2016 NHL Playoffs

The **2016 Stanley Cup playoffs** of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 13, 2016 and ended on June 17, 2016, with the Los Angeles Kings defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to two in the 2016 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 seventh consecutive season and eleven out of thirteen seasons, a team from California was in the Western Conference Final.

## Standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Montreal Canadiens, Atlantic Division Champions - 107 points
2. Tampa Bay Lightning - 104 points
3. Toronto Maple Leafs - 99 points

Metropolitan Division

1. Washington Capitals - Metropolitan Division Champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, 117 points
2. NY Rangers - 103 points
3. Pittsburgh Penguins - 97 points

Wild Cards

1. Detroit Red Wings - 94 points
2. Columbus Blue Jackets - 92 points

Western Conference

Central Division

1. Chicago Blackhawks Central Division Champions - 114 points
2. Dallas Stars - 109 points
3. St. Louis Blues - 104 points

Pacific Division

1. Los Angeles Kings, Pacific Division Champions, Western Conference regular season champions, President's trophy winners - 125 points
2. Anaheim Ducks - 108 points
3. San Jose Sharks - 100 points

Wild Cards

1. Minnesota Wild - 98 points
2. Edmonton Oilers - 95 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