- 2007–08 NHL season
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2007–08 NHL season League National Hockey League Sport Ice hockey Duration September 29, 2007 – June 4, 2008 Regular season Presidents' Trophy Detroit Red Wings Season MVP Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) Top scorer Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) Playoffs Eastern champions Pittsburgh Penguins Eastern runners-up Philadelphia Flyers Western champions Detroit Red Wings Western runners-up Dallas Stars Playoffs MVP Henrik Zetterberg Stanley Cup Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings Runners-up Pittsburgh Penguins NHL seasons ← 2006–07 2008–09 →
The 2007–08 NHL season was the 91st season of operation (90th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It began on September 29, 2007, with the regular season ending April 6, 2008. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 4, with the Detroit Red Wings taking the championship .The 56th NHL All-Star Game was held in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Thrashers hosted the event at Philips Arena on January 27, 2008. The hosting by Atlanta was rescheduled from 2005, when a lockout cancelled the entire 2004–05 season.
Contents
Increase in salary cap
National Hockey League announced that the regular season salary cap would be going up for the third consecutive season. The 2007–08 salary cap is being increased by $6,300,000 (US) per team to bring the salary cap up to $50,300,000 (US). The salary floor is at $34,300,000 (US), which is 71.5% higher than the salary floor on 2005–06 season.
League business
The season featured the debut of Reebok's new Rbk Edge hockey jerseys. This was the first league-wide uniform innovation in the history of any major North American professional sports league.[1] Seven teams (Boston, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Washington, Ottawa, San Jose and Columbus) unveiled new logos prior to the season's beginning.
On March 1, 2007, the NHL announced the regular season would open on September 29, 2007, with the first of back-to-back games in London at The O2. They were the first NHL regular season games ever played in Europe. Both games featured the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks, and the Los Angeles Kings (who are owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, the same company that owns The O2).[2]
The official average attendance per game was 17,625 per game. However, if the two games played at the O2 Arena are counted, the number is 17,309 per game.
On September 17, 2007, the NHL announced the first outdoor game in over four years would be played between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills football team, on January 1, 2008. The event—known as the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic—was the first time an NHL regular-season game had been played outdoors in the United States, and it set an NHL attendance record of 71,217 people. The only previous outdoor NHL game was the 2003 Heritage Classic played between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers at Commonwealth Stadium on November 22, 2003.[3]
During board of governors meetings held on September 18, 2007 in Chicago, cities including Las Vegas, Kansas City, Houston, Milwaukee, Quebec City, Seattle, and Winnipeg were discussed as possible expansion destinations. The NHL also discussed the current "unbalanced" schedule and voted on a new schedule format at a board meeting in November, so that all teams will play each other at least once and reduce intradivisional play in the 2008–09 season, in essence returning to the scheduling structure that existed in 2003–04, and would have existed in 2004–05. The sale of the Lightning and Predators teams were not completed for board approval.[4]
Rule changes
A number of minor rule changes were introduced for the start of the 2007–08 season. Penalty shots can now be awarded when a player with the puck is hauled down from the centre line on in rather than from the opposition's blue-line as previously was the case. Also, the interference rule was altered to allow for a major penalty and a game misconduct when an injury results. Another change affected faceoff placement: All faceoffs must be conducted at one of the nine dots painted on the rink.
Regular season
The New Jersey Devils began playing in their new arena, the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. However, since the arena was not ready by the beginning of the season, they began their season with a nine-game road trip.
Inter-conference division play had the Northeast visit the Pacific, the Pacific visit the Atlantic, the Atlantic visit the Northwest, the Northwest visit the Southeast, the Southeast visit the Central, and the Central visit the Northeast.
Mike Cammalleri of the Los Angeles Kings scored the first goal of the season against the Anaheim Ducks on September 29 in the opening game played in London, England.
Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers was severely injured after having his external carotid artery in his neck accidentally cut by the skate of teammate Olli Jokinen in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on February 10. Zednik fully recovered from the injury, but missed the remainder of the season.
The Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators matched up for the first time since the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals on March 3, 2008 at Anaheim.
The Washington Capitals improved from 14th place in the previous season and last in the Eastern Conference during the first third of the 2007–08 season to finish as the third seed in the 2007–08 playoffs and winners of the Southeast Division. The turnaround was attributed mainly to the hiring of then-American Hockey League coach Bruce Boudreau, whose efforts won him the Jack Adams Award for the 2007–08 season.
