The weather is getting warmer, and that means the action on the ice is heating up as well. The NHL regular season is over — it’s now playoff time.
The 16 teams that are in the Stanley Cup playoffs are set, and the matchups are all locked in. The final games of the regular season concluded on Thursday, with the league needing the final game on the schedule to be played out to determine the last matchups.
There’s a day off before the playoffs begin on Saturday, kicking off a nearly two month long marathon to the Stanley Cup Final.
MORE: SN’s expert picks, predictions for 2024 NHL playoff bracket
This postseason is shaping up to be an exciting one. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
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Here’s how the bracket looks like in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.
(A1) Panthers vs. (WC1) Lightning
(A2) Bruins vs. (A3) Maple Leafs
(M1) Rangers vs. (WC2) Capitals
(M2) Hurricanes vs. (M3) Islanders
(C1) Stars vs. (WC2) Golden Knights
(C2) Jets vs. (C3) Avalanche
(P1) Canucks vs. (WC1) Predators
(P2) Oilers vs. (P3) Kings
(As of games concluded on April 18)
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
Wild Card
* = clinched Presidents’ Trophy
Y = clinched division
X = clinched playoff berth
E = eliminated from playoffs
Central Division
Pacific Division
44-27-11
Wild Card
Z = clinched best record in conference
Y = clinched division
X = clinched playoff berth
E = eliminated from playoffs
The 2023-24 NHL regular season will end Thursday, April 18.
The first round of the NHL playoffs is expected to start Saturday, April 20. It was originally expected to start on Monday, April 22, but the league moved the date up two days.
There are four rounds in the Stanley Cup playoffs — the first round, the second round, the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the first round, the top team in the conference plays the second wild-card team. The other division winner takes on the other wild-card team. In the rest of the first-round series, the No. 2 team from each division plays the No. 3 team from the same division.
After that, the teams do not get reseeded in the second round. Rather, the winner of the series between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams for a division plays the winner of the series between their division winner and the wild card team.
For example, if the Bruins finished first in the Atlantic and won their first-round matchup, they would play the winner of the series between the Nos. 2 and 3 teams in the Atlantic.
After the second round, the last two teams in each conference square off in the conference finals. The Eastern and Western Conference winners then fight for the Stanley Cup in the finals.
Each series features a best-of-seven format played in a 2–2–1–1–1 style.
In terms of home-ice advantage, that means the team with the better record plays Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at its home arena, while its opponent hosts Games 3, 4, and 6. Only the first four games in the series are guaranteed, with Games 5, 6 and 7 only played if necessary.
Bryan Murphy is an NHL content producer at The Sporting News.
