2007–08 NHL 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
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.

League business

Contents 1 League business 1.1 Rule changes 2 Regular season 2.1 Final standings 2.1.1 Tiebreaking procedures 3 Playoffs 3.1 Playoff bracket 4 NHL awards 4.1 NHL All Star Team 5 Player statistics 5.1 Scoring leaders 5.2 Leading goaltenders 6 Milestones 6.1 Debuts 6.2 Last games 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

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.

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.

Eastern Conference

R		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	z-Montreal Canadiens	82	47	25	10	262	222	104
2	y-Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	27	8	247	216	102
3	y-Washington Capitals	82	43	31	8	242	231	94
4	New Jersey Devils	82	46	29	7	206	197	99
5	New York Rangers	82	42	27	13	213	199	97
6	Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	29	11	248	233	95
7	Ottawa Senators	82	43	31	8	261	247	94
8	Boston Bruins	82	41	29	12	212	222	94
8.5
9	Carolina Hurricanes	82	43	33	6	252	249	92
10	Buffalo Sabres	82	39	31	12	255	242	90
11	Florida Panthers	82	38	35	9	216	226	85
12	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	36	35	11	231	260	83
13	New York Islanders	82	35	38	9	194	243	79
14	Atlanta Thrashers	82	34	40	8	216	272	76
15	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	31	42	9	223	267	71

bold - qualified for playoffs, y - division title, z - placed first in conference (and division)

Western Conference

R		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p-Detroit Red Wings	82	54	21	7	257	184	115
2	y-San Jose Sharks	82	49	23	10	222	193	108
3	y-Minnesota Wild	82	44	28	10	223	218	98
4	Anaheim Ducks	82	47	27	8	205	191	102
5	Dallas Stars	82	45	30	7	242	207	97
6	Colorado Avalanche	82	44	31	7	231	219	95
7	Calgary Flames	82	42	30	10	229	227	94
8	Nashville Predators	82	41	32	9	230	229	91
8.5
9	Edmonton Oilers	82	41	35	6	235	251	88
10	Chicago Blackhawks	82	40	34	8	239	235	88
11	Vancouver Canucks	82	39	33	10	213	215	88
12	Phoenix Coyotes	82	38	37	7	214	231	83
13	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	34	36	12	193	218	80
14	St. Louis Blues	82	33	36	13	205	237	79
15	Los Angeles Kings	82	32	43	7	231	266	71

bold - qualified for playoffs, y - division title, p - Presidents' Trophy

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:

1. The greater number of games won.
2. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
3. The greater differential between goals for and against.

Playoffs

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

Presidents' Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy: Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Jason Blake, Toronto Maple Leafs
Calder Memorial Trophy: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Conn Smythe Trophy: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Memorial Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Jack Adams Award: Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Lester B. Pearson Award: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award: Dan Ellis, Nashville Predators
Vezina Trophy: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
William M. Jennings Trophy: Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings
Lester Patrick Trophy: Brian Burke, Phil Housley, Ted Lindsay, Bob Naegele Jr.
NHL Lifetime Achievement Award: Gordie Howe

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

Source: NHL.^[7]

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^[8]
• Luc Bourdon, Vancouver Canucks (died in motorcycle accident)^[9]
• Dallas Drake, Detroit Red Wings^[10]
• Dominik Hasek, Detroit Red Wings^[11]
• Derian Hatcher, Philadelphia Flyers^[12]
• Sami Kapanen, Philadelphia Flyers^[13]
• Trevor Linden, Vancouver Canucks^[14]
• Mattias Norstrom, Dallas Stars^[15]
• Karel Rachunek, New Jersey Devils^[16]
• Glen Wesley, Carolina Hurricanes^[17]
• Josef Vasicek, New York Islanders^[16]

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

References

• Dinger, Ralph, ed (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 9781894801225. 

Notes

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com

2007–08 NHL season by team Atlantic New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh Northeast Boston • Buffalo • Montreal • Ottawa • Toronto Southeast Atlanta • Carolina • Florida • Tampa Bay • Washington Central Chicago • Columbus • Detroit • Nashville • St. Louis Northwest Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • Minnesota • Vancouver Pacific Anaheim • Dallas • Los Angeles • Phoenix • San Jose See also 2007 NHL Entry Draft • Winter Classic • All-Star Game • Playoffs • Transactions

NHL seasons 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13

National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference Central Chicago Blackhawks Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Northwest Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Vancouver Canucks Pacific Anaheim Ducks Dallas Stars Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks Atlantic New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Northeast Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leafs Southeast Carolina Hurricanes Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals Winnipeg Jets Seasons (structure) · Stanley Cup (Playoffs–Champions–Finals–Conference Finals) · Presidents' Trophy · All-Star Game · Draft · Players (Association) · All-Star Teams · Awards · Winter Classic · SuperSkills Competition · Captains 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 games Category · Portal  · 2011–12 season