NHL Season Starts October 12th

The 2017-2018 NHL season is just around the corner! Get excited for the return of our favorite sport by checking out these top 10 reasons why we love hockey.

Introduction

The National Hockey League (NHL) season is set to begin on October 12th. This will be the 101st season of play for the NHL. The league will consist of 31 teams, with each team playing 82 regular season games. The Stanley Cup playoffs will then commence in April, with the Stanley Cup Finals taking place in June.

NHL Season Starts

The National Hockey League (NHL) season is about to start and there is a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming season. Many people are looking forward to watching their favourite teams and players compete for the Stanley Cup.

Pre-season

Pre-season is a time for NHL teams to try out new lineups and systems and evaluate their talent before the start of the regular season. It is also a time for players to try to make an impression on the coaching staff and earn a spot on the opening night roster. Pre-season games are not televised nationally, but they are available on NHL Center Ice and NHL Network.

Regular season

The National Hockey League’s (NHL) regular season starts October 12th. Each team will play 82 games before the playoffs start in April. The NHL playoffs consist of sixteen teams, eight from each conference (Western and Eastern). The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, as well as two ‘wild card’ teams from each conference (the two teams with the next highest number of points). The Stanley Cup Finals is a best-of-seven series between the champions of the Western and Eastern conferences.

Stanley Cup playoffs

The Stanley Cup playoffs (French: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) are an annual 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.

The first successful championship challenge for Lord Stanley’s sake was made by Amateur Hockey Association of Canada champion Montreal Victorias in 1893. Montreal met Kingston Frontenacs in a series of games, winning all matches save one: a 2–1 loss on March 17 in Kingston. After their defeat, Montreal brought the Stanley Cup back east, where it remained for 25 years until another challenge was made during the 1918 championship series. That year, professional Quebec Bulldogs met PCHA champions Vancouver Millionaires in a best-of-five series, which Vancouver won 3–2. Quebec’s professional status voided their Amateur status and with it, their ability to compete for and defend the Stanley Cup.[1]

In 1947, professional teams were allowed back into Stanley Cup competition when NHL president Clarence Campbell issued an edict that established playoff rules to decide disputes arising from concurrent triumphs by Ottawa and Detroit just as a new season was about to begin. Previously, if two pro teams tied atop standings at season’s end—a frequent occurrence given unscheduled games needed to make up for snowouts—the title was awarded to whichever club had scored more total goals over the schedule; if they were even in that category as well, it went to whichever team had won more individual games regardless of whether or not those contests had been scheduled.[2]

Conclusion

The NHL season starts on October 12th and it promises to be an exciting one. There are many new players to watch out for and the level of competition is always high. Make sure you don’t miss any of the action and catch all the games on TV or online.