The 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will stage 16 teams against each other, all vying to be crowned Stanley Cup champions.
A number of teams have genuine aspirations of going all the way, but only one will be able to successfully navigate their way through four rounds of best-of-seven series between April and June.
The 2024 NHL Playoffs begin on Saturday, April 20 when the New York Islanders face the Carolina Hurricanes at 5 PM ET and the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Boston Bruins at 8 PM ET.
The start date for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final has not yet been released.
The Islanders-Hurricanes (5 PM ET) and Maple Leafs-Bruins (8 PM ET) series begin on April 20.
There are four games on Sunday, April 21, which are the Lightning-Panthers (12:30 PM ET), Capitals-Rangers (3 PM ET), Avalanche-Jets (7 PM ET), and Predators-Canucks (10 PM ET) series.
Monday, April 22 sees Game 2 in the Leafs-Bruins (7 PM ET) and Islanders-Hurricanes (7:30 PM ET) series, as well as Game 1 in both the Golden Knights-Stars (9:30 PM ET) and Kings-Oilers (10 PM ET) series.
Tuesday, April 23 features Game 2 of Caps-Rangers (7 PM ET), Lightning-Panthers (7:30 PM ET), Avs-Jets (9:30 PM ET), and Preds-Cancuks (10 PM ET).
Wednesday, April 24 sees Game 3 of Leafs-Bruins (7 PM ET) and Game 2 of both Golden Knights-Stars (9:30 PM ET) and Kings-Oilers (10 PM ET).
Thursday, April 25 has Game 3 in Lightning-Panthers (7 PM ET) and Islanders-Hurricanes (7:30 PM ET).
Friday, April 26 has Game 3 in Caps-Rangers (7 PM ET), Predators-Canucks (7:30 PM ET), Avs-Jets (10 PM ET) and Kings-Oilers (10:30 PM ET).
Saturday, April 27 sees Game 4 in Islanders-Hurricanes (2 PM ET), Lightning-Panthers (5 PM ET) and Leafs-Bruins (8 PM ET), and Game 3 in Golden Knights-Stars (10:30 PM ET).
Game 4 in the Avs-Jets (2:30 PM ET), Predators-Canucks (5 PM ET), Capitals-Rangers (8 PM ET), and Kings-Oilers (10:30 PM ET) will be played on Sunday, April 28.
If necessary, Game 5 in Lightning-Panthers and Game 4 in Golden Knights-Stars are both set for Monday, April 29, with opening face-off time still to be determined.
Game 5 - if necessary - in Leafs-Bruins, Islanders-Hurricanes, Avs-Jets, and Preds-Canucks are all set for Tuesday, April 30 with start times yet to be determined.
Game 6 in Lightning-Panthers and Game 5 in Caps-Rangers, Golden Knights-Stars and Kings-Oilers - all if necessary - are set for Wednesday, May 1. Start times are yet to be determined.
If necessary, Game 6 in the Leafs-Bruins, Isles-Canes and Avs-Jets series are set for Thursday, May 2 with times to be announced.
Friday, May 3 will see Game 6, if necessary, for Caps-Rangers, Golden Knights-Stars, Predators-Canucks, and Kings-Oilers with times yet to be announced.
Saturday, May 4 will see - if necessary - Game 7 for Lightning-Panthers, Leafs-Bruins, Isles-Canes and Avs-Jets.
Sunday, May 5 will see, if necessary, Game 7 for Caps-Rangers, Golden Knights-Stars, Preds-Canucks and Kings-Oilers.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals are in the playoffs.
In the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings have secured their playoff spots.
Eight teams from each conference will participate in the playoffs, with each round played in a best-of-seven format.
The top three teams in each of the four divisions qualified automatically, plus two teams from each conference were awarded a Wild Card by way of having the highest point totals out of the remaining teams in the conference.
In each conference, the lower seeded Wild Card plays against the divisional winner with the best record, while the other Wild Card plays against the other divisional winner.
The other two series match the second and third-placed teams from the divisions against each other.
For the first two rounds of the NHL Playoffs, home-ice advantage goes in favor of the side with the better seeding, and in the later rounds, it is given to the team with the better regular season record.
A total of 16 teams make the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, divided into eight teams in each conference.
The top three teams in each conference's two divisions make the playoffs. The last two spots in each conference are determined through the Wild Card, which is earned by the teams with the highest point totals that are not in the playoff spots.
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