The 2024-25 NHL regular season began with 32 teams chasing Lord Stanley. Now, the number of potential Stanley Cup champions is down to 16.
The field and bracket for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs were finalized on the penultimate night of the regular season on April 16, and the postseason got underway a few days later.
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The Winnipeg Jets entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed after winning their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy. Winnipeg now looks to capture the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.
The Eastern Conference bracket, which is led by Alexander Ovechkin and Washington Capitals, features the defending champion Florida Panthers. Florida last year graduated from the list of Stanley Cup title-less franchises, and the Panthers sit four series victories away from joining an exclusive group of repeat champs.
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Connor McDavid and the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers, meanwhile, will be trying to repeat what the Panthers did last year — rebound from a Cup Final loss with a championship. Edmonton and Winnipeg are among five teams in the field who have a chance to snap Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought.
With the first round underway, here’s what to know about the NHL playoffs:
Half of the 32-team league qualifies for the postseason, with eight East teams and eight West squads making up the field.
There are four total divisions — the East’s Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions, and the West’s Central and Pacific Divisions — and the top three finishers in each earn playoff berths. The postseason bracket is then rounded out by wild-card berths, which are awarded to the two best remaining teams in each conference.
Division winners face wild-card teams in the first round. The top-ranked division winner in each conference draws the second-ranked wild-card team while the second-ranked division faces the top-ranked wild card. The rest of Round 1 pits the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in each division up against one another.
All NHL postseason series are best of seven where the higher seed has home-ice advantage in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7.
The NHL playoffs feature a bracket format and don’t reseed teams after the first round.
Here’s a full look at the playoff field:
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
And here are the first-round matchups:
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Here’s the first-round schedule (this section will be updated as more schedule details are announced, * = if necessary):
Eastern Conference
Maple Leafs (A1) vs. Senators (WC1) — Toronto leads series 2-0
Lightning (A2) vs. Panthers (A3) — Florida leads series 1-0
Capitals (M1) vs. Canadiens (WC2) — Washington leads series 2-0
Hurricanes (M2) vs. Devils (M3) — Carolina leads series 2-0
Western Conference
Jets (C1) vs. Blues (WC2) — Winnipeg leads series 2-0
Stars (C2) vs. Avalanche (C3) — Series tied 1-1
Golden Knights (P1) vs. Wild (WC1) — Series tied 1-1
Kings (P2) vs. Oilers (P3) — Los Angeles leads series 1-0
First-round games will be broadcast across ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV.
Games airing on ESPN’s family of networks can be streamed on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
TNT, TBS and truTV broadcasts are available to stream on Max. Games on TNT can also be streamed on TNTDrama.com and the TNT app, while TBS broadcasts are available to stream on TBS.com and the TBS app. Simulcasts shown on truTV can be streamed on truTV.com and the truTV app, as well.