The San Jose Sharks went the entire month of March without a regulation loss and were the media's favorite to win the cup going into the play-offs.
The Detroit Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy for finishing the regular season with the most points (115).
Fewer goals were scored in the regular season than in the 2006–07 season, with an average of 5.44 goals scored per game (6,691 goals over 1,230 games).[5] Goaltenders combined for 161 shutouts.[6]
Final standings
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points.
Conference standings
*-Denotes Division Leader
Eastern Conference GP W L OTL GF GA Pts y-Montreal Canadiens 82 47 25 10 262 222 104 y-Pittsburgh Penguins 82 47 27 8 247 216 102 y-Washington Capitals 82 43 31 8 242 231 94 New Jersey Devils 82 46 29 7 206 197 99 New York Rangers 82 42 27 13 213 199 97 Philadelphia Flyers 82 42 29 11 248 233 95 Ottawa Senators 82 43 31 8 261 247 94 Boston Bruins 82 41 29 12 212 222 94 Carolina Hurricanes 82 43 33 6 252 249 92 Buffalo Sabres 82 39 31 12 255 242 90 Florida Panthers 82 38 35 9 216 226 85 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 36 35 11 231 260 83 New York Islanders 82 35 38 9 194 243 79 Atlanta Thrashers 82 34 40 8 216 272 76 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 31 42 9 223 267 71 bold - qualified for playoffs, y - division title
Western Conference GP W L OTL GF GA Pts p-Detroit Red Wings * 82 54 21 7 257 184 115 y-San Jose Sharks * 82 49 23 10 222 193 108 y-Minnesota Wild * 82 44 28 10 223 218 98 Anaheim Ducks 82 47 27 8 205 191 102 Dallas Stars 82 45 30 7 242 207 97 Colorado Avalanche 82 44 31 7 231 219 95 Calgary Flames 82 42 30 10 229 227 94 Nashville Predators 82 41 32 9 230 229 91 Edmonton Oilers 82 41 35 6 235 251 88 Chicago Blackhawks 82 40 34 8 239 235 88 Vancouver Canucks 82 39 33 10 213 215 88 Phoenix Coyotes 82 38 37 7 214 231 83 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 34 36 12 193 218 80 St. Louis Blues 82 33 36 13 205 237 79 Los Angeles Kings 82 32 43 7 231 266 71 bold - qualified for playoffs, y - division title, p - Presidents' Trophy
Divisional standings
- Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts 1 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 47 27 8 247 216 102 2 4 New Jersey Devils 82 46 29 7 206 197 99 3 5 New York Rangers 82 42 27 13 213 199 97 4 6 Philadelphia Flyers 82 42 29 11 248 233 95 5 13 New York Islanders 82 35 38 9 194 243 79 Northeast Division No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts 1 1 z-Montreal Canadiens 82 47 25 10 262 222 104 2 7 Ottawa Senators 82 43 31 8 261 247 94 3 8 Boston Bruins 82 41 29 12 212 222 94 4 10 Buffalo Sabres 82 39 31 12 255 242 90 5 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 36 35 11 231 260 83 Southeast Division No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts 1 3 Washington Capitals 82 43 31 8 242 231 94 2 9 Carolina Hurricanes 82 43 33 6 252 249 92 3 11 Florida Panthers 82 38 35 9 216 226 85 4 14 Atlanta Thrashers 82 34 40 8 216 272 76 5 15 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 31 42 9 223 267 71 - Western Conference
Central Division No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts 1 1 p-Detroit Red Wings 82 54 21 7 257 184 115 2 8 Nashville Predators 82 41 32 9 230 229 91 3 10 Chicago Blackhawks 82 40 34 8 239 235 88 4 13 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 34 36 12 193 218 80 5 14 St. Louis Blues 82 33 36 13 205 237 79 Northwest Division No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts 1 3 Minnesota Wild 82 44 28 10 223 218 98 2 6 Colorado Avalanche 82 44 31 7 231 219 95 3 7 Calgary Flames 82 42 30 10 229 227 94 4 9 Edmonton Oilers 82 41 35 6 235 251 88 5 11 Vancouver Canucks 82 39 33 10 213 215 88 Pacific Division No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts 1 2 San Jose Sharks 82 49 23 10 222 193 108 2 4 Anaheim Ducks 82 47 27 8 205 191 102 3 5 Dallas Stars 82 45 30 7 242 207 97 4 12 Phoenix Coyotes 82 38 37 7 214 231 83 5 15 Los Angeles Kings 82 32 43 7 231 266 71 Tiebreaking procedures
Where two or more clubs are tied in points at the end of the regular season, the standing of the clubs is determined in the following order:
- The greater number of games won.
