The evolution of the NHL playoff formats is not just confusion-inducing but also mind-boggling. Take a deep breath before you delve into the sea of series, best-of-sevens, and NHL championships, or wait, the Stanley Cup Finals!
For easier understanding purposes, we have arranged Stanley Cup Playoffs in a tabular format. It’s just easier to grasp information in a flowchart format. Anyway, let’s start from the start.
The first team to win a Stanley Cup was in 1893! Then, its regular season came into existence from 1917 to 1918. Read on to learn the history of the confusing but interesting Stanley Cup Playoffs.
1917 to 1918 – the road to Stanley Cup
The regular season split into two halves
Winners of each half face each other in a two-game total goals series for the NHL championship
The winners also get to meet the PCHA (Pacific Coast Hockey Association) champion in the best-of-five Stanley Cup Final
Toronto Hockey Club defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the two-game total goals series
Toronto Hockey Club defeated the Vancouver Millionaires (PHCA champion) in a five-game series for the Stanley Cup
1918 to 1919 – the roadmap to Stanley Cup
Ottawa Senators won both halves of the regular season
Entered the best-of-five game series for the Stanley Cup against Seattle (PHCA champion)
1922 to 1923 – the trail to Stanley Cup
The regular season split into two halves
Winners of each half face each other in a two-game total goals series for the NHL championship
The winners also get to meet the PCHA (Pacific Coast Hockey Association) champion in the best-of-three Stanley Cup Semi-final
The winner of the Stanley Cup Semi-final plays with the WCHL (Western Canada Hockey League) – who got a bye
Then, both of them compete for the best-of-three Stanley Cup Final
1923 to 1924 – journey to Stanley Cup Final
The top two regular-season teams compete in a two-game total goals series for the NHL championship
The NHL champion plays with the loser of the PCHA-WCHL playoff in a best-of-three Stanley Cup Semi-final
The winner of the PCHA-WCHL gets a bye into the Stanley Cup Final
The winner of the best-of-three Stanley Cup Semi-final then competes with the PCHA-WCHL winner for the Stanley Cup Final
1925 to 1926 – the route to success at Stanley Cup Final
The winner of the two-game total goals series for the NHL championship between 2nd place and 3rd place teams compete with the 1st place team in a two-game total goals NHL championship
The NHL champion then competes with the WHL (Western Hockey League) winner in a best-of-five Stanley Cup Final
1926 to 1927 – pathway to Stanley Cup
There are 10 NHL teams divided into two divisions – Canadian and AmericanIn each division, the winner of the two-game total goals series between the 2nd seed and 3rd seed teams (division crown) competes with the 1st seed team in two-game total goals series for the division titleThe division title winners compete in a best-of-five Stanley Cup Final
1928 to 1929 – way up to the top (Stanley Cup)
SERIES AFirst in the Canadian Division versus First in the American DivisionBest of fiveSERIES BSecond in the Canadian Division versus Second in the American DivisionTwo-games total goalsSERIES CThird in the Canadian Division versus Third in the American DivisionTwo-games total goalsSERIES DWinner of Series B versus Winner of Series CBest of threeSERIES EWinner of Series A versus Winner of Series DBest of three for the Stanley Cup
1938 to 1939 – chase for the Stanley Cup
SERIES A1 versus 2Best of sevenSERIES B3 versus 4Best of threeSERIES C5 versus 6Best of threeSERIES DWinner of Series B versus Winner of Series CBest of threeSERIES EWinner of Series A versus Winner of Series DBest of seven
1967 to 1968 – avenue to success (Stanley Cup Final)
