1994 Stanley Cup playoffs
Prior to the season, the league renamed its conferences and divisions, and switched from a divisional-based to a conference-based playoff structure.
The playoffs ended when the New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh game of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.
For the first time since joining the NHL, all four former WHA teams (the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets) failed to make the playoffs.
[3][4] This remains the last time that two Canadian teams made it to the Conference Finals in the same year, let alone faced each other in that particular round.
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 New York Rangers earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 112 points.
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference by winning the Northeast Division with 101 points.
The Washington Capitals earned 88 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Eastern Conference.
They last met in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals which Pittsburgh won in seven games after erasing a 3–1 deficit.
The Buffalo Sabres earned 95 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.
This was the twenty-eighth playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Montreal winning twenty-one of the previous twenty-seven series.
The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions with 100 points.
The San Jose Sharks earned 82 points during the regular season to finish eighth overall in the Western Conference.
The most recent team to represent the San Francisco Bay Area prior to this was the Oakland Seals, who lost in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals in 1970.
The Sharks shocked the top-seeded Red Wings in seven games, becoming the first eighth-seeded team in North American sports history to defeat a number one seed.
The Calgary Flames entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference by winning the Pacific Division with 97 points.
The Vancouver Canucks earned 85 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Western Conference.
The Chicago Blackhawks earned 87 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Western Conference.
Their only previous meeting was in the 1988 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which Boston won in seven games.
Their most recent appearance was in the 1988 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which New Jersey lost against the Boston Bruins in seven games.
However, Devils forward Claude Lemieux tied the game on a scramble in front of New York goaltender Mike Richter.
Despite the fact that his team trailed in the series 3–2, Rangers captain Mark Messier made a highly publicized guarantee that New York would win game six.
Rangers coach Mike Keenan said of the guarantee, "Mark was sending a message to his teammates that he believed together we could win.
"[7] Game seven played at Madison Square Garden, was a goaltending battle between New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and New York's Mike Richter.
Matteau scored on a wrap-around at 4:24 of the second overtime period as the Rangers won the game 2–1 and the series 4–3.
Their most recent appearance was in the 1982 Clarence Campbell Conference Final, which Vancouver won against the Chicago Black Hawks in five games.
Toronto won Game 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens on Peter Zezel's goal at 16:55 of the first overtime period.
