2009 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 15, 2009, after the 2008–09 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played a best-of-seven series for the conference quarterfinals, semifinals, and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The Columbus Blue Jackets made their first appearance in the playoffs in their nine-year history. Previously they had been the only franchise never to have made the playoffs. Also, home teams set a record by going 13–2 in the openers of all the series combined.
There were no playoff games played in the Province of Ontario as this was the first time that the modern Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs both missed the playoffs in the same year. This was the most recent time that the Carolina Hurricanes were in the playoffs until 2019.
The Stanley Cup
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, and began play as an expansion team in 2000.
Doug MacLean was the general manager for the Blue Jackets from 1998 to 2007, and head coach from 2002 to 2004.
Fredrik Norrena in net for the Blue Jackets during the 2006–07 season. The Blue Jackets acquired Norrena during the 2006 off-season, in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Named team captain on March 12, 2008, Rick Nash served in that role until he was traded to the New York Rangers on July 23, 2012.
Nathan Horton during the 2013–14 season. As a result of a postponed game, Horton became the only player in NHL history to have registered a goal, without suiting up for that game.