2017 NHL Playoffs

The **2017 Stanley Cup playoffs** of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 13, 2017 and ended on June 17, 2017, with the Los Angeles Kings defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets four games to three in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals.

The Los Angeles made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. The Detroit Red Wings increased their consecutive post-season appearance streak to 26 seasons, the longest current streak and the third-longest streak in NHL history. The Columbus Blue Jackets qualified for the playoffs for only the second time since the 2013–2014 season. For the fifth time in seven years, all three California-based teams made the playoffs in the same season.

For the eighth consecutive season and twelve out of fourteen seasons, a team from California was in the Western Conference Final.

## Standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlantic Division Champions - 137 points
2. Montreal Canadiens - 131 points
3. Detroit Red Wings- 129 points

Metropolitan Division

1. Columbus Blue Jackets - Metropolitan Division Champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, 138 points
2. Philadelphia Flyers - 136 points
3. Pittsburgh Penguins - 135 points

Wild Cards

1. Washington Capitals - 135 points
2. NY Rangers - 132 points

Western Conference

Central Division

1. St. Louis Blues, Central Division Champions - 150 points
2. Chicago Blackhawks - 119 points
3. Minnesota Wild - 106 points

Pacific Division

1. Los Angeles Kings, Pacific Division Champions, Western Conference regular season champions, President's trophy winners - 164 points
2. Edmonton Oilers - 135 points
3. Anaheim Ducks - 128 points

Wild Cards

1. San Jose Sharks - 125 points
2. Vancouver Canucks - 94 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.

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