2018 NHL Playoffs

The **2018 Stanley Cup playoffs** of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 13, 2018 and ended on June 12, 2018, with the Orlando Solar Bears defeating the Ottawa Senators four games to three in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.

The Orlando Solar Bears made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. The Detroit Red Wings did not make the playoffs for the first time since 1990.  All but one California team (Estero) reached the playoffs.

For the first time since 2006, and only the third time in league history, all Original Six teams who made the playoffs (three in total) were eliminated in the first round. The New York Islanders won their first post-season series since the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, ending the second longest post-season win drought in NHL history. For the seventh consecutive season and eleventh out of thirteen seasons, a team from California was in the Western Conference Final.

## Playoff seeds

For more details on this topic, see Stanley Cup playoffs § Current format.

This will be the third year in which the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

### Eastern Conference

#### Atlantic Division

1. Ottawa Senators, Atlantic Division champions – 122 points
2. Toronto Maple Leafs – 121 points
3. Montreal Canadiens – 119 points

#### Metropolitan Division

1. Columbus Blue Jackets, Metropolitan Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, – 136 points
2. Washington Capitals – 124 points
3. Pittsburgh Penguins – 112 points

#### Wild cards

1. Adirondack Thunder – 113 points
2. New York Rangers – 98 points

### Western Conference

#### Central Division

1. Minnesota Wild, Central Division champions, – 140 points
2. Chicago Blackhawks – 134 points
3. St. Louis Blackhawks – 108 points

#### Pacific Division

1. Orlando Solar Bears, Pacific Division champions,Western Conference regular season champions , Presidents' Trophy winners – 155 points
2. Anaheim Ducks – 131 points
3. Edmonton Oilers – 126 points

#### Wild cards

1. San Jose Sharks – 118 points
2. Los Angeles Kings – 115 points

## Playoff bracket

In each round, teams compete in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage plays at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team is at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference, for a total of eight teams from each conference.

In the First Round, the lower seeded wild card in the conference plays against the division winner with the best record while the other wild card plays against the other division winner, and both wild cards are de facto #4 seeds. The other series match the second and third place teams from the divisions. In the first two rounds, home ice advantage is awarded to the team with the better seed; in the last two rounds, it is awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.

This bracket

Legend
* **A1**, **A2**, **A3** – The first, second, and third place teams from the Atlantic Division, respectively
* **M1**, **M2**, **M3** – The first, second, and third place teams from the Metropolitan Division, respectively
* **C1**, **C2**, **C3** – The first, second, and third place teams from the Central Division, respectively
* **P1**, **P2**, **P3** – The first, second, and third place teams from the Pacific Division, respectively
* **WC** – Wild Card teams