How Is The NHL Playoffs Going To Work?
The NHL playoffs are just around the corner, and we’re all wondering how they’re going to work. Here’s a breakdown of what we know so far.
Introduction
The NHL playoffs are just around the corner, and we’re here to give you a quick rundown of how they work. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning that once a team loses, they’re out. The tournament starts with 16 teams: the top team in each of the four divisions, and two wild card teams from each conference.
What is the NHL Playoffs?
The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the playoff championship team.
In order to make the playoffs, a team must first clinch a playoff berth. There are two ways to do this: either by winning their divisional championship, or by earning one of the two wild card spots in their conference.
Once the playoff field is set, the bracket is reseeded so that the divisional champions face the wild card teams in the first round. The second round matches up the remaining teams in each conference, and the conference finals determine who will face off for the Stanley Cup.
How is the NHL Playoffs Going to Work?
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, teams compete for the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The playoffs begin in April and continue into June.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). The teams that qualify, eight from each conference, are seeded according to their regular-season records.
During the first two rounds of the playoffs, the division winner with the best record in each conference is matched against the wild-card team with the worst record; while the other division winner is matched against the wild-card team with the second-worst record. The winners of each series advance to play each other in a semifinal series. In each conference, the team left standing after all seven games of their playoff series moves on to play for the Stanley Cup championship in a best-of-seven series against either their conference rival or an opponent from outside their conference.
This year, due to Covid-19, things look a bit different. The NHL has divided its teams up into four separate “Hub Cities” where they will play their games without any fans present. The hub cities are: Edmonton, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Los Angeles, California. Each of these cities has been carefully selected based on public health guidelines and ability to accommodate all of the necessary logistics required to host an NHL playoff season.
Conclusion
The NHL playoffs are set to resume on August 1st with the qualifying round. The conference quarterfinals, conference semifinals, and conference finals will be played in a best-of-seven series. The Stanley Cup Final will be a best-of-seven series played between the Eastern Conference champion and the Western Conference champion.
