How do the NHL Playoffs work? Format, overtime rules and more

Breaking down how the NHL Playoffs work with a look at the Stanley Cup Playoffs format, overtime rules, number of rounds and more for 2023.

Death, taxes, and playoff hockey being the best thing. Even the most avid hockey fans will tell you that everything cranks up a notch and is just better whenever the NHL Playoffs start.

That is, of course, unless you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Then it’s just torture.

But for the majority of other hockey fans, it’s the best time of year. Yet, casual fans or new watchers might be watching the NHL Playoffs and have some real questions about how it all works.

That’s where we’re here to help.

2023 NHL Playoffs format, explained

The NHL Playoffs bracket is formed by the four divisions, two in each conference. The top three teams in each of the Atlantic (East), Metropolitan (East), Central (West) and Pacific (West) Divisions all earn berths into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in addition to the two teams with the best remaining records in each conference, giving the Eastern and Western Conferences two wild card berths.

Each division is given its own quadrant of the bracket with the division winner in each conference that earned the most points in the regular season playing the wild card team from that same conference with the worst record — the last team to make the playoffs — in the first round. The other division winner will play the other wild card team in the given conference while the No. 2 and 3 seeds from each division match up in the first round.

From that point on, things play out as a standard bracket would. There is no reseeding in the NHL Playoffs, so the winners simply advance to the next round.

How many rounds are in the NHL Playoffs?

Speaking of the rounds, there are quite a few. In total, there are four rounds in the NHL Playoffs. The First Round features the matchups as discussed. Then, the Second Round features a series to determine who comes out of each quadrant that, as mentioned, is bracketed by division. The winners of those games will then advance to the Conference Finals for the East and West. The winners of that series then advance to play in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Are NHL Playoffs series best of 5 or best of 7?

As for the series and how they play out, there used to be several best-of-5 series winners crowned in other sports. However, every round of the NHL Playoffs is a best-of-7 series that is won whenever either team captures four victories.

NHL Playoffs overtime rules for 2023

Things change after regular time for the postseason. The NHL Playoffs overtime rules are that the game will continue for 20-minute periods in sudden-death, meaning the first team to score wins. More importantly, there are no shootouts. If the two teams are still tied after the first overtime, then another 15-minute intermission will lead into another 20-minute overtime period until a winner is crowned.

Hockey fans are accustomed to the normal NHL overtime rules for the regular season when there is a 5-minute period if the game is tied after regulation with a sudden-death winner determined. If it’s still tied after that, a shootout occurs. But again, that goes away in the playoffs.