How the NHL Playoffs Work
How the NHL Playoffs Work: Everything You Need to Know
The Stanley Cup playoffs are upon us and if you’re like most fans, you’re probably wondering how it all works.
Introduction
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America. The NHL is considered to be the premiere professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, along with the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Stanley Cup, considered to be one of the most prestigious professional sports trophies in the world, is awarded annually to the winner of the NHL playoffs. The playoffs are a best-of-seven series played between the 16 teams that qualify.
In order to qualify for the playoffs, a team must first finish in one of the top three spots in their division. The divisional winners are then seeded 1-3, with the top seed playing the lowest seed from either division (regardless of whether their records are better). The second and third seeds play each other, with the winners of each series then meeting in the Conference Finals. The Conference Champions then advance to the Stanley Cup Final to compete for the Stanley Cup.
How the Stanley Cup Playoffs Work
If you’re new to the NHL or just don’t know how the playoffs work, you’re not alone. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a complex system, but we’ll try to break it down for you. The playoffs start with 16 teams, 8 from the Western Conference and 8 from the Eastern Conference. The top team in each conference is given a bye to the second round. The remaining teams in each conference play each other in the first round.
The Format
The National Hockey League (NHL) playoff system is a four-round elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NHL regular season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs, which was originated in 1892, is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other in a best-of-seven series to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Stanley Cup champion.
In the first round, the teams are seeded according to their regular season records. The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, as well as two wild card teams from each conference. These wild card teams are the two teams with the best records who did not win their division. The playoff bracket is then set, with the top seed playing the wild card team and so on.
The second round features the winners of each first-round series playing against each other. The third round is when the Conference Finals take place, and finally, the fourth round is when the Stanley Cup Final is played between the winners of each Conference Final.
During all rounds except for the Stanley Cup Final, if a series is tied at two games apiece, a fifth and sixth game will be played. If one of these games is still tied after regulation time, then overtime will occur where both teams have a chance to score until one team scores and wins the game. If necessary, seventh games are played following this same format until one team has won four games and advances to the next round.
In overtime during the Stanley Cup Final, however, sudden death rules apply where if one team scores during overtime, that team immediately wins regardless of how many goals either team has scored up to that point in overtime. Because of this rule change for just the Stanley Cup Final series, it’s not uncommon for multiple overtimes to be played until one team finally emerges victorious.
The Teams
There are a total of 16 teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 8 from each conference. These teams are the division winners and the next 5 best teams in the conference, based on their regular season record. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of the playoffs.
The Schedule
The NHL regular season is 82 games long, and it typically starts in early October and ends in early April. During the regular season, each team plays every other team in its conference (Eastern or Western) four times—twice at home and twice on the road. They also play every team in the other conference three times—twice at home and once on the road.
At the end of the regular season, the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, as well as two “wild card” teams in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).
The Stanley Cup playoffs are a best-of-seven series played between the eight teams that qualified. The four division winners are seeded one through four based on their regular-season records, with the highest seed getting matched up against the lowest seed, and so on. The first two rounds of the playoffs are played within each conference (i.e., only Eastern Conference teams can play each other in rounds one and two), meaning that, if all goes according to seeds, the Stanley Cup Finals will feature two teams from each conference.
Conclusion
There are a lot of different ways to win in the NHL playoffs. But, in the end, it all comes down to one thing: hoisting the Stanley Cup. Thanks for reading this article and good luck to your favorite team in the playoffs!
