Nashville Predators (1998-99) For the first time in franchise history, the Predators won a Stanley Cup Playoff series in 2012. That should translate into a hefty new deal this summer.Allowed to participate in his first postseason at the age of 27, Petry was rock-solid for the Canadiens. GM David Poile had a chance to bolster his team with a deal or two but instead made a mostly ineffectual move that was partly to blame for his team's first-round exit.The Jets have Michael Hutchinson under contract next season and prospect Connor Hellebuyck, who shone for the U.S. team at this year's world championships, waiting in the wings.
It all culminated in Petry signing a six-year, $33 million contract to stay with the Canadiens.Pavelec's deal has two more years remaining, and maybe this is the season that finally forces the Jets to look in another direction for a goaltender. "We gave it some rest, but it didn't seem to be getting better, so we opted for the surgical route. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. We expect him to be 100 percent by training camp. He has 27 points in his past 43 playoff games since 2014 and had 55 points in 68 regular-season games, which gave him his best points-per-game average (0.81) of his career.When Matt Beleskey scored the goal pictured above, it gave the Anaheim Ducks an overtime win in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.After years of ineptitude, Ondrej Pavelec put together the first solid regular season of his career. The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cardsin each conference, for a total of eight teams from … And once again, David Backes was unable to score at his usual rate. Correct Answer: Chicago Blackhawks Alternate answer: Washington Capitals Alternate answer: Pittsburgh Penguins Alternate answer: Edmonton Oilers The team with home ice advantage plays at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team is at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary).
This was Tampa Bay's second Finals appearance after winning the Cup in 2004. Since their win in 2004, the Lightning had lost in the Conference Finals in 2011 in seven games to the Boston Bruins. The moves could not have been any less helpful.Vanek turns 32 next season, and he'll need to find a way to perform well enough through the nagging injuries that players in their 30s often experience.There was no shortage of positive and negative storylines to examine from the playoffs, but here are a handful of winners and losers that either asserted themselves on the big stage or didn't do enough when it mattered most.The Predators lost in six games to the Blackhawks, so if you do the math, that means both players found themselves scratched.If you've been watching the playoffs on NBC or NBCSN for two months, you've probably seen the inane commercial above about 8,000 times. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices.… in dominating fashion. The Lightning were eliminated in the first round in 2006, 2007, and 2014.