Who’s In the NHL Playoffs?
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If you’re a hockey fan, you’re probably wondering who’s in the NHL playoffs. Here’s a quick rundown of the teams that are still in the running.
Eastern Conference
The Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers are in the Eastern Conference.
Atlantic Division
The Atlantic Division is a division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The division was created after the 1993 expansion, which added the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. It is also home to Original Six team, the Boston Bruins.
As of the 2019-20 NHL season, the Atlantic Division has 7 teams:
-Boston Bruins
-Buffalo Sabres
-Detroit Red Wings
-Florida Panthers
-Montreal Canadiens
-Ottawa Senators
-Tampa Bay Lightning
Metropolitan Division
The Metropolitan Division is a division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The division was created at the start of the 2013–14 NHL season as part of a realignment of the NHL’s American franchises. It is also referred to as the Metro Division.
The Metropolitan Division consists of seven teams located in northeastern United States: the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Western Conference
The Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, and Anaheim Ducks all clinched playoff berths in the Western Conference. The first two rounds of the playoffs will be best-of-seven series.
Central Division
The Central Division is a division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). With the realignment that took place prior to the 2013–14 NHL season, the Central Division currently has 7 teams. It was previously home to 8 teams, but the Winnipeg Jets were moved to the Western Conference’s newly created Pacific Division after Winnipeg’s 2011 relocation.
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks
-Record: 34-37-11 (79 points)
-Streak: W1
-Home record: 23-14-4
-Away record: 11-23-7
-Goals for: 213 (24th)
-Goals against: 251 (19th)
Calgary Flames
-Record: 50-25-7 (107 points)
Divisional position: 2nd in the Pacific, 5th in the Western Conference
Streak: L1 Home record: 28-11-4 Away record: 22-14-3 Goals for: 247 (18th) Goals against 217 (7th)
Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of the Finals.
Format
The Stanley Cup Playoffs is an 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.
Schedule
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that have qualified by having one of the top 16 records in the NHL regular season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in April and end in June, with the Stanley Cup Final taking place in mid-June.
Playoff seeding
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are an elimination tournament consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The playoffs are structured so that higher seeds have an advantage:
In the first round, the lowest seed plays against the highest seed, and the 2nd lowest seed plays against the 2nd highest seed (these match-ups are commonly referred to as the “wild card” games).
In the second round, the winners of each first-round series play each other. The match-ups for this round are based on seedings: 1st plays 8th, 2nd plays 7th, 3rd plays 6th, and 4th plays 5th.
Byes
The three divisional champions in each conference automatically qualify for the playoffs, regardless of their regular season record. These teams are seeded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd based on their regular season records. The next five best teams in each conference also qualify for the playoffs, regardless of divisional alignment, and are seeded 4th through 8th based on their regular season records.
