The NHL playoffs begin on April 11th, with sixteen teams competing for the greatest trophy in sports, the Stanley Cup. We thought it would be interesting to take a look at how the playoff teams perform over various social media networks to crown a champion.*
Some notes:
1) The Detroit Red Wings have the most Facebook likes of any playoff team, with 1,238,167.
2) The Vancouver Canucks have the most followers on Twitter of any playoff team, with 247,762.
3) The New York Rangers have the most “People Talking About This” of any playoff team, with 56,950.
Conference Quarterfinals: Facebook Likes
Strong support is a strong foundation for any playoff team. Therefore, we looked at Facebook likes to determine the winners of the conference quarterfinal rounds.
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Eastern Conference |
Western Conference |
|
(1) New York Rangers def. (8) Ottawa Senators |
(1) Vancouver Canucks def. (8) Los Angeles Kings |
|
(2) Boston Bruins def. (7) Washington Capitals |
(7) San Jose Sharks def. (2) St. Louis Blues |
|
(6) New Jersey Devils def. (3) Florida Panthers |
(6) Chicago Blackhawks def. (3) Phoenix Coyotes |
|
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins def. (5) Philadelphia Flyers |
(5) Detroit Red Wings def. (4) Nashville Predators |
Conference Semifinals: Twitter Followers
Hockey games can be won and lost by the smallest measurements, the difference between a shot going in for a goal or ringing off the post. Much like the smallest measurements matter in hockey, the 140-character limit on Twitter means that a short message can make a tremendous impact. Thus, we looked at the number of Twitter followers to decide our conference semifinals.
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Eastern Conference |
Western Conference |
|
(1) New York Rangers def. (6) New Jersey Devils |
(1) Vancouver Canucks def. (7) San Jose Sharks |
|
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins def. (2) Boston Bruins |
(6) Chicago Blackhawks def. (5) Detroit Red Wings |
Conference Finals: People Talking About
Because the playoffs can go on for over two months after an 82-game season, tired players need support from fans to give them an extra boost to the championship. Thus, we looked at “People Talking About” to represent the support that can come from a rabid fanbase.
|
Eastern Conference |
Western Conference |
|
(1) New York Rangers def. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins |
(1) Vancouver Canucks def. (6) Chicago |
Those results set up a rematch of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals: Vancouver and New York.
Stanley Cup Finals: Overall
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it is not enough to excel in one aspect of the game. In order for a team to win, it must be exceptional in all aspects. Thus, we measured all categories to see which team performed the best across all media.
|
Facebook Likes |
Twitter Followers |
“People Talking About” |
|
Vancouver def. New York |
Vancouver def. New York |
New York def. Vancouver |
By leading in two metrics as compared to the Rangers’ one, the Vancouver Canucks win the “Social Stanley”. We hope you enjoyed our breakdown, and we’ll see you once the puck drops.
* All data comes from Friday, April 6th, 2012: the day after the final playoff team was determined.