The 2001 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2000–01 season, and the culmination of the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils and the Western Conference champion and Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. It was Colorado's second appearance in the Finals, and the first since the team won the Cup in 1996. It was New Jersey's third appearance in the Finals and second straight appearance after winning the Cup in the previous year.
| 2001 Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location(s) | Denver: Pepsi Center (1, 2, 5, 7) East Rutherford: Continental Airlines Arena (3, 4, 6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | Colorado: Bob Hartley New Jersey: Larry Robinson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | Colorado: Joe Sakic New Jersey: Scott Stevens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthems | Colorado: Jake Schroeder New Jersey: Arlette Roxburgh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Dan Marouelli (1, 3, 6, 7) Paul Devorski (1, 4) Bill McCreary (2, 4, 6) Rob Shick (2, 5) Kerry Fraser (3, 5, 7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | May 26 – June 9, 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Patrick Roy (Avalanche) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Alex Tanguay (4:57, second, G7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Avalanche: Rob Blake (2014) Ray Bourque (2004) Peter Forsberg (2014; did not play) Patrick Roy (2006) Joe Sakic (2012) Devils: Martin Brodeur (2018) Scott Niedermayer (2013) Scott Stevens (2007) Coaches: Larry Robinson (1995, player) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): ESPN (1–2), ABC (3–7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | (CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Michel Bergeron (ESPN/ABC) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Colorado defeated New Jersey in seven games to win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Colorado's Patrick Roy was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2001 playoffs. This was the first Stanley Cup Finals since 1994 that would be decided in the maximum seven games. This was also the first and, as of 2024, most recent Finals since 1989 that the number one seeds in each conference met in the Finals. This marked the only time in NHL history where two teams who occupied the same market at different times faced off against each other. The Devils were based out of Denver as the Colorado Rockies from 1976 to 1982 and the Avalanche established themselves in the city in 1995 after relocating from Quebec City.
The Avalanche would not win the Stanley Cup again until 2022.
Paths to the Finals
editNew Jersey Devils
editNew Jersey defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4–2, the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 to advance to the Finals.
Colorado Avalanche
editColorado defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4–0, the Los Angeles Kings 4–3 and the St. Louis Blues 4–1 to advance to the Finals.
Game summaries
editThis was the second straight Finals that featured two relocated NHL teams and the first ever Finals that featured two teams playing in a city that was the previous home of one team and the present home of another. The Colorado Rockies were formerly based in Denver and were relocated to East Rutherford and renamed the New Jersey Devils prior to the 1982–83 season. The Quebec Nordiques were relocated to Denver and renamed the Colorado Avalanche prior to the 1995–96 season.
Colorado centre Joe Sakic scored his 10th and 11th goal of the playoffs in the first and second periods of game one. The Avalanche smothered the New Jersey defense and scored five goals in the game. The Devils did not score any goals, and in the third period, after the game was 5–0, things culminated in a fistfight between the Avalanche's Chris Dingman and the Devils' Sean O'Donnell. The third period had a total tally of 44 penalty minutes accumulated by both clubs.
The second game began with goals in the first period by Colorado's Sakic and New Jersey's Bob Corkum and Turner Stevenson. The 2–1 lead by the Devils held throughout the game as they defeated the Avalanche to even the series at one game apiece.
Game three was held in New Jersey. Devils centre Jason Arnott scored an early power-play goal, but in the tenth minute, the Avalanche evened through defenceman Martin Skoula. Neither team scored any goals in the second period. Early in the third, Colorado defenceman Ray Bourque scored a power-play goal to break the tie. Five minutes later, Colorado winger Dan Hinote scored the team's third goal, and the Devils did not respond. The win by Colorado marked another road win in the series.
In the first period of game four, Colorado scored an early goal when Rob Blake shot the puck past Devils goalkeeper Martin Brodeur. Patrik Elias and New Jersey responded when he scored a short-handed goal to even the score at one goal apiece. Later in the second, Avalanche centre Chris Drury scored to give the Avalanche a one-goal lead going into the third period. But the third period belonged to the Devils: Scott Gomez and Petr Sykora each scored a goal in the third, and Brodeur stopped every puck that went his way. The New Jersey offence overwhelmed the Avalanche defense as they managed 35 shots; Colorado managed only 12 shots. New Jersey again evened the series, this time at two games apiece.
In Colorado for game five, Devils forward Patrik Elias started the scoring for the Devils as they jumped out to an early one-goal lead. Exactly seven minutes later, Colorado winger Alex Tanguay tied the game on the power-play. However, in the late minutes of the first period, New Jersey forward Alexander Mogilny scored the game's eventual winner. In the second period, Devils forward Sergei Brylin scored a power-play goal to give the Devils a two-goal lead, and in the third period, centre John Madden scored a fourth goal for insurance. The Devils won and reclaimed the home-ice advantage; they eventually won 4–1. They forced the Avalanche to try to win on the road to force a Game 7 in Denver.
Game six paralleled game one for the Avalanche. The Devils tested the Avalanche early with a barrage of shots on goaltender Patrick Roy. After stopping them all, and with two minutes remaining in the first period, Colorado defenceman Adam Foote scored an unassisted goal to give the Avalanche the lead on just their fourth shot. Early in the second period, Avalanche winger Ville Nieminen scored a power-play goal, and late in the second period, Drury scored his 11th goal of the playoffs to give the Avalanche a commanding lead entering the third period. Alex Tanguay scored the only goal of the third period and the Avalanche won to force a deciding game seven in Denver. Despite Colorado's high number of penalty minutes, the Devils were unable to put anything past Roy.
Around eight minutes into game seven, Alex Tanguay of the Avalanche scored the period's only goal. Colorado then scored two consecutive goals in the second period: another by Tanguay, his sixth of the playoffs, and a power-play goal scored by Joe Sakic, his 13th of the playoffs. Shortly after Sakic's goal, Petr Sykora and the Devils sprang into life when he scored a power-play goal. It left the Devils with only two goals to overcome, but Roy and the Avalanche would prove too much for the Devils in the third period as Colorado defensively shut the door on New Jersey to win the game and the series.
| May 26 | New Jersey Devils | 0–5 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:07 – Joe Sakic (10) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:35 – Chris Drury (9) 15:06 – Joe Sakic (11) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:36 – pp – Rob Blake (5) 17:36 – Steve Reinprecht (2) | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 25 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 29 | New Jersey Devils | 2–1 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| Bob Corkum (1) – 14:29 Turner Stevenson (1) – 17:20 |
First period | 05:58 – pp – Joe Sakic (12) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 19 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 18 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| May 31 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–1 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| Martin Skoula (1) – 10:38 | First period | 03:16 – pp – Jason Arnott (8) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ray Bourque (4) – pp – 00:31 Dan Hinote (2) – 06:28 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 21 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| June 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 2–3 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| Rob Blake (6) – 03:58 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Drury (10) – 13:54 | Second period | 03:42 – sh – Patrik Elias (8) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:09 – Scott Gomez (5) 17:23 – Petr Sykora (9) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 10 saves / 12 shots | ||||||
| June 4 | New Jersey Devils | 4–1 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| Patrik Elias (9) – 03:09 Alexander Mogilny (5) – 18:47 |
First period | 10:09 – pp – Alex Tanguay (3) | ||||||
| Sergei Brylin (3) – pp – 04:39 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Madden (4) – 18:05 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 22 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 22 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| June 7 | Colorado Avalanche | 4–0 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
| Adam Foote (3) – 18:02 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ville Nieminen (4) – pp – 02:26 Chris Drury (11) – 18:27 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alex Tanguay (4) – 13:46 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 24 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 14 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| June 9 | New Jersey Devils | 1–3 | Colorado Avalanche | Pepsi Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:58 – Alex Tanguay (5) | ||||||
| Petr Sykora (10) – pp – 09:33 | Second period | 04:57 – Alex Tanguay (6) 06:16 – pp – Joe Sakic (13) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur 19 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–3 | |
The Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup made this the second straight year that the defending champions lost in the Finals, as the Devils themselves defeated the 1999 Cup champion Dallas Stars the year before. This was the first and only Stanley Cup championship for defenceman Ray Bourque who, after being traded from the Boston Bruins to Colorado in 2000, retired from the NHL after the Avalanche's 2001 Cup win. This was the last major professional sports championship won by a Denver-based team until 2016, when the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 NFL season. This would also be the Avalanche's last Stanley Cup title and Finals appearance until 2022, when they defeated the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
Team rosters
editYears indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
Colorado Avalanche
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New Jersey Devils
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Stanley Cup engraving
editThe 2001 Stanley Cup was presented to Avalanche captain Joe Sakic by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Avalanche's 3–1 win over the Devils in game seven
The following Avalanche players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
2000–01 Colorado Avalanche
Players
- 19 Joe Sakic (C)^
- 21 Peter Forsberg (A)^
- 26 Stephane Yelle^
- 28 Steven Reinprecht
- 37 Chris Drury
- 11 Chris Dingman
- 13 Dan Hinote
- 14 Dave Reid
- 23 Milan Hejduk
- 25 Shjon Podein
- 27 Scott Parker
- 29 Eric Messier
- 39 Ville Nieminen
- 40 Alex Tanguay
- 2 Bryan Muir†
- 4 Rob Blake
- 7 Greg de Vries
- 24 Jon Klemm^
- 41 Martin Skoula
- 44 Nolan Pratt
- 52 Adam Foote (A)^
- 77 Ray Bourque (A)
Coaching and administrative staff
- E. Stanley Kroenke (Owner/Governor/Chairman), Pierre Lacroix (President/General Manager), Bob Hartley (Head Coach)
- Jacques Cloutier (Goaltending Coach), Bryan Trottier (Asst. Coach), Paul Fixter (Video Coach)
- Francois Giguere (Vice President of Hockey Operations), Brian MacDonald (Asst. General Manager), Michel Goulet (Vice President of Player Personnel)
- Jean Martineau (Vice President-Communications & Team Service), Pat Karns (Athletic Therapist), Matthew Sokolowski (Asst. Athletic Therapist)
- Wayne Flemming (Equipment Manager), Mark Miller (Equipment Manager), Dave Randolph (Asst. Equipment Manager)
- Paul Goldberg (Strength-Conditioning Coach), Gregorio Pradera (Massage Therapist), Brad Smith (Pro Scout)
- Jim Hammett (Chief Scout), Garth Joy (Scout), Steve Lyons (Scout),
- Joni Lehto (Scout), Orval Tessier (Scout), Charlotte Grahame (Director of Hockey Operations).
Stanley Cup engraving
† Bryan Muir was called up from the minors mid-season. He played eight regular season games (plus ten games for the Tampa Bay Lightning) and three playoff games. Colorado was given permission to include Muir's name on the Stanley Cup because one of his three playoff games was played in the conference finals.
^ Six players also won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996: Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Jon Klemm, Stephane Yelle, Patrick Roy and Adam Foote.
- David Aebischer was the first player born and trained in Switzerland to win the Stanley Cup.
Broadcasting
editIn Canada, the series was televised on CBC. In the United States, ESPN aired the first two games while ABC broadcast the rest of the series.
See also
editReferences
edit- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.
External links
edit- "CNNSI.com – 2001 NHL playoffs". Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved April 27, 2008.