2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule

After winning the President’s Trophy with a 55-23-4 record, the New York Rangers are charging ahead to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the top seed from the Metropolitan Division. They are set to take the ice on April 21 at Madison Square Garden to face the Washington Capitals.

The other three top seeds are the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks and Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. Learn more about the 12 remaining teams and the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule below.

NHL Playoffs Format

All 16 teams will compete in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round. The two top seeds will face the second-seeded Wild Card teams, then the next two No. 1 seeds will face the top Wild Card seeds. The second and third seeds in each division will face each other for a chance to advance to the second round. Regular season records determine all seeding.

Teams will play a best-of-seven series in each round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-2-1-1-1 format. The higher seed holds the home-ice advantage in the First Round, hosting games 1, 2, 5 and 7, if necessary. Later rounds favor the team with the best regular season record regardless of seed.

If two teams are tied at the end of regulation, they will continue to play 20-minute sudden-death periods until a winner emerges. The overtime periods feature five-on-five play.

THE BRACKET IS SET! 🔒

Who do YOU have winning it all?

The #StanleyCup Playoffs begin Saturday, April 20th! pic.twitter.com/kz2lKc5lB4
— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2024

Eastern Conference

New York won the Eastern Conference with 114 points. They won seven of their last 10 games to secure the President’s Trophy with a 69.5 win percentage. They will face the Caps, who finished the season with a 40-31-11 record. The two teams split four games earlier this season with each winning at home.

The Carolina Hurricanes, who reached the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, finished three games back to capture second place in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. They will face the NY Islanders, who went 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, in the first round.

The Florida Panthers, who won the Atlantic Division, posted the league’s highest goal differential at 68. They will face the Tampa Bay Lighting and Art Ross winner Nikita Kucherov. The final first-round series in the East features the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. Toronto led the league in scoring with 303 goals in the regular season.

Western Conference

The Dallas Stars finished atop the Western Conference with a 52-21-9 record, just barely edging out the Vancouver Canucks. The Stars posted a goal differential of 64, which was good for second in the league, and will face the Vegas Golden Knights. Although Dallas is favored in the series, Vegas won all three regular-season games between the two squads. The Golden Knights also eliminated the Stars in last year’s Conference Finals on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.

The Canucks will take on the Nashville Predators in their first home series since 2015. They also advanced to the playoffs in 2020, but all the games were held at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings are set to meet in the first round for the third consecutive season. Edmonton won both previous series. The final series features the Winnipeg Jets, who have won eight in a row, and the Colorado Avalanche and all-time franchise scoring leader Nathan MacKinnon. He scored 51 goals and dished out 89 assists for 140 points.