How the NHL playoffs differ from others

Differences between the NHL playoffs and the NBA, NFL, and MLB playoffs.

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs

The NHL playoffs consist of 16 teams, 8 from the Eastern Conference and 8 from the Western Conference. Out of those, 12 are placed in the bracket according to their conference and division and the remaining 4 are the wild card teams. There are 4 rounds that consist of the best-of-seven series.

Trophy won: Stanley Cup

NBA: NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs start like the NHL playoffs, with 16 teams, 8 from the East and 8 from the West. Those are seeded based on their win/loss record from the regular season. There are 4 rounds, with the best-of-seven series. The main difference is that 6 teams are automatically in the playoffs, and the other 6 enter into the play-in rounds. Teams ranked 7^th through 10^th in each conference then play for the remaining 4 spots.

Trophy won:  Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy

NFL: Super Bowl

The NFL has a bit of a different format than the previous. The current format of the NFL playoffs consists of 14 teams, 7 from the American Football Conference (AFC) and 7 from the National Football Conference (NFC). The number 1 seed of each conference receives a bye while the other 6 teams play wild card games. After the play-in round, all teams are re-seeded, and the number 1 team plays the last. All games are single-elimination.

Trophy won: Vince Lombardi Trophy

MLB: World Series

Like the NFL, the MLB has a completely different format compared to the others. There are 12 teams, 6 from each league, the American and National League. Those 6 consist of 3 division winners and 3 wild card teams. Those 3 teams then play a best-of-three series to enter the playoff bracket. Seeds 1 and 2 receive byes during the first week. The second round consists of the best-of-five series. And the final two rounds consist of the best-of-seven series.

Trophy won: Commissioner’s Trophy

If you have any further questions, be sure to submit a Fan Question form! And don’t forget to subscribe to my email!