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Sloan Piva
The 2025 NHL Playoffs have finally begun, and the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup appears to be as wide-open a race as ever.
The Jets earned the Presidents’ Trophy with 56 wins and 116 points, finishing the regular season with a whopping +86 goal differential. Still, the Avalanche, Hurricanes, Golden Knights and reigning-champion Panthers all entered the postseason with shorter odds to win the Stanley Cup Final.
The Oilers, Stars, Lightning, Capitals and Maple Leafs are also considered contenders after strong regular-season finishes. It won’t be a surprise if we see any of those teams taking the ice for the championship series.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 NHL Playoffs, including how to stream games from each series.
WATCH:2025 NHL Playoffs live on Fubo (free trial)
The 2025 NHL Playoffs will be available to stream on Fubo and on Sling. If you’re looking for a free option, Fubo is currently offering a free trial, giving new subscribers the ability to try the streaming service before purchasing a plan.
In Canada, all the playoff games will be streamed on SN Now (Sportsnet) and CBC Gem (CBC).
WATCH THE NHL PLAYOFFS LIVE. START YOUR FREE TRIAL TODAY.
The NHL Playoffs will air across ESPN and Turner network channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, TNT and truTV. The schedule below includes TV channels for first-round series that have been announced.
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens (M1 vs. WC2)
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils (M2 vs. M3)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators (A1 vs. WC1)
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers (A2 vs. A3)
Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues (C1 vs. WC2)
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche (C2 vs. C3)
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild (P1 vs. WC1)
Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers (P2 vs. P3)
SN’s NHL HQ: Live NHL scores | Updated NHL standings | Full NHL schedule
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
Wild Card
X = clinched playoff
E = eliminated
Central Division
Pacific Division
Wild Card
X = clinched playoff
E = eliminated
CATCH THE 2025 NHL PLAYOFFS
NO COMMITMENT. CANCEL ANYTIME.
The first round of the NHL playoffs starts Saturday, April 19. The Stanley Cup Final will begin in June.
Sixteen teams qualify for the NHL playoffs, eight from each conference. The top three teams in each division will get the top six seeds in their respective conference’s playoff bracket. The remaining two spots in each conference will be filled with the next two highest-placed finishers, regardless of division. So, theoretically, one division could send five teams to the playoffs while the other sends only three.
In the first round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will face the worst wild-card team. Then, the teams that finished second and third in their division will face off. The winners from those games will play each other in the second round. Those winners will duke it out in the conference finals, sending one representative to the Stanley Cup Finals from each conference. Each round of the playoffs is best-of-seven, so the first team to win four games will advance.
In total, 16 teams make the playoffs — eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the Western Conference.
For each conference, the top three teams from each division are guaranteed spots in postseason, with the winners of the divisions earning the top two seeds.
The last two playoff spots in each conference go to wild-card teams, which have the two best records out of the rest of the field. This means they can come from the same division.
There are four rounds in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the first round, the top team in the conference plays the second wild-card team. The other division winner takes on the first wild-card team. The No. 2 and No. 3 teams in each division face each other.
After that, the teams do not get reseeded in the second round. Rather, the series winner of the No. 2 and No. 3 teams for a division plays the winner of the series between their division winner and a wild card team
After the second round, the last two teams standing in each conference square off in the conference finals. The winner of each conference final advances to the Stanley Cup Final.
Every series, no matter the round, will play a best-of-seven series, meaning the first team to win four games advances to the next round.
Each series is played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format, meaning the team with the better record plays the first two games at its home arena, while its opponent hosts the next two games. The teams then alternate who hosts in the final three games of the series, if it is pushed that far.
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Sloan Piva is a content producer for The Sporting News, primarily focused on betting, fantasy sports, and poker. A lifelong New Englander, Sloan earned his BA and MA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts and now lives in coastal Rhode Island with his wife and two kids.
