We are just days away from playoff hockey.
Thirteen of the 16 spots in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been claimed as the NHL regular season nears the finish line.
The Winnipeg Jets will enter 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.
Connor McDavid and the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers, meanwhile, will be looking to repeat what the Panthers did last year — rebound from a Cup Final loss with a championship. Edmonton and Winnipeg are among four teams in the field so far who have a chance to snap Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought.
So, what first-round matchups are already set, and when is the postseason’s first puck drop? Here’s what to know about the NHL playoffs:
When does the NHL season end?
The final day of the regular season is Thursday, April 17.
When do the NHL playoffs start?
The first playoff games will be held on Saturday, April 19.
How many teams make 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.
How do the NHL playoffs work?
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.
Do the NHL playoffs reseed teams?
The NHL playoffs feature a bracket format and don’t reseed teams after the first round.
What teams are in the NHL playoffs?
The last three remaining playoff berths are all wild card spots. The East’s final spot is down to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens, while the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues are battling for the West’s two wild card berths.
Here’s the playoff field so far:
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
What’s the NHL playoff bracket?
A few playoff matchups are already set. Here’s an updated look at the bracket possibilities, according to MoneyPuck (teams in bold are locked into seed):
Eastern Conference
- Maple Leafs/Lightning (A1) vs. Senators (WC1)
- Lightning/Panthers/Maple Leafs (A2) vs. Panthers/Lightning (A3)
- Capitals (M1) vs. Canadiens/Blue Jackets (WC2)
- Hurricanes (M2) vs. Devils (M3)
Western Conference
- Jets (C1) vs. Blues/Wild/Flames (WC2)
- Stars (C2) vs. Avalanche (C3)
- Golden Knights (P1) vs. Wild/Blues/Flames (WC1)
- Kings/Oilers (P2) vs. Oilers/Kings (P3)
What’s the schedule for the first round of the NHL playoffs?
The NHL hasn’t released any additional first-round schedule details other than that the postseason gets underway April 19. This section will be updated as more information is announced.
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