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 Wednesday.
The Winnipeg Jets will enter the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed after winning their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy. Winnipeg next 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.
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.
So, what are the first-round matchups and when is the postseason’s first puck drop? Here’s what to know about the NHL playoffs:
The final day of the regular season is Thursday, April 17.
The first playoff games will be held on Saturday, April 19.
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
The East bracket is headlined by the Battle of Ontario as the Maple Leafs and Senators are matched up in the playoffs for the first time since 2004. This will be Ottawa’s first time in the postseason since 2017. The Panthers and Lightning, meanwhile, will meet in Round 1 for a second postseason — Florida bounced Tampa Bay in five games last year. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who’s been sidelined since the 4 Nations Face-Off, is hoping to be ready for Game 1.
The Canadiens are back in the playoffs for the first time since their run to the 2021 Cup Final, and they’ll be up against a Capitals team looking to advance past Round 1 for the first time since winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018. The Devils’ last playoff appearance in 2023 ended with a second-round loss to the Hurricanes, and New Jersey will begin its return to the postseason against Carolina.
Western Conference
In what may be the best first-round matchup, the Stars and Avalanche will square off in a heavyweight showdown. The two Cup contenders met in Round 2 of last postseason, where Dallas eliminated Colorado in six games. The Stars got a big-time lineup boost ahead of the playoffs with the return of center Tyler Seguin, and the Avs could have captain Gabriel Landeskog back in the fold for Game 1. Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who was drafted by Colorado in 2015 and helped the franchise win the 2022 Stanley Cup, will face his former team months after being traded.
Elsewhere out West, the Kings and Oilers will see each other in Round 1 for a fourth straight postseason. Edmonton emerged victorious the last three years, but Los Angeles has home-ice advantage this time around. The Kings haven’t advanced beyond the first round since winning the 2014 Cup Final.
The top-seeded Jets drew a Central Division foe in the Blues, while the Pacific Division champion Golden Knights will battle the Wild in an interdivisional matchup. Minnesota’s last playoff series victory was in 2015.
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)
Lightning (A2) vs. Panthers (A3)
Capitals (M1) vs. Canadiens (WC2)
Hurricanes (M2) vs. Devils (M3)
Western Conference
Jets (C1) vs. Blues (WC2)
Stars (C2) vs. Avalanche (C3)
Golden Knights (P1) vs. Wild (WC1)
Kings (P2) vs. Oilers (P3)
