It’s Almost Time for the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs!
The stage has been set for the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs and this year’s competition promises to be bigger, better and more exciting than ever before!
The Stanley Cup Playoffs is an elimination tournament consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first three rounds determine which team from each conference will advance to the final round, the Stanley Cup Finals. The winner of that series becomes the NHL and Stanley Cup champion.
The first round of the Playoffs, or Conference Quarterfinals, consists four match-ups in each conference, based on the seedings. In the second round, or Conference Semifinals, the top remaining conference seed plays against the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining conference teams pair off. In the third round, the Conference Finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Before the 1993-94 season, the format was completely different. The league was divided into four divisions and the top four teams in each of the divisions advanced to the playoffs. This structure is still used for determining the teams in the playoffs in the American Hockey League.
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is the most coveted ice hockey club championship trophy in the world. It is commonly referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or Lord Stanley’s Mug. The Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory drinking of champagne out of the cup by the winning team. Unlike the trophies awarded by the other three major professional sports leagues, a new Stanley Cup is not made each year, Cup winners keep it until a new champion is crowned. It is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management and club staff engraved on it. The current Stanley Cup is made of silver and nickel alloy.
The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America.
An overview of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs began on April 11. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Stanley Cup. The series ended on June 6, 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks defeating the Ottawa Senators four games to one to win their first ever championship.
For the first time in NHL history, neither of the two teams that played in the previous year’s Stanley Cup Finals qualified for the playoffs. For the first time since 1999, neither of the two Stanley Cup finalists had previously won the Cup.
2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs are scheduled to commence on April 9, culminating no later than June 9, with the Stanley Cup Finals. The sixteen teams that qualify, eight from each conference, will play best-of-7 series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, and then each conference champion will play a best-of-7 series for the Stanley Cup.
2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs tickets at TICKETFINDER.com™
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