2015 - 16 NHL season The 2015 – 16 NHL season was the 99th season of operation ( 98th season of play ) of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Thirty teams competed 82 - game regular season schedules prior to the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs . The regular season began on Wednesday , October 7 , 2015 , and ended on Saturday , April 10 , 2016 . The playoffs began on Wednesday , April 13 , 2016 and ended on June 12 with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning their fourth Stanley Cup . Rule changes . The league approved the following rule changes at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the AHL Board of Governors in late June . Outdoor Games . The 2015 - 16 season featured 3 outdoor games : 2016 NHL All - Star Game . The 61st National Hockey League All - Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game being played on Sunday , January 31 , 2016 . The game will be held in Nashville , Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena , home of the Nashville Predators . This is Nashville ' s first time hosting the NHL All – Star Game . The NHL announced a new format for the 2016 Honda NHL All - Star Game on Wednesday November 18th . The game , on Sunday , Jan . 31 , will be a 3 - on - 3 tournament pitting the four divisions against one another in a winner - take - all format . The Atlantic Division will face the Metropolitan Division in one semifinal and the Central Division will face the Pacific Division in the other semifinal . The winners play in the championship game . Games will be 40 minutes in length , teams will switch goals after 10 minutes in each quarter , and will be decided by a shootout if tied after the 40 minutes in Semi - Finals . In the All - Star Game final , if tied after 40 minutes , 20 minutes of overtime with teams switch goals after 10 minutes in overtime , and if tied after 20 minutes , a shootout will be decided . Each division ' s roster will have six forwards , three defenseman and two goalies . One player from each division will be voted onto the team by the fans and the other 40 players will be selected by the League ' s Hockey Operations Department . Each team will have at least one player from every team in their division . Teams . The National Hockey League currently consists of 30 teams , 23 of which are based in the United States and 7 in Canada . The league divides the teams into two conferences . Each conference has two divisions , and each division has seven ( Western ) or eight ( Eastern ) teams . The newest team alignment happened in after the 2012 - 2013 season due to the move of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg . On December 5 , 2011 , the NHL Board of Governors proposed a relocation plan . The NHLPA rejected it and said to wait for the Draft to see if they would change their decision . In February 2013 , they proposed the idea again . On March 7 , 2013 , the NHLPA approved the plan which would move the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets to the Eastern conference and the Winnipeg Jets to the Western conference . The realignment started in the 2013 / 2014 season . The current league organization divides the teams into two conferences , the Eastern and Western . Each conference has two divisions . The Eastern conference includes the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions . The Western conference includes the Pacific and Central divisions . Stanley Cup Playoffs . Format . The top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs . The next two best records in each conference also qualify as wildcard teams . The wild card team with the fewer points plays the team with the best record in the conference regardless of division . The other wild card team plays the other division winner . The wild card team then stays in that division ' s playoffs . The division semifinal winners meet in the division finals . The two division winners in each conference meet in the conference finals . The two conference winners meet in the Stanley Cup final . All series are best - of - seven . Stanley Cup Final . The Pittsburgh Penguins win their 4th Stanley Cup championship .