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2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
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2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League began on April 7, 2004, following the 2003–04 regular season. The playoffs ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup with a seven-game series win over the Calgary Flames on June 7. It was Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup championship. It was the Flames' third final appearance, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and beating the Canadiens in the 1989 rematch. These playoffs ended up being the last playoff tournament until 2006 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the following season. The 16 qualified teams, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven games for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The winner of each conference proceeded to the Stanley Cup Final. The format was identical to the one introduced for the 1999 playoffs.
These playoffs marked the first time the Nashville Predators qualified, being in their sixth season in the NHL. This would be the last time that all three Eastern Canadian teams would make the playoffs together until 2013 and five Canadian teams total until 2015. This was the last time until 2019 that both Southern California teams, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, missed the playoffs.
The Flames tied the 1987 Philadelphia Flyers for the most games played (26) in one playoff year (later matched by the 2014 Los Angeles Kings, 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2019 St. Louis Blues), all under a four-round playoff format. The record was subsequently broken by the Dallas Stars during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, albeit due to the expanded playoff format.
The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top three seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the five remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
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 played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winners seeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.
The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season and Southeast Division champions with 106 points. New York qualified as the eighth seed earning 91 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The Islanders won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
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2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League began on April 7, 2004, following the 2003–04 regular season. The playoffs ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup with a seven-game series win over the Calgary Flames on June 7. It was Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup championship. It was the Flames' third final appearance, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and beating the Canadiens in the 1989 rematch. These playoffs ended up being the last playoff tournament until 2006 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the following season. The 16 qualified teams, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven games for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The winner of each conference proceeded to the Stanley Cup Final. The format was identical to the one introduced for the 1999 playoffs.
These playoffs marked the first time the Nashville Predators qualified, being in their sixth season in the NHL. This would be the last time that all three Eastern Canadian teams would make the playoffs together until 2013 and five Canadian teams total until 2015. This was the last time until 2019 that both Southern California teams, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, missed the playoffs.
The Flames tied the 1987 Philadelphia Flyers for the most games played (26) in one playoff year (later matched by the 2014 Los Angeles Kings, 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2019 St. Louis Blues), all under a four-round playoff format. The record was subsequently broken by the Dallas Stars during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, albeit due to the expanded playoff format.
The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top three seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the five remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
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 played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winners seeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.
The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season and Southeast Division champions with 106 points. New York qualified as the eighth seed earning 91 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The Islanders won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
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