- The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
- The greater differential between goals for and against.
Playoffs
Main article: 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs
The Stanley Cup
Playoff bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points; thus, the Detroit Red Wings had home ice advantage. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for have games 1 and 2 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for the other games.
Conference Quarter-finals Conference Semi-finals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals 1 Montreal Canadiens 4 1 Montreal Canadiens 1 8 Boston Bruins 3 6 Philadelphia Flyers 4 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 Eastern Conference 7 Ottawa Senators 0 6 Philadelphia Flyers 1 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 3 Washington Capitals 3 6 Philadelphia Flyers 4 4 New Jersey Devils 1 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 5 New York Rangers 4 5 New York Rangers 1 E2 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.) W1 Detroit Red Wings 4 1 Detroit Red Wings 4 1 Detroit Red Wings 4 8 Nashville Predators 2 6 Colorado Avalanche 0 2 San Jose Sharks 4 7 Calgary Flames 3 1 Detroit Red Wings 4 5 Dallas Stars 2 3 Minnesota Wild 2 6 Colorado Avalanche 4 Western Conference 4 Anaheim Ducks 2 2 San Jose Sharks 2 5 Dallas Stars 4 5 Dallas Stars 4 - During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.
NHL awards
NHL All Star Team
First All-Star Team
- Forwards: Alexander Ovechkin • Evgeni Malkin • Jarome Iginla
- Defencemen: Nicklas Lidstrom • Dion Phaneuf
- Goaltender: Evgeni Nabokov
Second All-Star Team
- Forwards: Henrik Zetterberg • Joe Thornton • Alexei Kovalev
- Defencemen: Brian Campbell • Zdeno Chara
- Goaltender: Martin Brodeur
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 82 65 47 112 +28 40 Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins 82 47 59 106 +16 78 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames 82 50 48 98 +27 83 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings 82 31 66 97 +41 20 Joe Thornton San Jose Sharks 82 29 67 96 +18 59 Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings 75 43 49 92 +30 34 Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay Lightning 81 40 52 92 -17 89 Jason Spezza Ottawa Senators 76 34 58 92 +26 66 Daniel Alfredsson Ottawa Senators 70 40 49 89 +15 34 Ilya Kovalchuk Atlanta Thrashers 79 52 35 87 -12 52 Leading goaltenders
GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average
Player Team GP TOI W L OT GA SO Sv% GAA Chris Osgood Detroit Red Wings 43 2,409 27 9 4 84 4 .914 2.09 Dominik Hasek Detroit Red Wings 41 2,350 27 10 3 84 5 .902 2.14 Jean-Sebastien Giguere Anaheim Ducks 58 3,310 35 17 6 117 4 .922 2.12 Martin Brodeur New Jersey Devils 77 4,635 44 27 6 168 4 .920 2.17 Evgeni Nabokov San Jose Sharks 77 4,560 46 21 8 163 6 .910 2.14 Milestones
- On October 3, in his first game with Montreal, Roman Hamrlik played in his 1,000th NHL game.
- On October 7, Joe Sakic reached 1,591 points, moving him past Phil Esposito for eighth all-time in scoring.
- On October 8, Chris Chelios played in his 1,550th game, moving him past Alex Delvecchio for eighth place on the career list.
- On October 12, Jaromir Jagr scored his 1,533rd career point, passing Paul Coffey for 11th in all-time scoring.
- On October 22, Bryan Smolinski played in his 1,000th NHL game.
- On October 26, Alexei Kovalev played in his 1,000th NHL game, the third Montreal player to reach this milestone in October.
- On November 3, Al Arbour coached his 1,500th game with the New York Islanders and earned his 740th win with the team. Both are NHL records for coaching a single team. At 75 years old, he was the oldest man to coach in an NHL game.
- On November 10, Jeremy Roenick scored his 500th career NHL goal, becoming only the 40th player in the history of the league to do so, and only the third American.
- On November 17, Martin Brodeur recorded his 500th career win, becoming only the second goaltender in the history of the league to do so.
