The Edmonton Oilers were one win away from becoming Stanley Cup champions last season. They came back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7, but it ultimately ended in heartbreak.
Sure, it was a magical playoff run, but for the casual hockey fan, understanding how the playoffs work can be a challenging endeavour. So, let’s get a bit into the weeds as to how the NHL playoffs work.
The NHL playoffs and the Edmonton Oilers' path to a Stanley Cup championship
Making it to the NHL playoffs
All 32 teams go through the 82-game regular season with hopes of securing a playoff ticket. There are four divisions in which the top three seeds in each division automatically make it to the postseason.
Then, there are two wildcard spots for both the Eastern and Western Conferences. The wildcards are selected based on the teams with the best records that do not finish in the top three of their respective divisions.
As such, three teams from one division can make it with five teams from another, totalling eight for each conference. Ideally, four teams from each division should make it, but that is not always the case.
Last season, the Edmonton Oilers were the second seed in the Pacific Division. That set up a showdown with the third-place team, the Los Angeles Kings. Because the Oilers were second in the Pacific, they got home-ice advantage against the Kings.
The top seed in the Pacific, the Vancouver Canucks, faced the Nashville Predators, the first wildcard team, in the first round. The team with the best record in the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars, squared off against the second wildcard team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
In short, the team with the best record in its conference faces the weakest team to make the postseason, while the second and third seeds in each division duke it out in what are often the toughest first-round matchups.
Critics have pointed out that this system is impractical since four very good teams are guaranteed to be eliminated in the first round, with two “bad” teams having a chance to advance to the second round.
However, there were no major upsets in the first round last season. So, that point is moot. Perhaps the biggest first-round upset was the number-three Colorado Avalanche defeating the number-two seed Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference.
In the Eastern Conference, the team with the higher seed took each one of the first-round series. So, no surprises there.