SERIES AEast 1 versus East 3SERIES BEast 2 versus East 4SERIES CWest 1 versus West 3SERIES DWest 3 versus West 4SERIES EWinner of Series A versus Winner of Series BSERIES FWinner of Series C versus Winner of Series DSERIES GWinner of Series E versus Winner of Series F
1974 to 1975 – stairway to success at Stanley Cup
SERIES A1 versus 8Best of threeSERIES B2 versus 7Best of threeSERIES C3 versus 6Best of threeSERIES D4 versus 5Best of threeSERIES E1 versus 8Best of sevenSERIES F2 versus 7Best of sevenSERIES G3 versus 6Best of sevenSERIES H4 versus 5Best of sevenSERIES I1 versus 4Best of sevenSERIES J2 versus 3Best of sevenSERIES KWinner of SERIES I versus Winner of SERIES JBest of seven
1979 to 1980 – trail to prosperity at Stanley Cup
SERIES A1 versus 16Best of fiveSERIES B2 versus 15Best of fiveSERIES C3 versus 14Best of fiveSERIES D4 versus 13Best of fiveSERIES E5 versus 12Best of fiveSERIES F6 versus 11Best of fiveSERIES G7 versus 10Best of fiveSERIES H8 versus 9Best of fiveSERIES I1 versus 8Best of sevenSERIES J2 versus 7Best of sevenSERIES K3 versus 6Best of sevenSERIES L4 versus 5Best of seven
1998 to 1999 – ladder of success at Stanley Cup
Eastern ConferenceSERIES A1 versus 8Best of sevenSERIES B2 versus 7Best of sevenSERIES C3 versus 6Best of sevenSERIES D4 versus 5Best of sevenWestern ConferenceSERIES E1 versus 8Best of sevenSERIES F2 versus 7Best of sevenSERIES G3 versus 6Best of sevenSERIES H4 versus 5Best of sevenConference Semifinal: Eastern ConferenceSERIES ITop-seeded winner from SERIES A to D versus Lowest-seeded winner from SERIES A to DBest of sevenSERIES JThe other two winners from SERIES A to DBest of sevenConference Semi-final: Western Conference
SERIES KTop-seeded winner from SERIES E to H versus Lowest-seeded winner from SERIES E to HBest of sevenSERIES LThe other two winners from SERIES E to HBest of sevenConference Final: Eastern ConferenceSERIES MWinner of SERIES I versus Winner of SERIES JBest of sevenConference Final: Western Conference
SERIES NWinner of SERIES K versus Winner of SERIES LBest of sevenStanley Cup FinalSERIES OWinner of SERIES M versus Winner of SERIES NBest of seven
2013 to 2014 – path of prosperity at Stanley Cup
First Round – Eastern ConferenceSERIES ATeam #1 Atlantic Division versus Wild CardBest of seven
(2-2-1-1 format)SERIES BTeam #2 Atlantic Division versus Team #3 Atlantic DivisionBest of sevenSERIES CTeam #1 Metropolitan Division versus Wild CardBest of sevenSERIES DTeam #2 Metropolitan Division versus Team #3 Metropolitan DivisionBest of sevenFirst Round – Western ConferenceSERIES ATeam #1 Central Division versus Wild CardBest of sevenSERIES BTeam #2 Central Division versus Team #3 Central DivisionBest of sevenSERIES CTeam #1 Pacific Division versus Wild CardBest of sevenSERIES DTeam #2 Pacific Division versus Team #3 Pacific DivisionBest of sevenSecond Round – Eastern ConferenceSERIES IWinner of SERIES A versus Winner of SERIES BBest of sevenSERIES JWinner of SERIES C versus Winner of SERIES DBest of sevenSecond Round – Eastern ConferenceSERIES KWinner of SERIES E versus Winner of SERIES FBest of sevenSERIES LWinner of SERIES G versus Winner of SERIES HBest of sevenConference Final: Eastern ConferenceSERIES MWinner of SERIES I versus Winner of SERIES JBest of sevenConference Final: Western ConferenceSERIES NWinner of SERIES K versus Winner of SERIES LBest of sevenStanley Cup FinalSERIES OWinner of SERIES M versus Winner of SERIES NBest of seven
2020 to 2021 – climb up the Stanley Cup ladder
Stanley Cup playoffs feature 16 teams who compete in a best-of-seven, four-round format
Four teams from each division qualify for the postseason intradivisional play in the first 2 rounds
Four teams advance into the Semi-final round
No. 1 seed plays with No. 4 seed
No. 2 seed plays with No. 3 seed
2021 to 2022 – same as 2013 to 2014
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