Sixteen teams qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The bracket is largely division-based, includes four wild-card places and uses best-of-seven series through all four rounds.
At a glance
- The top three teams in each division claim 12 playoff places.
- Two additional teams in each conference qualify as wild cards.
- The bracket is set rather than reseeded after every round.
How teams qualify
The top three finishers in each of the NHL’s four divisions account for 12 of the 16 playoff teams. The remaining four places go to the next two highest finishers in each conference, regardless of division. Those are the wild-card teams.
How the first round is arranged
The division winner with the better record in each conference faces the lower wild card, while the other division winner faces the higher wild card. The second- and third-place teams in each division play one another.
Why the bracket matters
The NHL uses a set bracket that can produce a second-round matchup between teams from the same division. It does not simply reseed every surviving team by regular-season record after each round.
How a series is won
Every round is best-of-seven. The first team to win four games advances. The playoffs move from the first round to the second round, conference finals and Stanley Cup Final.
Standings can remain complicated
Regulation wins and other tiebreakers can matter when teams finish with the same number of points. For current races, use the NHL’s official standings and playoff-format pages because clinching scenarios can change daily.
Sources
AskNovus links readers to the official sources so the underlying information can be reviewed directly.
This is an original AskNovus explanation based on the linked sources. It does not reproduce a publisher’s article. Featured image: Klim Musalimov via Unsplash. Information may change after publication; check the official sources for updates.