Starting from the 1926-27 season, the National Hockey League champions have received Lord Stanley’s Cup, which stands as one of the most esteemed awards in all of athletics. This grueling path to emerge victorious as the final team remaining renders winning the Cup potentially the toughest achievement in North American sports.
The Stanley Cup playoffs have consistently presented a challenging journey. Over the decades, what has frequently altered is the structure that decides this path. the NHL's postseason winner .
Present Stanely Cup Playoff Structure
A total of sixteen squads advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The initial twelve slots go to teams finishing as one of the top three in their respective divisions: Atlantic and Metropolitan belong to the Eastern Conference, whereas Central and Pacific represent the Western Conference. The final four places are awarded via wildcard criteria; these positions are taken up by the two groups within each conference having secured the most points from amongst those not partaking directly through divisional standing.
The Stanley Cup playoffs consist of four stages where victors are decided through best-of-seven game matches. Clubs that accumulated more points during the regular season enjoy home-ice advantage. These series follow a 2-2-1-1-1 schedule, with teams holding home-ice advantage playing at their venue for Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, whereas their rivals host Games 3, 4, and 6.
During the initial match-ups, the division winners holding the strongest records in their conferences will compete against the wildcard teams having the lowest standings. Should a wildcard have a superior record compared to others, they would face off against another division winner instead. Meanwhile, the teams finishing second and third in every division will go head-to-head under brackets led by their corresponding division champions.
The first-round victors proceed to the second round. Those who win in the second round will go on to compete in the conference finals. Finally, the champions from each conference face off in the Stanley Cup Final.
In the initial two stages, home-ice advantage is granted to the team that had a superior standing during the regular season. For the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the stronger overall performance in the regular season earns the home-ice benefit, irrespective of their divisional ranking.
If two teams are level on regular-season points, the following criteria will be used to break the tie:
1. Superior points percentage: The smaller number of games played.
2. Regulation wins (RW): The majority of wins not including those achieved during overtime or through a shootout.
3. Regulation win plus overtime victories (ROW): The majority of wins not including those achieved through a shootout.
4. Total wins: The majority of games secured regardless of the method.
5. Head-to-head points: The highest points accumulated from matches between tied teams amongst two or more groups. If multiple clubs haven't competed equally against one another, specifically when one team has an additional match ("odd" game), this initial encounter won’t count towards tiebreakers. For scenarios involving over two tied clubs, the ratio of total points gained out of possible points from their mutual encounters (excluding these “odd” games) shall decide rankings.
6. Goal differential: The larger discrepancy between goals scored and goals conceded throughout the regular season, encompassing those tallied in overtime as well as those gained through shootout victories.
7. Goals scored: The higher aim total throughout the regular season, encompassing goals scored in overtime as well as those granted for winning shootouts.
Criteria for the Stanley Cup Playoffs
The NHL consists of 32 teams, and each team plays an 82-game regular season. According to what was stated, 16 teams make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs, with eight from each conference qualifying.
Here’s how the 16-team tournament unfolded for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, culminating in the Florida Panthers beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in an exciting seven-game series.
