sportsnet.ca readers that believed Sam Bennett’s controversial Game 3 no-goal should’ve counted:
8 legitimate goals Flames assistant coach Martin Gelinas scored in the 2004 playoffs, a career high:
8 Easton Stealth CNT sticks donated to defenceman Mike Green by Capitals fans because his favourite model has been discontinued:
19.5 seconds, time left in regulation Johnny Hockey Justice needed to tie a raucous Game 3, won in overtime by the Flames:
112 decibels, volume of the collective sigh of relief released by NHL headquarters after Calgary’s comeback win
4th round of the 2014 draft pick Calgary traded to Toronto in exchange for Joe Colborne, who did this, shorthanded:
450 million copies sold of the book series featuring wizard Harry Potter, the nickname Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov earned from teammates for his stick trickery
10 consecutive elimination games won at Madison Square Garden by Henrik Lundqvist
5 times Washington has let a 3-1 series stranglehold slip to a seventh game — and the franchise has lost all five
15 years since a goal was scored in the opening minute of each period of a playoff game. Chris Kreider, Jason Chimera and Rick Nash completed the feat in Game 6 of the Rangers-Capitals series:
1 time, in 11 attempts, the Canadiens have forced a Game 6 after trailing a best-of-seven series 3-0
9 age, in years, of minor hockey teammates P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos in this throwback photo:
23 years after The Mighty Ducks hit theatres that this headline became fact, not fiction:
10 consecutive wins for Ben Bishop over the Canadiens, a streak snapped when the Habs chased him in Game 4
13 years since a team eliminated the same opponent in three consecutive playoffs. When Chicago swept Minnesota, they accomplished the feat for the first time since Toronto ousted Ottawa in 2000, 2001 and 2002
0 minutes the Blackhawks trailed at any point in their four-game demolition of the Wild
100 where Bob Cole dialed his swag to as he entered the booth to call the Blackhawks’ sweep in Minnesota:
4-0 Ducks’ playoff record when trailing after two periods
$759 average price for ticket on StubHub to Rangers-Capitals Game 7
2 or fewer, goals scored by the Habs in nine of their 12 playoff games
50% of the Lightning’s playoff goals (17 of 34) scored by linemates Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, a.k.a. the Triplets
Conference Finals !thank you lightning fans for all the support ,you are the best!
— Ondrej palat (@Opalat18) May 13, 2015
9 times Ben Bishop (and his lucky horseshoe) defeated the Canadiens this season, the first goalie to do so since Glenn Hall in 1960-61
5.6% Montreal’s power-play success rate over 36 opportunities in the post-season
0.97 career goals-against average for Lundqvist in Game 7s
3 straight years Lundqvist has had an identical May 13
2 playoffs series in history where all seven games were decided by one goal: Rangers over Capitals in 2015, Capitals over Bruins in 2012
.936 career playoff save percentage for Washington’s Braden Holtby, the best since 1990 (minimum 20 games played)
63.8 face-off percentage in the playoffs for Washington’s Jay Beagle, who leads all in that category
10-0 combined home record of the Western Conference finalists, Chicago and Anaheim
8 more wins the Blackhawks need to capture their third Cup in six years
8,008 days, and counting, of Canada’s Stanley Cup drought
(Numbers via SN Stats, Twitter, Elias, NHL.com, various teams, and sitting around counting things.)
