The NHL season started with 32 teams all vying for a shot at the Stanley Cup. With just one regular season games left to play, just half those teams remain in contention.
The playoffs start next week and we know all the teams that will be participating in them, as well as some of the first-round matchups.
The 2022 NHL Playoffs include four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first round is the top two seeds in each division (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific) against the Wild Card teams from each conference. The other No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in each division will face off in the first round.
Eight teams are locked into their current seeds (Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings). The Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars are all in the playoffs, but seeding could fluctuate based on the last game or two of the regular season.
If the playoffs started today, these would be the first round matchups:
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
M2 New York Rangers vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC1 Dallas Stars
C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 St. Louis Blues
P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC2 Nashville Predators
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Puck drop for the first games of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will be Monday, May 2.
