How Does the NHL Playoffs Work?

The NHL playoffs are a thrilling time for hockey fans, but they can be a bit confusing to understand if you’re new to the sport. In this blog post, we’ll break down how the playoffs work so you can follow along and root for your favorite team.

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How the NHL Playoffs Work

The NHL playoffs are a postseason tournament of 16 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs follow a four-round, best-of-seven series schedule. The Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the NHL, is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of the Finals.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs Format

The Stanley Cup Playoffs is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first two rounds are played within the divisional playoff brackets which seeds 1-8 within each conference. The division winner with the best record in each conference is given home ice advantage, meaning they host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7.

The winners of each divisional playoff series then compete in the conference championship series to determine which team will advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Conference seedings are re-seeded again for this round so that the division winner with the best record is not necessarily matched up against the lowest remaining seed. All remaining series are also best-of-seven.

The Stanley Cup Final pits the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. Home ice advantage goes to the team with the better regular season record. The Cup Final is also a best-of-seven series.

How Many Teams Make the Playoffs?

In the National Hockey League (NHL), the playoffs are an elimination tournament that takes place after the conclusion of the regular season. The Stanley Cup, which is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of the playoffs.

The playoffs are consisting of four rounds. The first three rounds are best-of-seven series; all games must be won by two goals in order to win a series. The fourth round, which is known as the Stanley Cup Finals, is a best-of-seven series with no requirement to win by two goals; it is possible for a team to win the Stanley Cup in overtime.

In order to make the playoffs, a team must finish either first, second, or third in its division, or be one of two wild-card teams in each conference. There are eight teams from each conference that make it to the playoffs: three division winners and five wild card teams.

How is Home-Ice Advantage Determined?

Home-ice advantage in the NHL playoffs is determined by regular-season points. The team with the most points in the conference plays the team with the fewest points. The second- and third-ranked teams also face off, as do the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams. In each case, the higher seed gets home-ice advantage, meaning they host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary).

What is the First Round of the Playoffs?

The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series between the top four teams in each conference. The team with the better record has home-ice advantage, meaning they will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary). The other team will host Games 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).

What is the Second Round of the Playoffs?

In the second round of the playoffs, the top four seeds in each conference play each other in a best-of-seven series. The winners advance to the conference finals.

What is the Third Round of the Playoffs?

The Third Round of the NHL playoffs is also known as the Conference Finals. This round determines which team from each conference will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The format for the Third Round is a best-of-seven series. The higher seed will host games one, two, five, and seven while the lower seed will host games three, four, and six.

The Stanley Cup Final

The Stanley Cup Final is the NHL’s championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The Stanley Cup Final series is played in a best-of-seven format. The team that wins four games first wins the series and is crowned Stanley Cup champion.

What Happens if the Series is Tied?

If the series is tied after the initial four games, then a fifth and deciding game will be played. Theformat for the fifth game is different than the rest of the series, as it is a sudden death game. This means that the first team to score in the game will win, regardless of how many goals they score.

How Many Games are Played in the Playoffs?

The National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the 16 teams that qualify for the playoffs. The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series of the NHL playoffs.