This was a relatively boring opening round. Only three of the 16 series’ went longer than five games and only two went a full seven. However, those two series’ that went seven were a bit surprising. The 18th-seeded ’10-’11 Tampa Bay Lightning needed seven games to defeat the 47th-seeded ’34-’35 St. Louis Eagles. Then, the 19th-seeded ’10-’11 Carolina Hurricanes needed seven to eliminate the 46th-seeded ’19-’20 Quebec Bulldogs. There were only two matchups in this First Round that the lower seed won and neither of them were all that surprising. The 33rd-seeded ’06-’07 Nashville Predators dispatched of the 32nd-seeded ’37-’38 New York Americans in five games and the 36th-seeded ’13-’14 Columbus Blue Jackets beat the 29th-seeded ’11-’12 Phoenix Coyotes in six games. Two Semifinalists from last year appeared in this First Round and both of them took care of business very easily. The runners up, the 17th-seeded ’88-’89 Calgary Flames, blew out the 48th-seeded ’30-’31 Philadelphia Quakers in four games and the 23rd-seeded ’79-’80 Buffalo Sabres, who lost in the Semifinal, swept the 42nd-seeded ’25-’26 Pittsburgh Pirates.
Now, here are the team stat leaders through the First Round:
Goals per game:
- ’88-’89 Calgary Flames – 9.75
- ’82-’83 Minnesota North Stars – 7.25
- ’79-’80 Buffalo Sabres – 6.00
- ’84-’85 Winnipeg Jets – 6.00
- ’05-’06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim/’69-’70 St. Louis Blues – 5.75
Goals allowed per game:
- ’79-‘8 Buffalo Sabres/’10-’11 Vancouver Canucks – 1.25
- ’88-’89 Calgary Flames – 1.50
- ’69-’70 St. Louis Blues/’83-’84 Washington Capitals/’10-’11 Tampa Bay Lightning – 2.00
- ’13-’14 Columbus Blue Jackets – 2.17
- ’06-’07 Nashville Predators – 2.20
Shots per game:
- ’69-’70 St. Louis Blues – 78.3
- ’82-’83 Minnesota North Stars – 73.0
- ’88-’89 Calgary Flames – 69.0
- ’05-’06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – 68.8
- ’83-’84 Washington Capitals – 63.8
Shots allowed per game:
- ’79-’80 Buffalo Sabres – 20.5
- ’83-’84 Washington Capitals – 25.5
- ’88-’89 Calgary Flames – 26.0
- ’05-’06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – 28.5
- ’10-’11 Vancouver Canucks – 29.3
Power play efficiency:
- ’88-’89 Calgary Flames – 55.56% (5-for-9)
- ’84-’85 Winnipeg Jets – 50.00% (3-for-6)
- ’82-’83 Minnesota North Stars – 40.00% (2-for-5)
- ’99-’00 Florida Panthers – 37.50% (3-for-8)
- ’10-’11 Carolina Hurricanes – 33.33% (3-for-9)
Penalty kill efficiency:
- ’88-’89 Calgary Flames – 100.00% (11-for-11)
- ’99-’00 Florida Panthers – 100.00% (7-for-7)
- ’83-’84 Washington Capitals – 100.00% (7-for-7)
- ’09-’10 San Jose Sharks – 100.00% (7-for-7)
- ’13-’14 Columbus Blue Jackets – 100.00% (7-for-7)
There you have it as far as the stat leaders among overall teams. I’m now gonna work on a post for skater and goalie stat leaders and have that posted shortly.