Everything You Need to Know About the NHL Playoffs

The NHL playoffs follow a similar format to the postseason competitions found in most major North American sports, with teams facing off multiple times in best-of rounds. The two best teams will advance to the Stanley Cup finals, the last of four playoff stages.

Playoff games are often decided by the 'little things' - winning wall battles or surviving a crucial 5-on-3. To keep up with the broadcast lingo, browse our NHL terminology glossary for definitions of everything from 'icing' to 'forecheck'.

First Round

The first round involves a total of 16 NHL franchises. This opening stage is played in a best-of-seven format, meaning that the first team to win four games advances.

The round is seeded, with the division winners paired up with the wildcard entrants. The higher seed also receives home ice advantage, meaning that it will play the two opening games on its home rink as well as game 5 and 7, should the series go that far. The winner of each series advances to the second round.

Second Round

The format in the second round is very similar to that of the previous round. The eight winners of the first round series will progress to another best of seven series.

It is important to note that unlike certain sports, NHL does not reseed in the playoffs. It uses a fixed tournament bracket which means each team knows its potential path through the postseason before lining up for its first game. The higher seed does retain home ice advantage for the second round. The four series winners here go on to the conference finals.

Conference Finals

This is where the action really heats up. Only two teams from each conference remain by this point, and they will clash here in another best of seven series. The winners move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Each conference awards its own trophy to the winner of its finals. Eastern Conference champions receive the Prince of Wales Trophy, while in the West the conference champion gets to lift the Clarence C. Campbell Bowl. Unlike the previous rounds, home ice advantage in the conference finals is determined by regular season record, not the original seedings.

Stanley Cup Finals

The main event. The Stanley Cup finals have been played between the two best teams in the NHL since 1927, while the trophy itself is even older, dating back to 1893 when it was first awarded to Montreal Hockey Club by the eponymous Lord Stanley, then-Governor General of Canada.

The two conference winners play out one final best of seven series. Last year the Florida Panthers took their second straight title, beating out the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

Understanding the playoff format is only half the battle; knowing how to read the board is the other. We’ve defined every essential term in our NHL glossary.

The NHL uses a fixed tournament bracket, with potential matchups all the way to the Stanley Cup finals determined before a single puck is dropped. This makes the bracket easy to follow for fans.

The bracket is split into two halves, the Western and Eastern Conference sections. Teams can only meet conference opponents in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Furthermore, each team is seeded based on its position in the regular season. This means that the earliest that the two division winners from each conference can meet is in the Conference Finals.

Due to the intense physical nature of hockey, playoff series are scheduled with plenty of off-days to give players time to recover. This also allows participants to allow for travel, as teams may have to cover significant distances between games.

A standard series will include at least one rest day between each game, meaning that if teams play the full seven games the series may last up to two weeks. Home ice advantage is given to the highest seed in the first and second round, and the team with the best regular season record after that; the home/away format runs 2-2-1-1-1. The team with home ice advantage therefore plays games 1, 2, 5 and 7 in front of its own fans.

While the playoff format has changed over the years, the intensity remains the same. You can learn how the NHL works in our full primer for new fans.

The NHL uses two different criteria to determine which 16 franchises move on to the playoffs, combining division performance with the teams’ overall season records.

Playoff spots here are granted to the teams who finish first, second and third in NHL’s four regional divisions, plus four wildcard entrants - the two teams with the best records in the Eastern and Western Conference who did not finish inside the top three in their respective divisions.

With the parity in the league this year, the bracket is wide open. For a data-driven look at which teams the bookmakers are backing, check out the latest NHL playoff odds for every upcoming series.

The NHL by and large maintains the same standard hockey rules enforced during the regular season once the playoffs come around. There is, however, one important exception which concerns the conclusion of games.

In the regular season, teams that are tied play out a single overtime period of 10 minutes, and advance to a shootout if scores remain deadlocked. In the playoffs, overtime is unlimited and played in 20-minute, sudden-death rounds until one team manages to score. Postseason games can sometimes stretch to five or even six overtime periods, adding up to two hours on the original game time, though such prolonged encounters are very rare.

One thing we do already know is that we will be crowning a new Stanley Cup champion in 2026. Back-to-back winner Florida endured a tough season and was eliminated from contention, ending its hopes of a ‘three-peat’. But who can step into the Panthers’ shoes?

Carolina stands out as a real challenger. The Hurricanes stormed to the Atlantic Division title and recorded the best record of any Eastern Conference team. They have been helped by a strong rookie season from goaltender Brandon Bussi, who returned a 31-6 W/L record while allowing just 2.47 goals per game.

Watch out for Edmonton too. The Oilers lost to Florida in the last two Finals and will be desperate to go the extra step. Connor McDavid remains a menace, picking up his sixth Art Ross Trophy for once more finishing the regular season at the head of the NHL points leaderboard. Still in the West, centre Nathan McKinnon will be looking to fire Colorado, who finished with the best W/L record in the entire league with 55 wins.

Or maybe this is the year for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Pittsburgh is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and at 38 the legendary centre will be going all out for what would be his fourth Stanley Cup crown.

Ready to back your team? We’ve reviewed the best NHL betting sites in Canada based on their playoff market depth, live streaming options, and payout speeds.