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Blues 2, Kings 1 F/OT (Blues lead 1-0)
* Alexander Steen (STL): 4th player since 1990 with postseason short-handed goal in OT (Source: Elias Sports Bureau)
* Alexander Steen (STL): 2nd career OT goal (1st in postseason)
* Alexander Steen (STL): scored both goals in game (didn't have a multi-goal game this season)
* STL: snap 8-game losing streak vs LA dating back to last season (reg. season and postseason)
* Justin Williams (LA): scored game-tying goal with 32 seconds left in game
* LA: was 4-0 in OT in last year's postseason
* LA: 1st defending champ to lose 1st postseason game in OT since Red Wings on April 10, 2003
FROM ELIAS:
Shorthanded Goals In Overtime
Stanley Cup Playoffs Since 1990
Team
Tue. Alexander Steen Blues
2006 Fernando Pisani Oilers
2006 Jason Pominville Sabres
1990 Tony Granato Kings

Ducks 3, Red Wings 1 (Ducks lead series 1-0)
* Teemu Selanne (ANA): 42nd career playoff goal (7th among active players); 11th career GW playoff goal (T-6th most among active players)
* Ducks: 2-4 on power play (led Western Conference in power-play pct during regular season)
* Jonas Hiller (ANA): 21 saves on 22 shots (fewest shots faced, fewest saves in a playoff game in his career)
* Red Wings: lost playoff opener for 2nd straight year (lost in 5 games in 1st round last year)
FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: Teemu Selanne broke a 1-1 tie with a power play goal early in the third period and the Ducks went on to take a 3-1 victory over the Red Wings in Game One. The 42-year-old Selanne became the second-oldest player ever to score a game-winning goal in the NHL playoffs; Mark Recchi was 43 when he was credited with the game-winning goal in the Bruins’ 8-1 victory over the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final two years ago. (Recchi scored early in the second period of that game, making the score 2-0, and was credited with the game-winning goal in a game in which Boston had a 5-0 lead at the time that Vancouver scored in the third period.)

Blackhawks 2, Wild 1 (Blackhawks lead series 1-0)
* Bryan Bickell (CHI): game-winning goal in OT (2nd career OT goal in postseason, has 0 career in regular season)
* Marian Hossa (CHI): 37th career playoff goal (tied for 100th most all-time with Wendel Clark, Simon Gagne and Larry Murphy)
* Blackhawks: 1st series lead since winning Stanley Cup in 2010
* Cal Clutterbuck (MIN): 1st career playoff goal
FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: The Blackhawks defeated the Wild, 2-1, in their playoff opener, when Bryan Bickell scored 16:35 into overtime. Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville was behind the bench in a Stanley Cup game for the 140th time in his career, while Minnesota’s Mike Yeo was coaching in his first NHL postseason game. The 139-game difference in playoff experience between the two head coaches is the largest in an NHL postseason series since the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, when Detroit’s Scotty Bowman (348 games of playoff experience entering the series) faced Carolina’s Paul Maurice (30 games); Bowman and the Red Wings won that series in five games.

The 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs begin Tuesday as 3 Western Conference quarterfinals series begin. The Kings, trying to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Red Wings in 1998, will take on the Blues. The Blackhawks, trying to become the first team to win the Stanley Cup after having the league’s most points in the regular season since the Red Wings in 2008, take on the Wild. And the Red Wings, making their 22nd straight playoff appearance, take on the Ducks.

2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Quarterfinals
8 Wild at 1 Blackhawks – Game 1 - 8 ET
* Blackhawks: went 2-0-1 vs Wild during regular season
* Blackhawks: won Presidents’ Trophy for league’s best regular season record (77 pts); a team has not won Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in same season since 2007-08 Red Wings
* Blackhawks: led all Western Conference teams in goals during regular season (155)
* Blackhawks: led NHL in team goals-against average during regular season (1.98)
* Wild: 1st playoff appearance since 2007-08 season
* Wild: have not won a playoff series since 2003 Western Conference Semifinals vs Canucks
* 1st-ever playoff series meeting between these teams

