2023 NHL Playoff Bracket: How does it work?
The 2022-2023 NHL playoff bracket is set for the postseason games. The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Monday, April 17, and end with the 2023 Stanley Cup finals will be held in June.
There are 32 teams playing in the league divided into two conferences of 16 teams and four divisions of 4 teams. Each division’s top three teams make the playoffs automatically. For each conference, two additional teams also qualify for the playoffs selected by the highest overall records out of the remaining teams. These teams will play in the wild-card round. Only 8 teams from each conference can clinch the playoffs and the rest of them will eliminate from the postseason rounds.
Who are qualified for the 2023 playoffs?
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Metropolitan Teams | Seed | Atlantic Teams |
| 1 | Carolina Hurricanes (81-51-21) | 1 | Boston Bruins (81-64-12) |
| 2 | New Jersey Devils (80-51-22) | 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (80-49-21) |
| 3 | New York Rangers (80-47-21) | 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning (80-45-30) |
| 4 | NY Islanders (82-42-31) | 4 | Florida Panthers (81-42-31) |
Western Conference
| Seed | Central Teams | Seed | Pacific Teams |
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche (80-49-24) | 1 | Vegas Golden Knights (81-50-22) |
| 2 | Dallas Stars (81-46-21) | 2 | Edmonton Oilers (81-49-23) |
| 3 | Minnesota Wild (81-46-25) | 3 | Los Angeles Kings (81-46-25) |
| 4 | Winnipeg Jets (80-46-32) | 4 | Seattle Kraken (81-46-27) |
2023 Stanley Cup finals
TBD vs (4) Florida Panthers (Series 0-0)
2023 Eastern Conference Championship Schedule
(1) Carolina Hurricanes vs (4) Florida Panthers (FLA Wins 4-0)
2023 Western Conference Championship Schedule
(1) Vegas Golden Knights vs (2) Dallas Stars (VGK Leads 3-2)
Eastern Round 2 Matchups and Results
(4) Florida Panthers vs (2) Toronto Maple Leafs (FLA Wins 4-1)
(1) Carolina Hurricanes vs (2) New Jersey Devils (CAR Wins 4-1)
Western Round 2 Matchups and Results
(2) Dallas Stars vs (4) Seattle Kraken (DAL Wins 4-3)
(2) Edmonton Oilers vs (1) Vegas Golden Knights (VGK Wins 4-2)
Eastern Round 1 Matchups and Results
(1) BOS vs (4) FLA (FLA Wins 4-3)
(2) TOR vs (3) TB (TOR Wins 4-2)
(1) CAR vs (4) NYI (CAR Wins 4-2)
(2) NJ vs (3) NYR (NJD Wins 4-3)
Western Round 1 Matchups and Results
(1) COL vs (4) SEA (SEA Wins 4-3)
(2) DAl vs (3) MIN (DAL Wins 4-2)
(1) VGK vs (4) WPG (VGK Wins 4-1)
(2) EDM vs (3) LA (EDM Wins 4-2)
How NHL Playoffs format does work?
We know that there are 8 teams from each conference, a total of 16 teams that will make the playoffs each year, while it actually depends on two divisions Metropolitan, and Atlantic in the East and two divisions Central, and Pacific in the West.
That means, 8 team teams from each conference will come up from two divisions. The top 4 teams from the Metropolitan and the top 4 teams from the Atlantic divisions will make the playoff in the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, the top 4 teams from the Central and the top 4 teams from the Pacific divisions will make the playoff in the Western Conference.
How the game plan does work in the playoffs?
In the Round 1 best four winners of 7 games series, the No.1 seeded team in both Conferences will play against the 4th seeded team, and the 2nd seeded team will face the 3rd seed in the same division.
In the first round’s playoffs, the division winners between, 1 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 3 will make the second round in both conferences. Then the winners will play in the conference finals and two conference champions will meet up in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The matchups between the two teams will play for the best of seven series where must need to win four games. In this series of both East and West conferences, the 2-2-1-1-1 format will work, where the top-seeded team will earn the home first two games, then two away, back to home, and the last one at home.
When are the Stanley Cup Finals 2023?
The Eastern Conference Champion and the Western Conference Champion will play in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals in June.