Stanley Cup Playoffs - Format

Format

The first round of the playoffs, or Conference Quarterfinals, consists of four match-ups in each conference, based on the seedings (No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5). In the second round, or Conference Semifinals, the top remaining conference seed plays against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining conference teams pair off (unlike the NBA, for example, where the 1–8 winner always plays the 4–5 winner, regardless of who wins). In the third round, the Conference Finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley Cup Final.

For the first three rounds, the higher-seeded team has home-ice advantage (regardless of point record). In the Stanley Cup Final, it goes to the team with the better regular season record. The team with home-ice advantage hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while the opponent hosts Games 3, 4 and 6 (Games 5–7 are played "if necessary").

• During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

From the 1981–82 season to the 1992–93 season, the playoff format was completely different. Each of the league's two conferences were divided into two divisions, and the top four teams in each division advanced to the playoffs. Also, instead of the top-ranked team playing the eighth-place team in the conference in the first round, the first-place team played the fourth-place team in each division, and the second-place team played the third-place team (the Division Semifinals). In the second round, the two winning teams in each first-round series would face each other for the divisional championship (the Division Finals). The divisional champions in each conference would play one another in the third round (the Conference Finals) for the right to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. This structure was used for determining the teams in the playoffs in the American Hockey League until the 2011-12 season, when they changed the structure to the current NHL structure.