How Does the NHL Playoffs Work 2021?
The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that qualify for the playoffs.
How the NHL Playoffs Work
The playoffs are here and it’s time to get into how they work. The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven tournament where the top seed in each conference plays the lowest remaining seed. The second seed plays the next-lowest remaining seed, and so on.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs Format
The Stanley Cup Playoffs is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner of the Stanley Cup.Eight teams from each of the two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season points totals. seeded according to their conference and divisional standings. The final playoff bracket is not determined until all Stanley Cup Playoff seeds have been determined.
The tournament starts with the First Round, which features two matchups in each conference:
Seed 1 vs. Seed 4
Seed 2 vs. Seed 3
In the First Round, the higher-seeded team in each matchup plays at home for Games 1 and 2 (and, if necessary, Games 5 and 7), while the lower-seeded team is at home for Games 3 and 4 (and, if necessary, Game 6). The format then changes in the Second Round, with the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals being played in a best-of-seven format regardless of seedings. Home ice advantage again goes to the higher seed in each series; however, unlike in prior rounds, it is not necessarily true that this advantage will go to whichever team earned more points during regular season play. Instead, it goes to whichever remaining playoff team had more points during regular season play.
The first two rounds of playoffs arestandard best-of-seven series. In all other rounds, teams score one point for every game won, regardless of whether it was won in regulation time or overtime/shootout. The top four teams in each conference advance to round two (the Conference Semifinals), while the bottom four are eliminated from playoff contention. In the second round,matchups are reseeded so thatthe highest remaining seed faces off against the lowest remaining seed (unless there was aFirst Round upset between division rivalsin which case those division rivals would face off against one another again even if theyare no longer seeds #1–4).
The Conference Finals follow a similar reseeding pattern as before:the highest remaining seed faces off against lowest remaining seed.(Again, this could potentially createa matchup between division rivals who meteach other already if there was an upset inthe Second Round.) The winners of thosetwo series then advance to face off inthe Stanley Cup Finals.”
The Qualifying Round
The qualifying round is a best-of-five series that takes place between the 16th and 24th seeds in the playoffs. In this round, the 16th seed plays the 17th seed, the 18th seed plays the 19th seed, and so on. The qualifying round is a new addition to the playoffs; it was introduced for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The qualifying round is followed by the first round, which is a best-of-seven series between the eight winners of the qualifying round and the 8 teams that finished in the top half of the standings. The first round is followed by the second round (another best-of-seven series), the conference finals (a best-of-seven series), and finally, the Stanley Cup Finals (a best-of-seven series).
The First Round
The first round of the playoffs, or the qualifying round, is a best-of-five series between the bottom seed in each conference and the wild card team with the better record. The higher remaining seed in each conference gets to play the lower wild card team, while the other series features the second and third seeds. The winners advance to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Second Round
The second round of the playoffs is generally considered to be the most exciting, as the teams that have made it this far are the cream of the crop and each series is very evenly matched. The first round is a best-of-seven series, meaning that the first team to win four games advances to the next round. In the second round, the teams are re-seeded so that the team with the best record in each conference plays the team with the worst record in that conference.
The format for the rest of the playoffs is also a best-of-seven series. The winning team in each series advances to the next round, until only two teams are left. These two teams then face off in the Stanley Cup Final, which is also a best-of-seven series. The team that wins four games in this final series is crowned Stanley Cup champions!
The Conference Finals
After the first two rounds of the playoffs, the field is then narrowed down to just four teams: the two remaining clubs in each conference. The surviving clubs in the Western Conference will face off against each other in the Conference Finals, while the remaining teams in the East will square off in the other Conference Finals. The two winners of these respective series will then advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final is the NHL’s championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The Stanley Cup Final is a best-of-seven series played between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions, who qualify by winning their best-of-seven playoff series. The first two games of the Stanley Cup Final are played at home ice of the team with the better regular season record, with subsequent games alternating between the two clubs’ home arenas.
How to Qualify for the NHL Playoffs
The NHL playoffs is an elimination tournament consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the Stanley Cup champions. Eight teams from each of the two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season points totals.
Regular Season Standings
In order to make the playoffs, a team must first qualify by finishing the regular season in one of the top three spots in their division. If a team finishes outside of the top three, they will not be eligible for the playoffs. The regular season standings are determined by a points system, with teams earning two points for every win and one point for every overtime or shootout loss.
In addition to qualifying based on their regular season standings, teams can also clinch a playoff spot if they are the best second-place team in their conference. The NHL uses a complex system to determine who the best second-place team is, but it essentially comes down to looking at each team’s record against teams that finish in playoff positions.
Tiebreakers
In the case of teams finishing with identical records, the following tiebreakers are applied in order:
1. Fewer games lost (i.e., more wins, including shootout and overtime losses)
2. Greater goal differential
3. Greater number of goals scored
4. If the tied teams are from the same division, then the team that finished lower in the standings during that season is eliminated from playoff contention and the other advances to the next round.
5. If the tied teams are from different divisions, then it goes to a mini-tournament involving those two teams only to determine which advances
6. If three or more teams are still tied after those steps, then it goes back to step 1 for only those remaining tied teams
NHL Playoff Bracket
The NHL Playoffs are an elimination tournament held each spring to determine the Stanley Cup champions. The playoffs are contested between 16 teams in the Western Conference and 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. The Conference champions are awarded the Presidents’ Trophy.
The First Round
In the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the top three teams in each division earn berths in the playoffs. The next two teams in terms of total points in the conference, regardless of division, earn the wild card spots. Wild card teams are then slotted into playoff positions two through seven based on regular season point totals.
In the First Round, the division winner with the most points in the conference faces the wild card team with the fewest points while the other division winner and wild card team face each other. The matchups are re-seeded after every round.
The Second Round
The Second Round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series played between the four remaining teams in each conference. The team that had the best regular-season record in each conference is matched up against the team that advanced from the First Round with the worst regular-season record. The other two teams in each conference play each other.
The Conference Finals
After the first two rounds of the playoffs, the field is narrowed down to four teams, two from each conference. These teams then compete in the Conference Finals, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.
In the Conference Finals, the team that finished with the better regular-season record is given home-ice advantage. This means that they will host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 (if necessary). The other team will host Games 3, 4, and 6 (if necessary).
The Conference Finals are played in a best-of-seven series. In other words, the first team to win four games moves on to the next round. If the series is tied after seven games, then there will be a sudden-death Game 8 to determine who advances.
The Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final is the NHL’s championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America’s oldest professional sports trophy. The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893 and is named after Sir Frederick Stanley, the Governor General of Canada who donated it as an award to Canada’s top-ranked amateur hockey club. The Stanley Cup Final is a best-of-seven series played between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions, with home-ice advantage alternating between the two conferences each year. In 2021, the Cup will be played entirely in Canada for the first time since 1999 due to ongoing concerns related to COVID-19.
The team that wins four games during the Final round is awarded the Stanley Cup. If the score is tied after four games, then additional “sudden death” overtime periods are played until a winner is determined. In 2021, all rounds of the playoffs will be played in a “bubble” format in which all games are taking place in one or two specific locations in order to limit travel and possible exposure to COVID-19.
The 2021 Stanley Cup Finals will take place from May 27 – June 13, with games taking place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
