How Do NHL Playoffs Work?

How do NHL playoffs work? The Stanley Cup playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the NHL regular season.

Introduction

NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that have qualified for the playoffs. The eight teams in each conference are seeded 1-8 based on their regular season record. The Stanley Cup playoffs begin in April and end in June, with the Stanley Cup Final contested between the conference champions.

How the NHL Playoffs Work

The NHL Playoffs are a tournament held each year to determine the Stanley Cup Champion. The playoffs are a best-of-seven series between the top teams in each conference. The teams are seeded based on their regular season record. The playoffs begin in April and can last until early June.

Conference Quarterfinals

Conference Quarterfinals, also known as the first round, is a best-of-seven series between the two lowest-ranked wild card teams and the two divisional winners with the fewest points from each conference. In the conference quarterfinals, home ice advantage goes to the team with the better regular season record.

The first two games of the series are played at the home arena of the lower-seeded wild card team, while the next two games are played at the home arena of higher-seeded divisional winner. If necessary, games five through seven are played alternately between the two arenas.

In each conference, four division winners are seeded one through four based on regular season record, with the top seed playing the fourth seed, and so on. The three division winners with the most points in each conference automatically earn a top four seed. The remaining division winner will play one of the wild card teams in a best-of-seven series in the first round.

Conference Semifinals

In the Conference Semifinals, the matchup is determined by seeding number. The team with the best record from the regular season will play the team with the worst record remaining and so forth. For example, if the New York Rangers are seeded first and the Philadelphia Flyers are seeded eighth, those two teams would play each other in one of the Semifinal matchups. Just like in the First Round, home-ice advantage goes to the team that had a better regular season record than their opponent

Conference Finals

After the first two rounds of the playoffs, the conference finals pit the winners of each conference against each other. The format is the same as the first two rounds, except that each best-of-seven series is played entirely within one conference. The teams are reseeded at the start of this round so that the team with the best record in each conference plays the lowest-seeded remaining team in that conference, while the other series matches up the two other remaining teams in each conference.

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. Named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada who donated it in 1892, the Stanley Cup originally was inscribed with the words “From Stanley of Preston, the gift of Governor General.” The Stanley Cup has been awarded every year since 1893, except for 1919 when there was a Spanish flu outbreak and no championship was contested. professional ice hockey teams.

Conclusion

The Stanley Cup playoffs ( French: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) 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. The final round of the playoffs, the Stanley Cup Finals, is played between the two conference champions and determines the winner of the Stanley Cup.