- On November 17, Glen Wesley played in his 1,400th NHL game, becoming the 10th defenseman to do so.
- On December 20, Marian Gaborik scored five goals for the Minnesota Wild in a 6–3 win against the New York Rangers. It is the first time a player has scored five goals in a game since Sergei Fedorov did so on December 26, 1996.
- On December 23, New York Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr recorded his 927th assist, passing Stan Mikita for 15th place on the all-time list.
- On January 17, Markus Naslund played in his 1000th NHL game.
- On February 9, San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson earned his 500th career win as an NHL head coach, becoming the 11th in league history to do so.
- On March 13, the Detroit Red Wings reached the 100-point mark for the eighth straight season, tying an NHL record set by the Montreal Canadiens from 1975–1982.
- On March 22, Joe Sakic recorded his 1000th assist on a goal by teammate Tyler Arnason, becoming just the 11th player to reach this mark.
- On April 6, Keith Tkachuk scored his 500th career goal, becoming the fourth American-born player to do so.
- On April 9, Joe Sakic extended his record for playoff overtime goals to eight.
- On April 12, Chris Chelios played his 248th career playoff game, moving past Patrick Roy for most career playoff games played.
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2007–08:
- Tobias Enström, Atlanta Thrashers
- Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
- Jonas Hiller, Anaheim Ducks
- Erik Johnson, St. Louis Blues
- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
- Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
- Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks
- Marc Staal, New York Rangers
- Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
- Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2007–08:
- Stu Barnes, Dallas Stars[7]
- Luc Bourdon, Vancouver Canucks (died in motorcycle accident)[8]
- Dallas Drake, Detroit Red Wings[9]
- Dominik Hasek, Detroit Red Wings[10]
- Derian Hatcher, Philadelphia Flyers[11]
- Sami Kapanen, Philadelphia Flyers[12]
- Trevor Linden, Vancouver Canucks[13]
- Mattias Norstrom, Dallas Stars[14]
- Karel Rachunek, New Jersey Devils[15]
- Glen Wesley, Carolina Hurricanes[16]
- Josef Vasicek, New York Islanders[15]
See also
- 2007 in ice hockey
- 2007 NHL Entry Draft
- 2007–08 NHL transactions
- 56th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic
- NHL schedule structure
- List of current NHL team rosters
Notes
- ^ "Reebok And NHL To Unveil New Technologically-advanced Uniform System" (Press release). 2007-01-22. http://en.rbkhockey.com/news/read.php?pr_id=254. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ "On your mark, get set ... open datebooks!". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213114814/http://nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=332514. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ^ "Happy New Year! Pens, Sabres to play outside in Buffalo". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20071021211916/http://nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=337552. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- ^ ESPN report, retrieved on September 19, 2007
- ^ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2008_skaters.html
- ^ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2008_goalies.html
- ^ "Barnes Joins Coaching Staff" (Press release). Dallas Stars. 2008-08-28. http://stars.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=380599. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ "Vancouver Canucks Statement on the Passing of Luc Bourdon" (Press release). 2008-05-29. http://canucks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=364711&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ "After winning the Cup, Dallas Drake goes out on top" (Press release). 2008-07-18. http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/SPORTS05/807160413/1053. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ "Report: Hasek will hang up skates after winning Stanley Cup". 2008-09-09. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3432900. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Hatcher Retires, Joins Front Office" (Press release). 2009-06-15. http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=425656&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
- ^ "Sami Kapanen Announces His Retirement" (Press release). 2008-06-03. http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=365121&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ "Linden Announces Retirement after 19 Seasons" (Press release). 2008-06-11. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/story/?id=240290&hubname=nhl-canucks. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ "Stars' defenceman Norstrom announces retirement" (Press release). 2008-06-10. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=240285&lid=sublink011&lpos=headlines_nhl. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b "Plane crash in Russia involves KHL team". NHL.com. September 7, 2011. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=587792. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ "Glen Wesley Announces Retirement from Hockey" (Press release). 2008-06-05. http://hurricanes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=365328. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
External links
2007–08 NHL season by team See alsoNHL seasons National Hockey League History · Organizational changes · Defunct teams · NHA · Original Six · 1967 Expansion · WHA · Potential expansion · Streaks · Droughts · Hall of Fame (members) · Rivalries · Arenas · Rules · Fighting · Violence · International gamesCategories:- 2007 in ice hockey
- 2008 in ice hockey
- National Hockey League seasons
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