Among the havoc that is the sporting world in April, the Stanley Cup playoffs get underway during the adolescence of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, the start of the NBA playoffs and shortly after the conclusion of the Masters. As one of the most grueling postseason tournaments in all of sports, the last men standing are justly rewarded as their names are inscribed on arguably the most famous trophy.
But first, they will need 16 wins to lift Lord Stanley’s cup as we take a look at the NHL’s known postseason schedule:
Sunday, Apr. 9: Regular season ends
Wednesday, Apr. 12: Stanley Cup playoffs begin
The NHL has not released the exact dates of each round, but the Stanley Cup Finals are likely to end around mid-June as always.
Eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences make the postseason with regular-season success determining the seeding and matchups:
Eastern Conference Seeding Format
Division winner with most points vs. No. 2 wild card team
Division winner with least points vs. No. 1 wild card team
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No. 2 Metropolitan Division team vs. No. 3 Metropolitan Division Team
No. 2 Atlantic Division team vs. No. 3 Atlantic Division Team
Western Conference Seeding Format
Division winner with most points vs. No. 2 wild card team
Division winner with least points vs. No. 1 wild card team
No. 2 Pacific Division team vs. No. 3 Pacific Division team
No. 2 Central Division team vs. no. 3 Central Division team
In total, there are four rounds needed to decide the Stanley Cup champion with each series played under a best-of-seven format.
When do the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs start?
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