The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 regular season.

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 Ottawa Senators entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season and Northeast Division champions with 113 points.

Martin Havlat scored the series-winning goal for the Senators at 15:02 of the second period as Ottawa closed out the series with a 3–2 victory.

The Carolina Hurricanes entered the playoffs as the Southeast Division champions, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference with 112 points.

Carolina pulled goaltender Martin Gerber after allowing three goals in the first period of game two and he was replaced by 22-year-old rookie backup Cam Ward.

The Hurricanes were able to tie the game with 90 seconds remaining in regulation before losing in double overtime as Michael Ryder scored at 2:32, giving Montreal a 6–5 win.

New Jersey took the lead in the second period of game four with two power play goals and they never looked back eliminating the Rangers by a final score of 4–2.

Philadelphia qualified as the fifth seed (losing the tie-breaker with New Jersey in total wins for the Atlantic Division title) earning 101 points during the regular season.

Philadelphia goaltender Robert Esche made 55 saves in a 3–2 Flyers loss; Daniel Briere ended the game with a goal at 7:31 in double-overtime.

Buffalo forwards Jean-Pierre Dumont and Jason Pominville each recorded hat-tricks in game two as the Sabres scored three power play goals rolling to an 8–2 victory.

Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made 24 saves to earn his first career playoff shutout in game five as Buffalo won 3–0.

The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Western Conference regular season and Central Division champions, with 124 points.

Edmonton qualified as the eighth seed earning 95 points (losing the tie-breaker with Colorado in total wins) during the regular season.

Red Wings winger Kirk Maltby scored two goals in game one, including the winner in double overtime as Detroit won 3–2.

The Dallas Stars entered the playoffs as the Pacific Division champions, earning the second seed in the Western Conference with 112 points.

Colorado goaltender Jose Theodore made 50 saves in game five and Andrew Brunette scored the series-clinching goal nearly fourteen minutes into overtime to give the Avalanche a 3–2 win.

The Calgary Flames entered the playoffs as the Northwest Division champions, earning the third seed in the Western Conference with 103 points.

Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 33 saves and Darren McCarty scored 9:45 into the first overtime as Calgary won game one 2–1.

Sean O'Donnell scored the overtime winner shortly after a power play expired in game four as Anaheim evened the series with a 3–2 victory.

Flames captain Jarome Iginla scored twice as the Calgary held off a late charge by the Mighty Ducks taking a 3–2 victory in game five.

Anaheim goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves as the Mighty Ducks ended the Flames season with a shutout winning game seven 3–0.

In game two San Jose scored three first period power play goals and Vesa Toskala earned a shutout in the Sharks 3–0 victory.

Nashville attempted to make a comeback late in game four as the Sharks hung on to win 5–4, Patrick Marleau recorded a hat trick in the victory.

San Jose continued to exploit the Predators penalty killing in game five as they scored twice on the power play and ended Nashville's season with a 2–1 victory.

Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala made 55 saves in a losing effort in game three as the Oilers won in a triple-overtime on a goal scored by Shawn Horcoff at 2:24 to give Edmonton a 3–2 win.

The Mighty Ducks scored four times in the second period of game one as Anaheim won 5–0, rookie Ilya Bryzgalov recorded his second-straight shutout.

[3] In game three Dan Hinote ended Ilya Bryzgalov's shutout streak at 249:15 (the second longest in league history) when he scored late in the first period for the Avalanche.

Joe Sakic scored the only goal for the Avalanche in game four as Anaheim finished off the series with a 4–1 victory to advance to their second Conference Final appearance in team history.

This series marked the first time that two former World Hockey Association teams played against each other for the Stanley Cup since they merged with the NHL in 1979.