2009 NHL Playoffs
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 15–June 12, 2009 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Runner-up | Detroit Red Wings |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) |
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) (36 points) |
| MVP | Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) |
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← 2008
2010 →
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The 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 15, 2009, after the 2008–09 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference (the winner of each of the three divisions plus the five teams with highest point totals from the teams remaining), play a best-of-seven series for the conference quarterfinals, semifinals, and championships, and then the conference champions will play a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The Columbus Blue Jackets made their first appearance in the playoffs in their nine-year history. Previously they had been the only franchise to have not made the playoffs. Also, home teams set a record by going 13-2 in the openers of all the series combined. There were no playoff games played in the Province of Ontario as this was the first time that the modern Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs both missed the playoffs in the same year. This is the most recent time that the Carolina Hurricanes were in the playoffs.
The Finals ended on June 12, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Detroit Red Wings four games to three to win the championship. They became just the second team, after the 1971 Montreal Canadiens, to win the championship after losing the first two games of the series on the road.
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage, which gives them a possible maximum of four games on their home ice, with the lower-seeded team getting a possible maximum of three. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. Thus, the Detroit Red Wings had home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals. Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team had home ice for games one and two and if necessary, five and seven, while the lower-seeded team had home ice for games three, four, and if necessary, game six.
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