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.

[5] The Islanders then took game two, 4–3, as New York's Colin McDonald, Matt Martin, and Kyle Okposo scored three unanswered goals in the second and third periods.

[7] New York evened the series with a 6–4 win in game four, with Mark Streit, John Tavares, and Casey Cizikas scoring three unanswered goals in the third period.

[8] Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma then replaced Fleury with Tomas Vokoun as starting goalie for game five, who stopped all 31 shots to lead Pittsburgh to a 4–0 win.

The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference by winning the Northeast Division with 63 points.

The Ottawa Senators earned 56 points during the regular season, losing the tiebreaker to the New York Rangers in regulation + overtime wins (22 to 21) to finish seventh overall in the Eastern Conference.

[13] Emotions between the two division rivals boiled over in game three as the teams combined for 236 penalty minutes, but Ottawa centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a hat trick, leading the Senators to a 6–1 victory.

[16][17] The Senators then eliminated the Canadiens with a 6–1 victory in game five; Montreal was without several players due to injury including Price and captain Brian Gionta.

[26] The Rangers then controlled game seven, winning 5–0, with five different players scoring for New York, and goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopping all 35 Washington shots in his second consecutive shutout.

[35] These circumstances were matched during the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, when the San Jose Sharks overcame a three-goal deficit in the third period of game seven over the Vegas Golden Knights to win the series.

The Chicago Blackhawks entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions and Presidents' Trophy winners, earning 77 points.

The Detroit Red Wings earned 56 points during the regular season to finish seventh overall in the Western Conference, extending their streak of consecutive playoff appearances to 22.

In game one, Teemu Selanne scored a power play goal in the third period, and Francois Beauchemin added an empty netter in the final minute, to give Anaheim a 3–1 win.

Although they scored only once in the ensuing five-minute power play, goalie Jonas Hiller stopped all 23 Detroit shots to lead the Ducks to a 4–0 win.

[46] Zetterberg then led the Red Wings with a goal and an assist, and goalie Jimmy Howard made 31 saves in their 3–2 victory in game seven.

The San Jose Sharks earned 57 points during the regular season to finish sixth overall in the Western Conference and third in the Pacific Division.

This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with the only previous meeting being the 2011 Western Conference Final, where Vancouver defeated San Jose in five games.

In the third period the Vancouver Canucks rallied back to tie the game and gain the lead from the strengths of Alex Burrows and Alexander Edler goals to make it 3–2.

The Los Angeles Kings, entering as the defending Stanley Cup champions, earned 59 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Western Conference.

[53] The Kings then began their four-game winning streak in the series, first with a 1–0 victory in game three, as Quick stopped all 30 Blues shots on goal, and Slava Voynov providing Los Angeles' lone score.

[62] James Neal recorded his first career playoff hat trick in Pittsburgh's 6–2 win in game five to close out the series and help the Penguins advance to the conference finals.

[66] The Rangers avoided elimination in game four, as Chris Kreider scored at 07:03 of overtime, redirecting Rick Nash's shot into the Bruins net, giving New York a 4–3 victory.

[71] The Red Wings then gave the Blackhawks their first three-game losing streak all season, as Howard made 28 saves in Detroit's 2–0 victory in game four.

[73] In the third period of game six, the Blackhawks scored three straight goals from three different players, including one on a penalty shot by Michael Frolik, to overcome a one-goal deficit and eventually win 4–3.

[76] In game two, the Kings' Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis scored power play goals in 22 seconds apart with less than 2 minutes left in regulation, overcoming a one-goal deficit to win, 4–3.

[79] In game five back at the Staples Center, the Kings limited the Sharks to 24 shots on goal and Quick recorded his second shutout in the series in a 3–0 win for Los Angeles.

The Bruins swept the top seeded Penguins, as Boston goalie Tuukka Rask recorded his first two career playoff shutouts, and only allowed two Pittsburgh goals throughout the sweep.

Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa scored back-to-back goals in their 2–1 victory in game one,[90] Four different Chicago players scored unanswered goals in their 4–2 win in game two, forcing Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick to be replaced by backup Jonathan Bernier midway through the second period.

[91] Quick then made 19 out of 20 saves, and Justin Williams and Slava Voynov scored Los Angeles' two unanswered goals, in the Kings' 3–1 win in game three.

[93] Patrick Kane then recorded a hat trick, including the game-winning goal at 11:40 of double overtime, to give Chicago a 4–3 victory in game five and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.