How Many Games are in the NHL Playoffs?
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The NHL playoffs are upon us and there’s no better time to take a look at how many games are in the playoffs. The answer may surprise you.
How the NHL Playoffs Work
The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven series between the top eight teams in each conference. The winners of each series advance to the next round until the conference finals. The conference champions then face off in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded to the National Hockey League playoff winner. It is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, who was the Governor General of Canada when he donated it in 1892. The Stanley Cup is made of silver and is about 35 inches tall and 13.5 inches across at its base. It weighs about 34 pounds and has a capacity of 14 ounces.
There are three parts to the Stanley Cup: the bowl, the band, and the stem. The bowl is the most recognizable part of the Stanley Cup and it is where the names of the winning players, coaches, and staff are engraved. The band is made up of five pieces of silver that are riveted together and it contains 13 rows of Names of players from winning teams since 1906. The stem is a hollow tube that goes through the center of the band and it is used to lift or carry the Stanley Cup.
The Conference Quarterfinals
In the Conference Quarterfinals, the top three seeds in each division earn automatic bids to the Playoffs. The next two best records in each conference also qualify for the playoffs, giving us a total of eight teams from each conference. These teams are then seeded according to their regular season records.
The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series. The team with the better regular season record will host games one, two, five and seven* (*if necessary). The lower-seeded team will host games three, four and six (if necessary).
To determine which team plays which in the first round, we use a process called “seeding”. The three division winners in each conference (seeded first through third) and the two Wild Card teams (seeded fourth and fifth) are ranked according to their regular season points totals.
The Conference Semifinals
The Conference Semifinals are the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The four remaining teams in each conference — eight teams total — compete in best-of-seven series with the winners advancing to the Conference Finals.
In the Conference Semifinals, the higher-seeded team receives home-ice advantage, meaning they host Games 1, 2 and 5 (if necessary). The lower-seeded team hosts Games 3 and 4 (if necessary). If the series is tied after six games, a Game 7 is played.
The Conference Finals
The Conference Finals are the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The two remaining teams in each conference will play each other in a best-of-seven series. The Conference Finals are scheduled to start on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
The 2021 Stanley Cup Finals will be the championship series of the 2020-21 NHL season and the culmination of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference champion and Eastern Conference champion will compete for the Stanley Cup.
The Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final is the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL), a best-of-seven playoff between the two conference champions who have advanced from the first two rounds of the playoffs. The winner of the Stanley Cup Final receives the Stanley Cup, which is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. Originally commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, it was intended to be a trophy for Canada’s top-ranking amateur hockey club.
The NHL’s playoff format has changed several times since 1918, when playoffs were introduced to determine a league champion prior to competition for the Stanley Cup. Currently, 16 teams – eight each from the league’s Eastern and Western Conferences – qualify for the playoffs each season. The conference champions then compete in the Stanley Cup Final.
Since 1947, when NHL teams began playing for the Stanley Cup under a best-of-seven playoff format, there have been 60 series and one tie: In 1950, Detroit and New York skated to a 3–3–1 record after seven games; all subsequent series have been played to a decision. Of those 60 series, 27 have gone to seven games and 33 have ended in six games (including three appearance by teams who swept their way through).
How Many Games are in Each Round of the Playoffs?
The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-five series. The second round is a best-of-seven series. The conference finals are a best-of-seven series. The Stanley Cup Final is a best-of-seven series.
The Conference Quarterfinals
The first round of the playoffs is known as the Conference Quarterfinals. In this round, the two wild card teams in each conference (the teams with the two best records that did not win their division) play each other in a best-of-five series. The other two series in each conference are match-ups between the division winners. These series are also best-of-five.
The Conference Semifinals
In the Conference Semifinals, the division winner with the best record in each conference is matched against the wild-card team with the lesser record; and the division winner with the second-best record in each conference is matched against the wild-card team with the better record.
The Conference Finals
The Conference Finals are the last step before the Stanley Cup Final, and they’re comprised of the two winners from the Round 2 series. Just like the first two rounds, the Conference Finals are a best-of-seven series.
The Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final is a best-of-seven series between the champions of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893, making it the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The Stanley Cup Final is one of the most watched annual sporting events in the world.
How Many Teams Make the Playoffs?
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the North American major professional sports leagues.
The Conference Quarterfinals
The Conference Quarterfinals, or first round, is a best-of-five series. The team with the better regular season record plays the team with the worse regular season record, and so on. Home ice advantage goes to the team with the better record; they host games 1, 2, and 5 (if necessary). The higher-seeded team will also host games 3 and 4 (if necessary).
The Conference Semifinals
The Conference Semifinals are the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Semifinals consist of two best-of-seven series between conference rivals that qualified for the playoffs through the regular season standings. The four remaining teams are seeded according to their regular season record, with the top seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the second seed playing against the next-lowest remaining seed.
The Conference Finals
The Conference Finals are the third round of the playoffs. The two winners of the Conference Semifinals play each other in best-of-seven series to determine who will advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final is the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL), a professional ice hockey league. The Stanley Cup is awarded to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. There are four rounds of playoffs, each consisting of one best-of-seven series. The teams that advance to each round are determined by a best-of-seven series played between two teams in their respective conferences, with four teams from each conference qualifying for the playoffs.
