The Playoffs

The Stanley Cup playoffs are the best time of the year for the NHL and it's great for all the fans that love to watch the hockey games. The tempo, speed and excitement of the playoffs really picks up during these post-season games. All the teams have been playing hard to reach the playoffs and once they get there they really turn it up so they can keep advancing to the final round...the infamous Stanley Cup Final! There are essentially a total of eight teams from each of the two conferences that qualify for the playoffs based on regular season points totals.

Playoff Qualification

The NHL playoffs consist of four rounds of best-of-seven series. That means each team will need to win at least 4 games to advance to the next round. Once the regular season has completed, there will be a total of 16 teams that will be in the playoffs trying to win their way to the final round. The top three teams in each division earn automatic berths (6 teams per conference) and the next two teams in the conference earn wild-card spots. The wild-card spots are exciting to watch as the teams will be playing like the playoffs have already started, trying to get into the last playoff spots, making the games really exciting to watch.

First Round Matchups

The playoffs start with the first round pitting the top ranked team in the conference against the lower seeded wild-card, and the other division winner against the higher ranked wild-card. Then the second and third place teams in each division play each other, and the first round winners will meet in the second round. As far as how the conferences are matched: The Western Conference (Pacific vs. Central) and Eastern Conference (Atlantic vs. Metropolitan) finals will determine who faces off in the Stanley Cup Final.

Schedule and Home Ice Advantage

The playoffs typically start in mid-to-late April, shortly after the regular season concludes. The top teams in the regular season also get home ice advantage which can be crucial in the early rounds. Teams play an alternating home/away schedule in a 2-2-1-1-1 format until one team wins four games. Each series builds up as the games get closer to game seven if it goes that far. At the beginning of the playoffs, there are games on TV every night and if you're lucky enough to attend a live game, you'll see just how electric the atmosphere is in the arena. Some fans will even wave the white towel as one of the traditions during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Make sure you keep coming back to Team NHL to stay up to date on all the latest news on teams, players and the status of all your favorite teams to see if they advanced. Then see who will be lifting the Cup in June!