Which NHL Teams Are In The Playoffs?

The NHL playoffs are upon us and it’s time to find out which teams are in and which are out. Here’s a look at the teams that are fighting for the Stanley Cup.

NHL Teams

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and seven in Canada. NHL teams are divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

Eastern Conference

As of the 2019-20 NHL season, the Eastern Conference has 16 teams. These are the Bruins, Sabres, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Capitals, Lightning, Panthers, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Senators and Red Wings.

Western Conference

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams: 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada.

As of the 2019–20 season, the Western Conference has 14 teams divided into two divisions: the Central Division and the Pacific Division. The Central Division comprises the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets. The Pacific Division is made up of the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks.

The top three teams in each division automatically qualify for the playoffs. The two remaining spots are wild cards, which go to the two teams with the next best records regardless of divisional affiliation.

NHL Playoffs

As the regular season comes to an end, the playoff picture is starting to take shape. There are a few teams that have clinched a spot, but most are still fighting for their lives. let’s take a look at the teams that are in and the teams that are on the bubble.

Eastern Conference

As of the 2020-2021 NHL season, the Eastern Conference Playoffs include the following teams:
-Boston Bruins
-Washington Capitals
-New York Islanders
-Pittsburgh Penguins
-Montreal Canadiens
-Tampa Bay Lightning
– Carolina Hurricanes
-Florida Panthers

Western Conference

The Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) is one of two conferences of the league. Its counterpart is the Eastern Conference.

The Western Conference was created in 1926 as the Clarence Campbell Conference, in recognition of then-NHL President Clarence Campbell, replacing the NHL’s predecessor organization, the Western Canada Hockey League. The conference and its divisions were created at that time mainly to accommodate syndication television deals which at that time were only available in Canadian and American markets west of the Mississippi River; all Eastern games were televised by CBC Television and all Western games were televised by Chicago-based WGN-TV.

As of the 2020–21 NHL season, the Western Conference consists of 15 teams organized into 3 divisions:

Central Division: Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues
Northwest Division: Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks
Pacific Division: Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks

Final Thoughts

Now that we know which NHL teams are in the playoffs, it’s time to start thinking about who will come out on top. Will the Tampa Bay Lightning be able to defend their Stanley Cup title? Can the Vegas Golden Knights make a run at the Cup again? Only time will tell.