2007–08 NHL season
National Hockey League season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National Hockey League season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, and the regular season ended 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.
2007–08 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | September 29, 2007 – June 4, 2008 |
Number of games | 82 |
Number of teams | 30 |
TV partner(s) | CBC, TSN, RDS (Canada) Versus, NBC (United States) |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Patrick Kane |
Picked by | Chicago Blackhawks |
Regular season | |
Presidents' Trophy | Detroit Red Wings |
Season MVP | Alexander Ovechkin (Capitals) |
Top scorer | Alexander Ovechkin (Capitals) |
Playoffs | |
Playoffs MVP | Henrik Zetterberg (Red Wings) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | Detroit Red Wings |
Runners-up | Pittsburgh Penguins |
The 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 US$6.3 million per team to bring the salary cap up to US$50.3 million. The salary floor is at US$34.3 million, which is 71.5% higher than the salary floor during the 2005–06 season. 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 designs 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 Arena. 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 National Football League's Buffalo Bills, 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]
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 had been 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.
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.
Michael 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, United Kingdom.
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, in 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 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]
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points.
R | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | z – Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 262 | 222 | 104 |
2 | y – Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 247 | 216 | 102 |
3 | y – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 242 | 231 | 94 |
4 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 206 | 197 | 99 |
5 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 42 | 27 | 13 | 213 | 199 | 97 |
6 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 248 | 233 | 95 |
7 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 261 | 247 | 94 |
8 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 222 | 94 |
8.5 | |||||||||
9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 249 | 92 |
10 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 255 | 242 | 90 |
11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 216 | 226 | 85 |
12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 231 | 260 | 83 |
13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 35 | 38 | 9 | 194 | 243 | 79 |
14 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 216 | 272 | 76 |
15 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 31 | 42 | 9 | 223 | 267 | 71 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)
R | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 54 | 21 | 7 | 257 | 184 | 115 |
2 | y – San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 49 | 23 | 10 | 222 | 193 | 108 |
3 | y – Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 223 | 218 | 98 |
4 | Anaheim Ducks | PA | 82 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 205 | 191 | 102 |
5 | Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 242 | 207 | 97 |
6 | Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 31 | 7 | 231 | 219 | 95 |
7 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 229 | 227 | 94 |
8 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 230 | 229 | 91 |
8.5 | |||||||||
9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 235 | 251 | 88 |
10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 239 | 235 | 88 |
11 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 213 | 215 | 88 |
12 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 214 | 231 | 83 |
13 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 193 | 218 | 80 |
14 | St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 33 | 36 | 13 | 205 | 237 | 79 |
15 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 32 | 43 | 7 | 231 | 266 | 71 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner
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:
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 quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Ottawa | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | New Jersey | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Pittsburgh | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Nashville | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Colorado | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Calgary | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | Dallas | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Minnesota | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Dallas | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Anaheim | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Dallas | 4 |
First All-Star team
Second All-Star team
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 |
Source: NHL.[7]
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 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2007–08:
The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2007–08, listed with their team:
Player | Team | Notability |
---|---|---|
Kevyn Adams[8] | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-time Stanley Cup winner with the Carolina Hurricanes. |
David Aebischer[9] | Phoenix Coyotes | 1-time Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche. |
Bryan Berard[10] | New York Islanders | Calder Memorial Trophy winner; Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner. |
Stu Barnes[11] | Dallas Stars | Over 1100 games played. |
Sergei Brylin[12] | New Jersey Devils | 3-time Stanley Cup champion with the Devils. |
Keith Carney[13] | Minnesota Wild | Over 1000 games played. |
Joe DiPenta[14] | Anaheim Ducks | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Ducks. |
Dallas Drake[15] | Detroit Red Wings | 1-time Stanley Cup winner with the Red Wings; over 1000 games played. |
Martin Gelinas[16] | Nashville Predators | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Edmonton Oilers, 2-time Fred J. Hume Award winner, over 1200 games played. |
John Grahame[17] | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning. |
Dominik Hasek[18] | Detroit Red Wings | 2-time Stanley Cup winner with the Red Wings; Olympic gold and bronze medalist; 6-time Vezina Trophy winner; 5-time NHL All-Star; 3-time William M. Jennings Trophy winner; 2-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner; 2-time Lester B. Pearson Award winner. |
Derian Hatcher[19] | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Dallas Stars; 1-time NHL All-Star; over 1000 games played. |
Sean Hill[20] | Minnesota Wild | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens. |
Sami Kapanen[21] | Philadelphia Flyers | 2-time Olympic bronze medalist; 2-time NHL All-Star. |
Martin Lapointe[22] | Ottawa Senators | 2-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings. |
Trevor Linden[23] | Vancouver Canucks | King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner; NHL Foundation Player Award winner; 2-time NHL All-Star; over 1300 games played. |
Jaroslav Modry[24] | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-time NHL All-Star. |
Glen Murray[25] | Boston Bruins | 2-time NHL All-Star, over 1000 games played. |
Sandis Ozolinsh[26] | San Jose Sharks | 1-time Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche; 7-time NHL All-Star. |
Scott Parker[27] | Colorado Avalanche | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche. |
Nolan Pratt[28] | Buffalo Sabres | 2-time Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning. |
Martin Rucinsky[29] | St. Louis Blues | Olympic gold and bronze medalist. |
Geoff Sanderson[30] | Edmonton Oilers | 2-time NHL All-Star. |
Chris Simon[31] | Minnesota Wild | 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche. |
Bryan Smolinski[32] | Montreal Canadiens | Over 1000 games played. |
Martin Straka[33] | New York Rangers | Olympic gold and bronze medalist. |
Josef Vasicek[34] | New York Islanders | 1-time Stanley Cup winner with the Hurricanes. |
David Vyborny[35] | Columbus Blue Jackets | Olympic bronze medalist. |
Glen Wesley[36] | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-time Stanley Cup winner with the Hurricanes; 1-time NHL All-Star; over 1400 games played. |
Alexei Zhitnik[37] | Atlanta Thrashers | Olympic gold and silver medalist, 2-time NHL All-Star, over 1000 games played. |
In Canada, national rights were split between CBC and TSN. CBC aired Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada regular season games, while TSN's coverage included Wednesday Night Hockey and other selected weeknights. During the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN televised all-U.S. games while CBC aired all games involving Canadian teams. CBC then had exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals.
This was the third season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deals with NBC and Versus. With Versus' original three-year contract set to expire after this season, the cable network signed an extension through the 2010–11 season. Likewise, NBC announced the activation of its option to extend its broadcasting rights through the next three seasons. Versus aired regular season games generally on Monday and Tuesday nights. NBC's coverage was modified this season, with the broadcast network airing only one game nationally on selected weekends instead of televising two or three games regionally in these broadcast windows. During the playoffs, NBC had the rights to air selected weekend games during the first three postseason rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, while Versus televised selected first and second round playoff games, all Conference Finals games not aired on NBC, and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.
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