The upsets, the ridiculous goaltending, the choking, the heroes, the close calls, the streaks: We tell the story of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs’ conference semifinal round (all 21 games) through surprising statistics.
1 game missed by Ilya Kovalchuk, before returning to score three points in the Devils’ 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3
1 shift played by Blues third-string netminder Jake Allen, whom Coach Hitchcock swapped in only to rest his forwards during a five-on-three power-play in Game 2
2 power-play goals scored by the New York Rangers, the tying goal with 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation and the OT winner, on Capitals forward Joel Ward’s four-minute high-sticking penalty at the end of Game 5
2 playoff goals scored by Rangers rookie Chris Kreider, who has never played a regular-season game, good for fourth best all-time
3 playoff teams simultaneously scheduling games at Los Angeles’s Staples Center (Kings and the NBA’s Clippers and Lakers)
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3 teams in a row who have gone on to win the Stanley Cup after eliminating the Philadelphia Flyers, a wonderful omen for the Devils
3 times the Devils have eliminated the Flyers; the previous two times (1995 and 2000) the New Jersey went on to win the Cup, another wonderful omen for the Devils
4 shorthanded points registered in the these playoffs by the Kings’ Dustin Brown, the most since Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg had five in 1997
7 consecutive road playoff victories for the Kings’ Jonathan Quick
15 free agents on the Nashville Predators’ recently eliminated playoff roster
17 years between playoff overtime winners scored by the Phoenix Coyotes’ Ray Whitney, who scored his first such goal for the 1995 San Jose Sharks; Whitney’s Game 1 goal versus the Predators broke Teemu Selanne’s record of the longest gap between playoff OT winners (14 years)
32 total shots registered on net, combined, in Game 1 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals series, the first playoff game in nearly five years in which neither team broke the 20-shot mark
291 total shots blocked by the Rangers and Capitals, combined, in their conference semifinal series
30 career playoff goals by Alex Ovechkin in 50 games played; the last player to reach that feat was Joe Sakic in 1997 (he had 33 in 50)
33 playoff goals scored by the Sabres since Danny Briere left Buffalo
37 playoff goals scored by Briere since Briere left Buffalo
3.46; .887 goals-against average and save percentage of Philly’s Ilya Bryzgalov in 11 playoff games this year
3.33; .889 goals-against average and save percentage, combined, of Philly’s three goaltenders in 11 playoff games last year
$10 million 2011-12 salary of former Coyote Bryzgalov
$2 million 2011-12 salary of current Coyote Mike Smith
40 age Martin Brodeur turned on May 6, the day he defeated the Flyers in Game 4. Brodeur became the first goaltender to appear in a playoff game as both a teenager and a 40-year-old, and the oldest netminder to start a playoff game on his birthday (Chicago’s Tony Esposito shut out the Blues 2-0 on his 39th)
3 assists for Brodeur in the 2012 playoffs, tying a record for goaltenders
1-8 Flyers’ record in last nine Eastern Conference semifinals
1-6 Flyers’ record in the 2012 playoffs when scoring first
4-0 Flyers’ record in the 2012 playoffs when their opponent scores first
0-5 Coyotes all-time record in series-clinching home games before they eliminated the Predators in Phoenix
5-0 Rangers record, all time, in Game 7’s at Madison Square Garden
0 times Washington trailed after two periods of play in 13 playoff games; in their 14th and final game, they finally trailed after two frames
2010 last year that Capitals goalie Braden Holtby lost back-to-back NHL starts
2,010 times the television camera panned to Holtby’s mother during the Rangers-Caps series
183 consecutive playoff starts the New Jersey Devils have given Martin Brodeur
0 successful power-plays by the St. Louis Blues against L.A. this year (regular season and playoffs), who failed to capitalize on any of their 17 man-advantages in Round 2
4 a.m. reported time Nashville forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn were seen partying in Scottsdale, Arizona; the stars were kept out of the Predators’ lineup in games 3 and 4
$6.50 price of the beer “Crosby Tears,” sold at Philadelphia bar and brewery Nodding Head. Described as “whine-like in ‘honor’ of its namesake (and) orange hued like the team that sent him home for the summer”
38:12 ice time played by Washington’ Karl Alzner, who returned home exhausted and disappointed from Game 3’s triple-overtime loss to see his living room torn apart by his dogs
7 consecutive playoff overtime losses for the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, until he avoided setting a dubious NHL record by winning Game 3 in triple overtime
7 stitches required to mend Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi’s chin after he was clipped by teammate Lundqvist’s stick in the first overtime period
31 of the 45 overtime games lasting a minimum of three extra periods won by the road team
1,198; 45 career regular-season and playoff games played by Coyotes captain Shane Doan before making his second-round debut
164, 45 time, in minutes and seconds, of Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith’s shutout streak that began in Game 3 and ended late in Game 5, a Coyotes/Jets franchise record
10 playoff teams Coyotes defenceman Adrian Aucoin suited up for before finally reaching the second round (Vancouver Canucks 1995-96, New York Islanders 2002-04, Calgary Flames 2008-09, Coyotes 2010-11)
13 consecutive games (and counting) in which neither the Rangers nor their opponent has scored more than three goals, a new single-year NHL playoff record, breaking the old mark of 11 set by Carolina in 2002
20 seconds apart that Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in Game 3 versus the Flyers, the fastest consecutive goals in Devils playoff history
10th, 9th place, respectively, of Western Conference finalists the Coyotes and Kings as late as March 18
145 distance, in kilometres, between second-round opponents New Jersey and Philadelphia
2,940 distance, in kilometres, between second-round opponents Los Angeles and St. Louis
1 eighth seed to defeat both a No. 1 seed and a No. 2 seed now that the Kings made quick work of both the Canucks and Blues
During the 240 minutes that the #LAKings played @StLouisBlues, LA trailed for just 7 minutes and 42 seconds.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) May 7, 2012