The NHL playoffs have arrived. After a long season the NHL has chosen and seeded eight teams from each conference in a deeply imperfect manner that should be changed, but for now, it's all we've got.
In the Eastern and Western Conferences, each division has sent its top three teams. Then the top two wild-card teams with the next best records earned the right to play the two division winners. This year, the Atlantic Division sent five teams while the Metropolitan sent three and both Western Conference divisions sent four apiece.
Games begin on Saturday with a triple-header on ESPN. On Sunday, there's a quadruple-header where you can watch games on TNT, truTV, HBO and ESPN. Monday's games are on ESPN and ESPN 2 and by Wednesday even TBS will be involved.
Here's who you'll be watching:
NHL Playoff Picture
Eastern Conference playoff standings
Atlantic Division
1. Buffalo Sabres (109 points)
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (106 points)
3. Montreal Canadiens (106 points)
Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes (113 points)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (98 points)
3. Philadelphia Flyers (98 points)
Wild Card
1. Boston Bruins (100 points)
2. Ottawa Senators (99 points)
Western Conference playoff standings
Central Division
1. Colorado Avalanche (121 points)
2. Dallas Stars (112 points)
3. Minnesota Wild (104 points)
Pacific Division
1. Vegas Golden Knights (95 points)
2. Edmonton Oilers (93 points)
3. Anaheim Ducks (92 points)
Wild Card
1. Utah Mammoth (92 points)
2. Los Angeles Kings (90 points)
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2026 bracket
This year's bracket has given us the Dallas Stars versus the team that replaced them in Minnesota when they moved to Texas in '93. The Penguins and Flyers battle for the heart of Pennsylvania. Montreal and Tampa Bay will earn some serious first round frequent-flyer miles if the series isn't a sweep. And most importantly, the Golden Knights and Mammoth have matched up in an effort to seriously confuse anyone who has been off the grid for the last decade.
Notable Stanley Cup droughts
It's been awhile since some of these teams have tasted postseason success. The Ducks and Senators haven't won a series since '17 and there are three more teams who have gone a decade or longer since last winning a series. The Wild haven't won a series since '15. The Kings haven't won a playoff series since they clinched their second Stanley Cup in three seasons in '14.
Then there's the Buffalo Sabres. They have the longest Stanley Cup drought of any team who made the playoffs this year. It's been more than a quarter-century since they won in '99. They haven't won a playoff series since they made back-to-back Conference Finals runs in '06 and '07. This is just their third trip to the playoffs since '07 and their first time back in the postseason since '11.
NHL Stanley Cup playoff schedule
Here's the schedule for the opening games of each playoff matchup.
| Home Team | Visitors | Day | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricanes (M1) | Senators (WC2) | Saturday | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Wild (C3) | Stars (C2) | Saturday | 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Penguins (M2) | Flyers (M3) | Saturday | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Avalanche (C1) | Kings (WC2) | Sunday | 3 p.m. ET | TNT / truTV / HBO |
| Lightning (A2) | Canadiens (A3) | Sunday | 5:45 p.m. ET | TNT / truTV / HBO |
| Sabres (A1) | Bruins (WC1) | Sunday | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Golden Knights (P1) | Mammoth (WC1) | Sunday | 10 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Oilers (P2) | Ducks (P3) | Monday | 10 p.m. ET | ESPN 2 |
Any first round Game 7 will take place on Saturday, May 2 or Sunday, May 3. The second round begins on May 6 and Conference Finals begin on May 22. The Stanley Cup Final begins on June 3.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Full NHL Postseason Bracket.
