How Does the NHL Playoffs Work in 2022?

The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that have qualified for the playoffs. The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series of the playoffs.

Introduction

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league consisting of 31 teams, founded in 1917. The playoffs are a best-of-seven series between the top eight teams in each of the two conferences, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In order to make the playoffs, a team must finish within the top three in its division, or be one of the next two best teams in its conference (wild card). The playoffs are divided into four rounds:

The first round is a best-of-five series between the division winners and the wild card teams.
The second round is a best-of-seven series between the first round winners.
The third round is the conference finals, a best-of-seven series between the second round winners.
The fourth round is the Stanley Cup Finals, a best-of-seven series between the conference champions.

If any team qualifies for playoff berths by winning a division or conference title, then the remaining playoff spots will be filled by wild card teams.

How the NHL Playoffs Work

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are an annual elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs begin in April and end in June with the Stanley Cup Finals. The top sixteen teams in the NHL qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs are a best-of-seven tournament.

The Qualifying Round

In order to be eligible for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a team must finish within the top 16 seeds in their respective conference. As of the 2021-22 NHL season, this means that a team must have at least a .500 record (or better) to even be considered for playoff contention.

The top three seeds in each conference automatically advance to the first round of the playoffs (the divisional semifinals), while the remaining four teams in each conference compete in a qualifying round to determine who else makes it to the first round. The qualifying round is a best-of-five series, with the winner advancing to play one of the top three seeds in their conference.

The First Round

The First Round of the NHL playoffs is a best-of-seven series between the 16 teams that qualified for the postseason. The Wild Card teams (the two teams with the next-best records in each conference) face off against the division winners that had the best record in each conference in the first round.

The schedule for the first round is as follows:

The top seed in each conference plays the Wild Card team with the lesser record. The other division winner plays the Wild Card team with the better record.

The team with home-ice advantage hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary).

The First Round is a standard best-of-seven series. The team that wins four games advances to the next round, while the losing team is eliminated from the playoffs.

The Second Round

The second round of the playoffs is where things really start to heat up. At this stage, the remaining teams are placed into two brackets (the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference), and they play each other in a best-of-seven series. The team that comes out on top in each bracket then moves on to the Conference Finals.

The Conference Finals

In the Conference Finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other in a best-of-seven series. The team that scores the most goals in four games (or in seven games, if necessary) moves on to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Stanley Cup Final

The Stanley Cup Final is the final series of the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. The annual championship series of the NHL, the Stanley Cup Final determines the league’s championship winning team. The best-of-seven series is played between the playoff’s two conference champions and is held entirely within a single country. The Stanley Cup Final is one of the most watched annual sporting events in North America.

Conclusion

In order to determine the Stanley Cup winner, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The format is a best-of-seven tournament. The winners of the first two rounds advance to the Conference Finals, and the winners of those series move on to the Stanley Cup Final.