NHL Playoffs 2027: Bracket & Race

NHL Playoff Bracket 2027

The field as it stands after 179 games. The division winner with the better record in each conference meets the second wild card, and second meets third inside each division. Places change after every final until the regular season ends.

Eastern Conference

Series 1

Metropolitan 1stCarolina Hurricanes209-2-2

vs

Wild Card 2Washington Capitals126-4-0

Best record in the Eastern Conference meets the second wild card.

Series 2

Metropolitan 2ndNew York Rangers157-5-1

vs

Metropolitan 3rdNew Jersey Devils147-4-0

Second meets third in the Metropolitan Division.

Series 3

Atlantic 1stBoston Bruins199-2-1

vs

Wild Card 1Tampa Bay Lightning157-3-1

The Atlantic winner meets the first wild card.

Series 4

Atlantic 2ndOttawa Senators168-4-0

vs

Atlantic 3rdToronto Maple Leafs167-4-2

Second meets third in the Atlantic Division.

Western Conference

Series 1

Pacific 1stEdmonton Oilers178-2-1

vs

Wild Card 2San Jose Sharks136-5-1

Best record in the Western Conference meets the second wild card.

Series 2

Pacific 2ndVegas Golden Knights178-4-1

vs

Pacific 3rdSeattle Kraken157-4-1

Second meets third in the Pacific Division.

Series 3

Central 1stUtah Mammoth168-4-0

vs

Wild Card 1Colorado Avalanche136-4-1

The Central winner meets the first wild card.

Series 4

Central 2ndMinnesota Wild167-3-2

vs

Central 3rdDallas Stars136-3-1

Second meets third in the Central Division.

Winners of the two series in the top half meet in the second round, and the same on the other side. The two survivors play the conference final, and the conference champions play for the Stanley Cup.

NHL Playoff Race

Twelve places go to the top three in each division. The last four are the wild cards, two in each conference, taken by the best records left over. The line in each table marks the cut.

Eastern Conference wild card

WILD CARD	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS
1Tampa Bay LightningTBL	11	7	3	1	15
2Washington CapitalsWSH	10	6	4	0	12
3New York IslandersNYI	10	5	3	2	12
4Montreal CanadiensMTL	10	5	3	2	12
5Florida PanthersFLA	11	5	4	2	12
6Detroit Red WingsDET	11	4	4	3	11
7Buffalo SabresBUF	11	4	4	3	11
8Pittsburgh PenguinsPIT	12	5	6	1	11

The two clubs above the line hold the wild cards. The cut sits at 12 points.

In the Eastern Conference the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders are level on 12 points, with the Washington Capitals holding the second wild card on the tiebreakers.

Western Conference wild card

WILD CARD	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS
1Colorado AvalancheCOL	11	6	4	1	13
2San Jose SharksSJS	12	6	5	1	13
3Winnipeg JetsWPG	10	4	3	3	11
4St. Louis BluesSTL	11	5	5	1	11
5Nashville PredatorsNSH	10	3	3	4	10
6Anaheim DucksANA	11	5	6	0	10
7Calgary FlamesCGY	10	4	6	0	8
8Los Angeles KingsLAK	9	2	5	2	6

The two clubs above the line hold the wild cards. The cut sits at 13 points.

In the Western Conference the San Jose Sharks hold the second wild card on 13 points, 2 points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets.

How the NHL Playoffs Work

Sixteen of the 32 clubs reach the playoffs, eight from each conference. Twelve places go to the top three finishers in each of the four divisions. The last four are wild cards, two per conference, and they go to the best records left over no matter which division they come from. The 84-game regular season does not change any of this.

Seeding the bracket

In each conference the division winner with the better record plays the second wild card. The other division winner plays the first wild card. Second and third in each division play each other. That keeps division rivals on the same side of the bracket in the first two rounds.

Home ice

The club with more regular-season points opens at home and holds games one, two, five and seven. Points decide it, not seeding, so a wild card with more points than a division winner still gets home ice. The standings tiebreakers settle a level finish: regulation wins first, then regulation and overtime wins, then total wins, then goal differential.

The four rounds

1. First round Eight series, four in each conference. Winners move on.
2. Second round Four series. The two survivors in each conference meet next.
3. Conference finals Two series. The winners play for the Cup.
4. Stanley Cup Final One series between the Eastern and Western champions.

Overtime

There is no shootout in the playoffs. A game tied after 60 minutes goes to full 20-minute five-on-five sudden-death periods, and they keep coming until someone scores. A club needs 16 wins to lift the Cup.

Key Dates and How to Watch

The league confirms the first-round dates once the regular season ends on April 10, 2027, because the matchups are not known until the last night. Start times are set a round at a time.

The last round has its own page: Stanley Cup Final 2027, with every game, the series score and how to watch.

TV channels

In the United States, ESPN platforms carry the first round, the second round and one conference final. TNT carries the other conference final and the 2027 Stanley Cup Final, with HBO Max streaming it. In Canada the Final is on Sportsnet. All start times on this site are Eastern Time.

2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Results

The 2026 playoffs ran from April 18 to June 14, 2026. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Cup, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in the Final, and Jordan Staal was named the most valuable player of the postseason.

First round

Second round

Conference finals

Stanley Cup Final

The Hurricanes finished 16-3. They started 8-0, which no club had done since the 1985 Oilers and none had done since the four-round, best-of-seven format began in 1987.

Carolina swept two rounds back to back, the first club to do that since 1992.

Vegas swept Colorado, the Presidents' Trophy winner, in the Western final. The last club to sweep a Presidents' Trophy winner was Columbus in 2019.

The Golden Knights were the lowest seed left in the West at 95 points and reached the Final. The Avalanche led the league with 121 and went out in four.

Stanley Cup History

The 2026 Cup was the second in the history of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Recent champions

Most Stanley Cups

The longest waits among clubs that have won at least one Cup, with the year of the last one: Toronto Maple Leafs (1967), Philadelphia Flyers (1975), New York Islanders (1983), Calgary Flames (1989) and Edmonton Oilers (1990).

Still waiting for a first Cup

Ten of the 32 clubs have never won the Stanley Cup: Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Utah Mammoth, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets.

FAQ About the NHL Playoffs