Stanley Cup Playoffs

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

Updated October 31, 2026

Recent Changes

FLA logo Panthers entered bracket (seed 2)
SJ logo Sharks entered bracket (seed 4)
NJ logo Devils entered bracket (seed 2)
OTT logo Senators entered bracket (seed 4)
NYI logo Islanders left bracket
NSH logo Predators left bracket
STL logo Blues left bracket
TOR logo Maple Leafs left bracket
NYR logo Rangers left bracket
DAL logo Stars (seed 3 → 4)
TB logo Lightning (seed 3 → 4)
WAS logo Capitals (seed 2 → 3)
COL logo Avalanche (seed 4 → 3)
LV logo Golden Knights (seed 1 → 2)
MON logo Canadiens (seed 2 → 3)
EDM logo Oilers (seed 2 → 1)

NHL Playoff Format and Rules

The Stanley Cup playoffs is a 16 team tournament.

  1. The top 4 teams in each conference will begin the playoffs by playing a round robin tournament. The team with the best record from this round robin will be awarded the #1 seed with the second best team receiving the #2 seed and so on.
  2. For now, we have ranked the top 4 teams in each conference by record. However, these teams will most likely shift around based on how they perform in the beginning tournament. Every team within this round robin will be given a first round bye.
  3. The rest of the tournament seeds are set in stone, based on season record.
  4. The first round will be a best of 5 series, while the rest of the playoffs will be a best of 7 series.