How Do the NHL Hockey Playoffs Work

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to grasp how the Stanley Cup Playoffs work. The NHL postseason used to be about the top eight teams in each conference, straight up. The process of determining those eight conference teams changed in 2014, though, as the league decided to give more weight on the top performers of each division. With all that said, let’s now look at the basics of how the Stanley Cup Playoff works.

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Here’s How The NHL Hockey Playoffs Work

Qualifying for the playoffs

The 82-game schedule is hell for all teams. And after taking care of their respective businesses in the regular season, eight teams from each conference will make the playoffs. The top three clubs in each division automatically clinch postseason spots, giving both conferences a set of six playoff teams.

The other two playoff slots in each conference will be filled in by the “wild cards”. These wild card teams are those that had the highest point totals in their conference (regardless of division) but didn’t make it to the top three of their divisions.

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Matchups

After determining which teams will go dancing in the playoffs, it’s time for the NHL to lay out the matchups. Here’s how it goes in the first round:

The division leader that garnered the most points in the conference gets the wild card team with the fewest total points in the first round.

The division leader that finished with the fewest points in the conference will square off with the wild card team that had the highest points total in the regular season.

The second-place clubs in each division will be matched up against the same division’s third place teams.

There won’t be reseeding for the succeeding rounds. Instead, the playoffs will follow the same format used in the NBA and March Madness, where seeds no longer matter in determining matchups.

Home-ice advantage

The home-ice advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs is given to clubs that ranked higher in the regular season standings. The home-ice advantage in the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals, meanwhile, is bestowed to the team that finished with the better record in the regular season.

Series format

Each series is a best-of-seven affair and played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

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