Eastern Conference Quarterfinals 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

1 eastern conference quarterfinals

1.1 (1) buffalo sabres vs. (8) new york islanders
1.2 (2) new jersey devils vs. (7) tampa bay lightning
1.3 (3) atlanta thrashers vs. (6) new york rangers
1.4 (4) ottawa senators vs. (5) pittsburgh penguins

eastern conference quarterfinals
(1) buffalo sabres vs. (8) new york islanders

the buffalo sabres entered playoffs presidents trophy winners (winning tie-breaker detroit in total wins), eastern conference regular season , northeast division champions 113 points. islanders qualified eighth seed earning 92 points during regular season. fourth , recent playoff meeting between these 2 teams, new york winning 3 of previous series. last met in 1980 stanley cup semifinals new york won in 6 games. buffalo won 3 of 4 games during year s regular season series.

the sabres defeated islanders in 5 games. brian campbell , chris drury each scored twice sabres in game 1 took opening game 4–1. marc-andre bergeron s power play goal @ 8:37 of third period gave islanders lead in game 2 evened series 3–2 victory. sabres forward daniel briere scored game-winning goal two-man advantage in second period of game 3 giving buffalo 3–2 win. chris drury scored 2 goals in game second time in series sabres won game 4 final score of 4–2. buffalo held off late charge islanders in game 5 eliminated new york 4–3 win.

(2) new jersey devils vs. (7) tampa bay lightning

the new jersey devils entered playoffs atlantic division champions, earning second seed in eastern conference 107 points. tampa bay qualified seventh seed earning 93 points during regular season. second , recent playoff meeting between these 2 teams, new jersey winning previous series. last met in 2003 eastern conference semifinals new jersey won in 5 games. tampa bay won 3 of 4 games during year s regular season series.

new jersey defeated lightning in 6 games. devils forward zach parise scored twice new jersey took game 1 5–3. johan holmqvist made 34 saves lightning , vincent lecavalier scored game-winning goal in third period of game 2 tampa bay evened series 3–2 victory. teams traded goals in third period of game 3 before vaclav prospal broke tie 6:29 remaining in regulation time lightning won again score of 3–2. devils centre scott gomez scored overtime winner @ 12:54 in game 4 tie series. new jersey goaltender martin brodeur made 31 saves in 22nd career playoff shutout devils won game 5 3–0. devils forward brian gionta scored series-winning goal in game 6 new jersey took series 4 games 2 3–2 win.

(3) atlanta thrashers vs. (6) new york rangers

the atlanta thrashers entered playoffs southeast division champions, earning third seed in eastern conference 97 points. rangers qualified sixth seed earning 94 points during regular season. first , date playoff meeting between these 2 teams. series marked first appearance of team representing atlanta in stanley cup playoffs in 27 years. recent team represent atlanta prior atlanta flames lost in preliminary round in 1980. thrashers made first playoff appearance since entering league in 1999–2000 season; playoff appearance atlanta made before franchise relocated winnipeg in 2011. atlanta won 3 of 4 games during year s regular season series.

the rangers swept atlanta in 4 games. new york entered third period of game 1 two-goal lead , hung on win score of 4–3. ranger forward brendan shanahan scored game-winner 4 minutes remaining in game 2 new york earned 2–1 victory. rangers dominated atlanta in game 3 winning 7–0, michael nylander scored hat trick in victory. matt cullen scored series-clinching goal in game 4 , jaromir jagr added empty-net goal in dying minutes new york completed sweep of thrashers 4–3 win.

(4) ottawa senators vs. (5) pittsburgh penguins

the ottawa senators entered playoffs fourth seed in eastern conference 105 points. pittsburgh penguins earned 105 points during regular season, finished fifth seed in eastern conference after losing tie-breaker ottawa in total wins. first playoff meeting between these 2 teams. penguins qualified playoffs first time since 2001. pittsburgh won year s four-game regular season series earning 6 of 8 points.

the senators defeated penguins in 5 games. penguins goaltender marc-andre fleury pulled in game 1 after allowing 6 goals senators in 6–3 loss. penguins scored 3 times in third period overcame one-goal deficit defeat ottawa 4–3 in game 2 , tie series. senators captain daniel alfredsson scored game-winner , added insurance goal in game 3 ottawa regained home-ice advantage 4–2 win. on 9 minutes third period of game 4 anton volchenkov broke tie senators giving team 2–1 victory. after scoreless opening period in game 5 senators struck 3 times in second period , goaltender ray emery posted 20 save shutout eliminate penguins 3–0 win.