The **Stanley Cup playoffs** are an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League.

To win the Stanley Cup, a team must win 16 playoff games, 4 in each of the 4 rounds. 

The playoffs have 4 rounds. Each round is a best-of-seven series. This means up to seven games are played until one team wins 4 of the games. The first three rounds decide which team from each conference will move on to the last round. The last round is called the Stanley Cup Finals. The winner of that set of games becomes the NHL and Stanley Cup winner. 

The first round of the playoffs is called the Conference Quarterfinals. There are four games in each conference. The winners of the first round advance to the second round. The third round is the Conference Finals. The two teams left in each conference (Eastern Conference and Western Conference) play each other. The conference champions advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

For the first three rounds, the higher-seeded team has home-ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, it goes to the team with the better regular season record. The team with home-ice advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while the opponent hosts games 3, 4 and 6 (games 5–7 are played "if needed").

Unlike regular season games, which have an altered format for overtime games (3 skaters and a goalie per side), playoff games have regular squads (5 skaters and a goalie per side) and are all played as sudden death format.

History
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Before the 1993–94 season, the style was completely different. The league was split into four divisions, and the best four teams in each of the divisions went to the playoffs. Also, instead of the top team playing the 8th place team in the conference, the first place team played the fourth place team in each division, and the second place team played the third place team. In the second round, the two winning teams in each division would face each other for the divisional championship. The divisional winners in each conference would play one another in the third round for the right to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. This style is still used for deciding the teams in the playoffs in the American Hockey League.

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* t
* e
National Hockey League |
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| --- | --- |
| Western Conference | Eastern Conference |
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| Pacific Division |
| --- |
| Anaheim Ducks |
| Calgary Flames |
| Edmonton Oilers |
| Los Angeles Kings |
| San Jose Sharks |
| Seattle Kraken |
| Vancouver Canucks |
| Vegas Golden Knights |

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| Central Division |
| --- |
| Arizona Coyotes |
| Chicago Blackhawks |
| Colorado Avalanche |
| Dallas Stars |
| Minnesota Wild |
| Nashville Predators |
| St. Louis Blues |
| Winnipeg Jets |

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| Atlantic Division |
| --- |
| Boston Bruins |
| Buffalo Sabres |
| Detroit Red Wings |
| Florida Panthers |
| Montreal Canadiens |
| Ottawa Senators |
| Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Toronto Maple Leafs |

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| Metropolitan Division |
| --- |
| Carolina Hurricanes |
| Columbus Blue Jackets |
| New Jersey Devils |
| New York Islanders |
| New York Rangers |
| Philadelphia Flyers |
| Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Washington Capitals |

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| 

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Events | 
* Seasons
	+ structure
* Stanley Cup
	+ Playoffs
		- Conference Finals
		- Finals
	+ Champions
	+ Winning players
	+ Traditions and anecdotes
* Presidents' Trophy
* All-Star Game
* Draft
* Players
	+ Association
	+ Retired jersey numbers
* All-Star teams
* Awards
* Captains
* Outdoor games
	+ Winter Classic
	+ Heritage Classic
	+ Stadium Series
* Hockey Day
	+ America
	+ Canada
* International games
* Kraft Hockeyville

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| History | 
* All-time standings
* All-time playoff series
* Organizational changes
	+ NHA
	+ Defunct and relocated teams
	+ Original Six
	+ 1967 expansion
	+ WHA
		- merger
	+ Potential expansion

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| Others | 
* Streaks
	+ Wins
	+ Losses
* Droughts
* Hall of Fame
	+ Members
* Rivalries
* Arenas
* Rules
* Fighting
* Violence
* Uniforms
* Ice hockey in Canada
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* Valuations
* Collective bargaining agreement
* Lockouts
* Television and radio coverage
* Attendance figures

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* **Category**
* **2022–23 season**

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