The NHL Bracket Playoffs are Here!
Contents
- The NHL Bracket Playoffs are Here!
- How the NHL Bracket Playoffs Work
- The Top 8 Teams in the NHL Bracket Playoffs
- The First Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
- The Second Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
- The Third Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
- The Fourth Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
- The Stanley Cup Finals
- The NHL Bracket Playoffs: Past Winners
- The NHL Bracket Playoffs: Future Plans
The NHL Bracket Playoffs are here! Follow along as we provide analysis and predictions for all of the matchups.
The NHL Bracket Playoffs are Here!
The NHL bracket playoffs are upon us! This year, there are 16 teams vying for the Stanley Cup The playoffs will begin on Wednesday, April 10th and will continue until a champion is crowned in June.
There are four rounds in the NHL playoffs The first round is a best-of-seven series between the two Wild Card teams in each conference. The winner of each series moves on to the Conference Semifinals where they will face the top seed in their conference. Again, this is a best-of-seven series.
The Conference Finals feature the two remaining teams in each conference battling it out in another best-of-seven series. The winners of each Conference Final will meet in the Stanley Cup Final, which is also a best-of-seven series.
So who are the contenders this year? In the Eastern Conference we have the Tampa Bay Lightning Boston Bruins Washington Capitals Toronto Maple Leafs Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. In the Western Conference we have the Nashville Predators Winnipeg Jets Vegas Golden Knights San Jose Sharks Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames
It’s going to be an exciting playoff run and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top!
How the NHL Bracket Playoffs Work
The NHL bracket playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held every year to determine the Stanley Cup champion.
The playoffs begin in April and end in June, with the top 16 teams in the league qualifying. The Playoff Bracket is made up of four rounds: the first round (or qualifying round), the conference quarterfinals, the conference semifinals, and the conference finals
The Qualifying Round features the bottom eight teams in the league playing each other in best-of-five series. The winners of these qualify for the main bracket, where they will face off against the top four seeds in each conference.
The first round of the main bracket is the conference quarterfinals, which are best-of-seven series. The conference semifinals and finals are also best-of-seven series.
The Stanley Cup Finals pit the winner of the Eastern Conference against the winner of the Western Conference in a best-of-seven series.
Whichever team wins four games first is crowned Stanley Cup champion!
The Top 8 Teams in the NHL Bracket Playoffs
The NHL Bracket Playoffs are here and the top 8 teams in the league are set to face off! The first round of the playoffs begins on Wednesday, April 10th and will feature the following matchups:
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) Carolina Hurricanes
(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
(3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) New York Islanders
(4) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Capitals are the defending Stanley Cup champions and are the favorites to win it all again this year. They finished the regular season with the best record in the league and will take on a Carolina team that is making their first playoff appearance since 2009.
The Lightning are also one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year. They had the best record in the league during the regular season and will take on a Blue Jackets team that is making their first playoff appearance in franchise history.
The Flyers finished 3rd in the Metropolitan Division and will take on an Islanders team that is also making their first playoff appearance since 2016. The Bruins finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division and will take on a Maple Leafs team that is looking to make a deep run in the playoffs after losing in the first round last year.
The First Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
The first round of the NHL bracket playoffs are upon us and there are some great match-ups to keep an eye on. In the Western Conference the top-seeded Nashville Predators will take on the Colorado Avalanche who snuck into the playoffs as the eighth and final seed. The Preds are looking to make a deep run in the playoffs this year after coming up just short in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against a Colorado team that has nothing to lose and is led by one of the league’s best players in Nathan MacKinnon.
In the Eastern Conference the Tampa Bay Lightning will look to continue their dominance from the Regular Season as they take on the New Jersey Devils The Bolts had one of the best seasons in recent memory, but they’ll be up against a Devils team that is no pushover and is led by former MVP Taylor Hall. Other first-round match-ups to keep an eye on include the Boston Bruins taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Pittsburgh Penguins taking on the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Second Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
The Second Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs starts tomorrow and we cannot wait! This year’s bracket is stacked with some of the best teams in the league and we know that it is going to be an exciting series.
Some of the match-ups that we are most looking forward to seeing are:
-The Tampa Bay Lightning vs. The Washington Capitals
This is sure to be an exciting series as both teams are loaded with offensive firepower. The Lightning will need to find a way to slow down Alexander Ovechkin if they want to advance to the next round.
-The Nashville Predators vs. The Winnipeg Jets
This is a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals and we expect nothing less than a seven-game battle between these two Central Division rivals. The Predators will need to contain Patrik Laine if they want to have a chance in this series.
The Third Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
It’s time for the third round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs! This is where things really start to heat up, as the teams that have made it this far are all fighting for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. Who will come out on top? We’ll have to wait and see!
The Fourth Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs
The Fourth Round of the NHL Bracket Playoffs is finally here! After an exciting first three rounds, we are down to the final four teams who will compete for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup This round is sure to be just as thrilling as the first, so be sure to catch all the action. Who will come out on top? Tune in to find out!
The Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals are the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Championship Series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup North America’s oldest professional sports trophy. The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893, making it one of the oldest professional sports trophies in North America The Stanley Cup Finals have been played annually since 1947, making it one of the longest-running professional sports championships in North America The Stanley Cup Finals are currently played between the Eastern and Western Conference champions.
The NHL Bracket Playoffs: Past Winners
The NHL Bracket Playoffs are here, and we’re excited to see who will come out on top! In case you’re not familiar, the NHL Bracket Playoffs is an annual tournament in which the top 16 teams in the league compete for the Stanley Cup
To help get you into the spirit of the playoffs, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the past winners. In no particular order, here are the teams that have come out on top in recent years
-The Washington Capitals (2018)
-The Pittsburgh Penguins (2017)
-The Chicago Blackhawks (2016)
-The Los Angeles Kings (2015)
Who will be crowned this year’s champion? We’ll have to wait and see!
The NHL Bracket Playoffs: Future Plans
With the NHL bracket playoffs just around the corner, fans are wondering what the future holds for their favorite teams While there is always speculation about who will win and who will lose, the truth is that anything can happen in the playoffs. In recent years we have seen teams that were expected to do well falter, and teams that were not expected to do well rise to the occasion.
One thing is for sure, though: the NHL bracket playoffs are always exciting. They are a time when rivalries are renewed and new ones are formed. They are a time when heroes are made and legends are born. If you love hockey, then the playoffs are definitely a time to get excited about.
So what can fans expect in the future? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: the NHL bracket playoffs are always worth watching.