Contents
- NHL playoffs: what they are and how they work
- How the playoff bracket is determined
- When the NHL playoffs begin
- The first round of the playoffs
- The second round of the playoffs
- The conference finals
- The Stanley Cup finals
- Key dates for the NHL playoffs
- How to watch the NHL playoffs
- What to expect from the NHL playoffs
The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs.
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NHL playoffs: what they are and how they work
The National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that have qualified for the postseason. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of the playoffs.
In order to make the playoffs, a team must have either won their division, or wild card berth. The divisional winners are seeded one through three based on their regular season point totals. The team with the most points in each conference earns the Presidents’ Trophy and is given home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
The second and third place teams in each division play each other in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of these series advance to play the divisional winners in the second round, also known as the Conference Semifinals.
The Conference Finals are contested by the two remaining teams in each conference, with those winners advancing to compete for the Stanley Cup Final.
How the playoff bracket is determined
The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the 16 teams that qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs culminate in the Stanley Cup Final, whose Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player (MVP) of the entire playoffs.
The Stanley Cup playoffs occur concurrently with those of other major professional hockey leagues and tournaments, including the American Hockey League (AHL) and NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, making it one of a few times each year where hockey fans can watch multiple marquee events on television at once.
When the NHL playoffs begin
The Stanley Cup playoffs are the annual playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs begin in April each year after the conclusion of the NHL’s regular season.
The first round of the playoffs
The first round of the playoffs begins in early April and features the top four teams from each division playing each other in a best-of-seven series. The divisional winners advance to the second round, where they are joined by the two wild-card teams from each conference. From there, the playoffs proceed in a traditional bracket format, with each series getting progressively more difficult as teams are eliminated.
The second round of the playoffs
The second round of the playoffs begins on Saturday, April 13th.
The conference finals
The conference finals in the National Hockey League (NHL) are the last series of games before the Stanley Cup Final. The conference finals are best-of-seven series and are played between the winners of the four divisional playoffs.
The Stanley Cup finals
The Stanley Cup playoffs (also known as the Stanley Cup finals) is an annual professional ice hockey tournament in North America, in which 16 teams from the National Hockey League (NHL) compete for the Stanley Cup championship. playoff games are held between April and June each year.
Key dates for the NHL playoffs
The NHL playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners in each conference are seeded one through four based on their regular season point totals, with the home ice advantage given to the higher seed. Wild card teams are seeded fifth and sixth.
Dates for the 2019 NHL playoffs are:
First round: TBD
Conference semifinals: TBD
Conference finals: TBD
Stanley Cup Finals: TBD
How to watch the NHL playoffs
The National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs are an elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the regular season to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America.
What to expect from the NHL playoffs
The NHL playoffs are upon us, and that can mean only one thing: it’s time to start making your predictions for who will take home the Stanley Cup.
But before you start filling out your brackets, there are a few things you should know about how the NHL playoffs work. For starters, the playoffs are a bracketed tournament, meaning that there is a set number of teams that will make it to the final round. The top two teams in each conference (the Eastern and Western conferences) will automatically qualify for the playoffs, as will the next four teams with the best records in the league (regardless of conference).
Once the field is set, the playoff bracket is determined by seed. The team with the best record in each conference will be given the top seed in their respective conference, while the other qualifying teams will be seeded according to their record.
The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series, meaning that the team with the higher seed will need to win four games before the other team can claim victory. If both teams have won three games apiece after seven games have been played, then awinner will be determined by whichever team scores more goals in total throughout the series.
from there, things get a little bit more complicated. The second round of the playoffs is also a best-of-seven series, but this time it’s between the remaining two teams in each conference. The winners of these series will then advance to their respective conference finals, which are also best-of-seven affairs.
Finally, the last two teams standing will face off in the Stanley Cup Finals. This series is also a best-of-seven, and whoever wins four games first will be crowned champion ofthe NHL.
Of course, predicting who will win each series is easier said than done. There are never any guarantees in sports, and upsets happen all the time in hockey—just ask any fan of Los Angeles Kings about that . But if you’re looking to make some educated guesses about who might come out on top this year, keep an eye on Tampa Bay Lightning , Nashville Predators , Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights in