NHL playoff bracket if the season ended today

Sixteen teams play four rounds of best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup, eight from each conference. The bracket above is drawn from today’s standings, so it changes after every final until the regular season ends on 10 April 2027.

How are the first-round matchups set?

Each division sends its top three. In each conference, the division winner with the better record plays the second wild card and the other division winner plays the first wild card. Second and third in each division play each other. The full rules for the last spots are on the wild card standings.

How does home ice work?

The team with the better regular-season record has home ice: games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home, games 3, 4 and 6 away. A series ends as soon as one team wins four games, so it lasts between four and seven.

What happens after the first round?

The bracket is fixed, with no reseeding. The two first-round winners in each half of a conference meet in the second round, the winners of those series meet in the conference final, and the two conference champions play the Stanley Cup Final. Home ice in every round goes to the team with the better regular-season record.

The playoff picture today

In the East, nothing separates Toronto in the last playoff spot from Boston, the first team out. In the West, nothing separates San Jose in the last playoff spot from Seattle, the first team out. The make-the-playoffs markets put a price on every team’s chances.