How the NHL playoffs work: qualifying, the bracket, series and the Stanley Cup

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The Stanley Cup playoffs are the most intense part of the hockey calendar. Sixteen teams start each spring and only one lifts the Cup roughly two months later. Here is how the format works, from who qualifies to how overtime is played. Formats can change, so check the league's official playoff format page before each postseason.

Who qualifies

The NHL has 32 teams split into two conferences, Eastern and Western, each with two divisions. Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs.

Divisional spots. The top three teams in each division by regular-season points qualify automatically.
Wild cards. The two remaining spots in each conference go to the next two teams with the most points, regardless of division.

Standings are decided by points: two for a win and one for a loss in overtime or a shootout. When teams finish level, the league applies tiebreakers in a set order, starting with regulation wins. The regular season is being lengthened from 82 to 84 games under the league's latest labour agreement, so the race to qualify now runs a little longer.

The first round

Matchups are set within each division rather than across the whole conference.

The division winner with the better record plays the lower-ranked wild card.
The other division winner plays the higher-ranked wild card.
In each division, the second-placed team plays the third-placed team.

This means many first-round series are between close rivals who play each other often in the regular season, which is a large part of the reason the first round has such a heated reputation.

A fixed bracket

The NHL uses a fixed bracket. Teams are not reseeded after each round, so the path to the final is known from the start.

Round one: first round, eight series in total.
Round two: the second round, sometimes called the division finals.
Round three: the conference finals, deciding the champions of the East and the West.
Round four: the Stanley Cup Final between the two conference champions.

Best-of-seven series

Every round is a best-of-seven series. The first team to win four games advances.

Home ice. The team with home-ice advantage, normally the one with the better regular-season record, hosts games one, two, five and seven. This is known as the 2-2-1-1-1 format.
Why home ice matters. The home team gets the last line change before faceoffs, so its coach can choose matchups, and it would host a deciding game seven.
In the final, home ice goes to whichever finalist had the better regular-season record, regardless of conference.

Overtime in the playoffs

Playoff overtime is very different from the regular season.

There is no three-on-three and no shootout.
Overtime periods are full 20-minute periods played five-on-five.
It is sudden death: the first goal wins, and if nobody scores the teams keep playing further periods until someone does.

That is why playoff games occasionally run into a third or fourth overtime and finish well after midnight.

The Stanley Cup and the trophies

The winners receive the Stanley Cup, the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America. Unlike most championship trophies, a new one is not made each year. The names of the winning players and staff are engraved on it, and each member of the winning team traditionally gets a day with the Cup during the following summer.

Conn Smythe Trophy. Awarded to the most valuable player of the whole playoffs, chosen by a panel of writers, and it can go to a player on the losing finalist.
Conference trophies. The conference champions are presented with the Prince of Wales Trophy in the East and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl in the West. Many players famously refuse to touch them, out of superstition, because the real target is still ahead.

Following a playoff run

Learn the bracket once at the start, because it does not change.
Watch for momentum swings after a team goes two games up or down.
Look at goaltending, which often decides a series more than anything else.
Track injuries, since depth players often decide series late in a long run.

Who are you backing this spring, and what is your favourite playoff memory? Share it in the comments.