Playoff Results For Presidents’ Trophy Winners Since 2007-08
Winner Points Playoff Result
2012-13 Blackhawks 77 ?
2011-12 Canucks 111 Lost, Conf. Qtrs.
2010-11 Canucks 117 Lost, Cup Final
2009-10 Capitals 121 Lost, Conf. Qtrs.
2008-09 Sharks 117 Lost, Conf. Qtrs.
2007-08 Red Wings 115 Won Stanley Cup

5 Kings at 4 Blues – Game 1 – 8 ET
* Kings: trying to be 1st team to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions since Red Wings in 1997 & 1998
* Kings: 4th straight playoff appearance (team’s longest streak of playoff appearances since making playoffs 7 straight years from 1986-87 through 1992-93)
* Kings: went 3-0-0 vs Blues during regular season
* Kings: swept Blues in 2012 Conference Semifinals
* Blues: only 3rd playoff appearance in last 8 seasons (2nd straight playoff appearance)
* Blues: have won 2 of previous 3 playoff meetings vs Kings all-time

7 Red Wings at 2 Ducks – Game 1 – 10:30 ET
* Red Wings: 22nd straight playoff appearance (longest active postseason streak in the 4 major pro sports)
* Red Wings: went 2-1-0 vs Ducks during regular season
* Red Wings: 7 seed in team’s lowest seed since current playoff format was adopted in 1993-94 (are a 5 seed or lower for 3rd time in last 4 seasons)
* Henrik Zetterberg (DET): 3rd among active players in playoff goals (51)
* Ducks: only 2nd playoff appearance in last 4 seasons after making playoffs in 4 straight seasons from 2005-06 through 2008-09
* Ducks: 2 seed matches highest playoff seed in franchise history (2007 – won Stanley Cup that postseason)
* Ducks: led all Western Conference teams in power play percentage at 21.5 pct (4th overall)
* Red Wings have won 3 of 5 playoff series meetings vs Ducks all-time (Red Wings won last meeting in 2009 Conference Semifinals)

Longest Active Playoff Appearances Streaks
In The Four Major Pro Sports
NHL 22 Detroit Red Wings, 1990-91 to 2012-13
NBA 16 San Antonio Spurs, 1997-98 to 2012-13
NFL 5 Baltimore Ravens, 2008 to 2012
MLB 4 New York Yankees, 2009 to 2012

The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings just may have not seen the last of each other in the Western Conference.

The Red Wings moved back into the playoffs and into the No. 8 spot with their 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. As of Thursday, the Red Wings, who will play in the Eastern Conference next season, would open the playoffs against the Blackhawks.

The two rivals have met in 15 playoff series throughout their history. The Blackhawks hold an 8-7 series advantage. They've played in four playoffs series in the last 25 years. The Blackhawks are 4-0-0 against the Red Wings this season.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are down to four potential Western Conference first-round opponents after the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues assured themselves higher seeds with wins on Tuesday.

The Detroit Red Wings is the team of note on Wednesday. The Red Wings can move into the eighth spot by picking up at least a point against the Los Angeles Kings.

Here's a closer look at all four potential first-round opponents with their records, ROW (regulation + overtime wins, which is used as a tiebreaker), remaining games and best-and-worst-case scenarios.

• Minnesota Wild, 25-18-3, 53 points (seventh place): 21 ROW, two games remaining (vs. Edmonton Friday, at Colorado on Saturday), best case (57 points, fifth place), worst case (53 points, out of the playoffs)
• Columbus Blue Jackets, 22-17-7, 51 points (eighth place): 17 ROW, two games remaining (at Dallas on Thursday, vs. Nashville on Saturday), best case (55 points, seventh place), worst case (51 points, out of the playoffs)
• Detroit Red Wings, 21-16-8, 50 points: 19 ROW, three games remaining (vs. Los Angeles on Wednesday, vs. Nashville on Thursday, at Dallas on Saturday), best case (56 points, seventh place), worst case (50 points, out of the playoffs)
• Dallas Stars, 22-20-4, 48 points: 20 ROW, two games remaining (vs. Columbus on Thursday, vs. Detroit on Saturday), best case (52 points, eighth place), worst case (48 points, out of the playoffs)

Sharks 3, Red Wings 2 (SO)
* Patrick Marleau (SJ): 1st goal in last 8 games
* Sharks: 5-1-0 in last 6 games in Detroit
* Sharks: 2-0-1 vs Red Wings this season
* Red Wings: 1-3-2 in last 6 home games
FROM ELIAS: Patrick Marleau has scored a goal in each of his three games at Joe Louis Arena over the last two seasons. He scored only one goal in 25 regular-season games at Joe Louis Arena over his first 13 seasons in the league (1997–98 through 2010–11).

Canadiens 5, Sabres 1
* Canadiens: clinch playoff berth; take 1-point lead over Bruins in Northeast Division
* Canadiens: won 6 of last 8 games
* P.K. Subban (MTL): PP goal (11), assist; 12 points (2 G, 10 A) in last 8 games
* Peter Budaj (MTL): 15 saves; improves to 7-1-1 this season
FROM ELIAS: Canadiens rookie Alex Galchenyuk extended his point-scoring streak to five games when he scored a goal in the first period of Montreal’s 5–1 win at Buffalo. Galchenyuk is the first Canadiens rookie to record points in each of five consecutive team games in one season since Andrei Kostitsyn had a five-game point streak in March 2007.

Islanders 2, Bruins 1
* Islanders: 8-1-1 in last 10 games (won 3 straight)
* Josh Bailey (NYI): 2 goals (8, 9); 5th career multi-goal game (1st this season)
* Bruins: 1st regulation home loss since March 3 vs Canadiens (8-0-1 between regulation losses)
* Jaromir Jagr (BOS): Assist; registered point in 4 of 5 games since joining Bruins

Senators 3, Flyers 1
* Daniel Alfredsson (OTT): 10th goal of season (17th straight season with at least 10 goals)
* Senators: win snaps 5-game losing streak
* Flyers: lost 3 straight games (outscored 11-3)

Penguins 6, Lightning 3
* Penguins: 3-0-0 vs Lightning this season; won 6 straight vs Lightning
* Penguins: 7-1-0 in last 8 road games, scoring 4+ goals in 6 of those 8 games
* Jussi Jokinen (PIT): 2nd multi-goal game this season
* Lightning: 1st regulation loss in last 7 home games (5-1-1 in those games)

Capitals 3, Hurricanes 1
* Braden Holtby (WSH): career-high 43 saves
* Troy Brouwer (WSH): 2 goals; 2nd multi-goal game this season
* Capitals: won 6 straight
* Hurricanes: lost 7 straight

Jets 7, Panthers 2
* Jets: Season-high 7 goals scored; 6 players scored a goal (Evander Kane scored twice)
* Jets: Won 3 straight after 5-game losing streak
* Jets: 44 points, tied with Rangers for 8th spot in East (Jets played 2 more games than Rangers)
FROM ELIAS: This is the third time in Thrashers/Jets franchise history that the team has won three consecutive games, each by at least a three-goal margin. The previous three-game streaks both came when the team was located in Atlanta (November 2005 and November 2010).

Blues 2, Wild 0
* Brian Elliott (STL): 23 saves; 3rd straight shutout
* Blues: won 6 straight
* Blues: 3-0-0 this season vs Wild
* Wild: 1-5-0 in past 6 games (shut out 3 times)

Kings 3, Avalanche 2 (SO)
* Kings: 6-1-1 in last 8 home games vs Avalanche
* Kings: won 3 straight home games
* Mike Richards (LA): goal, assist; 2 goals, 4 assists during 5-game point streak
* Avalanche: 1 win in last 7 games

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings may be meeting for the final time as division opponents on Friday, but neither team envisions it being the end to their rivalry.

The NHL announced in March the Red Wings would move to the Eastern Conference next season, resulting in them playing the Blackhawks only twice in the regular season.

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