The Stanley Cup playoffs are just days away, with the 2024-25 NHL regular season’s final games taking place Thursday night.
The Presidents’ Trophy for best regular-season record has already been clinched by the Winnipeg Jets, who are hoping an excellent campaign carries on into the postseason. In the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals — once Alex Ovechkin broke the all-time NHL goal-scoring record — have secured the No. 1 seed.
However, the NHL playoffs are notoriously unpredictable, and a higher seed promises only expectations. The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are looking to win the East for a third consecutive season, while the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Tampa Bay Lightning could all make deep runs. Over in the West, the Colorado Avalanche loom as a serious threat, as do the Vegas Golden Knights among others.
Here’s what to know about the NHL playoff bracket heading into the final day of the regular season:
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NHL playoff standings
Eastern Conference
Note: Most teams have one more game, but the top eight have all locked in their playoff positions.
Western Conference
Note: Most teams have one more game, but the top eight have all locked in their playoff positions.
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How does the NHL playoffs bracket work?
From NHL.com:
First round:
- The division winner with the best record in each conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lesser record.
- The wild card team with the better record will play the other division winner.
- The teams finishing second and third in each division will meet within the bracket headed by their respective division winners.
Second round:
- First-round winners within each bracket play one another to determine the four participants in the conference finals.
Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final
- In the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, home-ice advantage goes to the team that had the better regular-season record – regardless of the teams’ final standing in their respective divisions.
NHL Eastern Conference bracket
With no changes possible to the bracket in the final day of regular-season play, here’s how the first-round playoff matchups would look based on the current standings in the Eastern Conference:
- A1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
- A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Florida Panthers
- M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Montreal Canadiens
- M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils
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NHL Western Conference bracket
With no changes possible to the bracket in the final day of regular-season play, here’s how the first-round playoff matchups would look based on the current standings in the Western Conference:
- C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 St. Louis Blues
- C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
- P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
- P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers
When do the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs start?
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs will start on Saturday, April 19. The Stanley Cup Final does not have a set start date, given that multiple rounds of playoff hockey have to playout, but the championship series is scheduled to conclude no later than June 23.
