The 2024 NHL Playoff picture is taking shape. The updated playoff bracket for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs is below. We also have the current NHL standings so you can see where the teams stand as we get to the end of the season. The 2024 NHL Playoffs start on April 20th. They continue until the Stanley Cup Finals that kick off on June 3, 2024 (estimate). We’ll have updates on the final matchups, seeds, brackets and Stanley Cup Playoff schedules for you after game play concludes on April 18th
How Many Teams Make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024?
There will be16 teams in the 2024 NHL playoffs. Eight from each conference make it. The top three teams in the division (each one) make it. They also pick the top two teams from either division as Wild Cards.
How do Seeds get assigned in the Stanley Cup Playoff?
The best team in each conference gets to play the worst team (Wild Card) in each conference in the NHL. The other division winner gets the better placed wild card team. The “better” team is determined by which team has the most points over the regular season. The NHL does not reseed teams like the NFL does in the playoffs. You can check out the remaining NHL regular season schedule here.
How Long Do the Stanley Cup Playoffs Last?
They run approximately the same length of time as the NBA playoffs. From mid-April to mid-end of June. There are four rounds of play. First round, Second, Conference Finals, and the Stanley Cup Final. Each round is a best-of-seven, single elimination contest for the loser of the series.
Who has clinched an NHL playoff berth?
All of the teams are now set that will be in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We have them laid out for you in the current playoff picture below.
2024 NHL Playoff Picture Updated April 18th
The NHL Playoff picture can change a good bit based on the day. If the postseason started right now, here’s what the Western Conference matchups and brackets would look like. We also have a printable NHL Playoff bracket for 2024 up here that is blank. We’ll have the updated NHL playoff bracket and schedule for you after game play tonight (4/18).
The bracket is available for you to follow the action and make projections until it’s time for the complete brackets to come out. The overall Stanley Cup playoff schedule is up here too. The playoff picture is updated as of April 18th.
All 16 teams are now set for the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. We have a few seeds left in the Western Conference that can shift around, so we’ll update you more tonight along with an updated printable NHL playoff bracket.
2024 NHL Playoff Picture
NHL Eastern Conference bracket
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
A2 Boston Bruins vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New York Islanders
NHL Western Conference bracket
C1 Dallas Stars vs. WC2 Vegas Golden Knights
C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings*
2024 Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule
Here is the updated 2024 NHL Playoff schedule for the opening round of games.
Matchup | Game | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes | 1 | April 20 | 5 p.m. | TBS, truTV, SNE, SNW, SNP, SN360, TVAS |
Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins | 1 | April 20 | 8 p.m. | TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS |
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers | 1 | April 21 | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN, SN, TVAS |
Washington Capitals at New York Rangers | 1 | April 21 | 3 p.m | ESPN, SN, TVAS |
Colorado @ Winnipeg | 1 | April 21 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Nashville @ Vancouver | 1 | April 21 | 10 p. m. | ESPN |
Matchup | Game | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
Toronto @ Boston | 2 | April 22 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
New York @ Carolina | 2 | April 22 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Vegas @ Dallas | 1 | April 22 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
LA @ Edmonton | 1 | April 22 | 10 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Washington @ NY Rangers | 2 | April 23 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
Tampa Bay @ Florida | 2 | April 23 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Colorado @ Winnipeg | 2 | April 23 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Nashville @ Vancouver | 2 | April 23 | 10 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Matchup | Game | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
Boston @ Toronto | 3 | April 24 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
Vegas @ Dallas | 2 | April 24 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
LA @ Edmonton | 2 | April 24 | 10 p.m. | TBS |
Complete 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff TV Schedule – First Round
Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule
Florida Panthers (1A) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (WC1)
Game 1: Lightning at Panthers — Sunday 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, TVAS, BSSUN, BSFL)
Game 2: Lightning at Panthers — April 23, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, SN360, TVAS)
Game 3: Panthers at Lightning — April 25, 7 p.m. ET (TBS, MAX, SN, TVAS)
Game 4: Panthers at Lightning — April 27, 5 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, TVAS, SNE, SNW, SNP)
Game 5: Lightning at Panthers — April 29, TBD
Game 6: Panthers at Lightning — May 1, TBD
Game 7: Lightning at Panthers — May 4, TBD
Boston Bruins (2A) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (3A)
Game 1: Maple Leafs at Bruins — Saturday 8 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS, CBC)
Game 2: Maple Leafs at Bruins — April 22, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS)
Game 3: Bruins at Maple Leafs — April 24, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC)
Game 4: Bruins at Maple Leafs — April 27, 8 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS, CBC)
Game 5: Maple Leafs at Bruins — April 30, TBD
Game 6: Bruins at Maple Leafs — May 2, TBD
Game 7: Maple Leafs at Bruins — May 4, TBD
New York Rangers (1M) vs. Washington Capitals (WC2)
Game 1: Capitals at Rangers — Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, TVAS, MSG, MNMT)
Game 2: Capitals at Rangers — April 23, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNW)
Game 3: Rangers at Capitals — April 26, 7 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Rangers at Capitals — April 28, 8 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP)
Game 5: Capitals at Rangers — May 1, TBD
Game 6: Rangers at Capitals — May 3, TBD
Game 7: Capitals at Rangers — May 5, TBD
Carolina Hurricanes (2M) vs. New York Islanders (3M)
Game 1: Islanders at Hurricanes — Saturday, 5 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS, MSGSN, BSSO, SNW, SNE, SNP)
Game 2: Islanders at Hurricanes — April 22, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, SN360, TVAS)
Game 3: Hurricanes at Islanders — April 25, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Hurricanes at Islanders — April 27, 2 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS)
Game 5: Islanders at Hurricanes — April 30, TBD
Game 6: Hurricanes at Islanders — May 2, TBD
Game 7: Islanders at Hurricanes — May 4, TBD
Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule
Dallas Stars (1C) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (WC2)
Game 1: Golden Knights at Stars — April 22, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN360, TVAS, FX)
Game 2: Golden Knights at Stars — April 24, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 3: Stars at Golden Knights — April 27, 10:30 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Stars at Golden Knights — April 29, TBD
Game 5: Golden Knights at Stars — May 1, TBD
Game 6: Stars at Golden Knights — May 3, TBD
Game 7: Golden Knights at Stars — May 5, TBD
Winnipeg Jets (2C) vs. Colorado Avalanche (3C)
Game 1: Avalanche at Jets — Sunday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2, SN, TVAS)
Game 2: Avalanche at Jets — April 23, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, CBC, TVAS)
Game 3: Jets at Avalanche — April 26, 10 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, CBC, TVAS)
Game 4: Jets at Avalanche — April 28, 2:30 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS)
Game 5: Avalanche at Jets — April 30, TBD
Game 6: Jets at Avalanche — May 2, TBD
Game 7: Avalanche at Jets — May 4, TBD
Vancouver Canucks (1P) vs. Nashville Predators (WC1)
Game 1: Predators at Canucks — Sunday, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 2: Predators at Canucks — April 23, 10 p.m. ET ( ESPN2, SN, TVAS)
Game 3: Canucks at Predators — April 26, 7:30 p.m. ET (TBS, MAX, SN, TVAS)
Game 4: Canucks at Predators — April 28, 5 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS)
Game 5: Predators at Canucks — April 30, TBD
Game 6: Canucks at Predators — May 3, TBD
Game 7: Predators at Canucks — May 5, TBD
Edmonton Oilers (2P) vs. Los Angeles Kings (3P)
Game 1: Kings at Oilers — April 22, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS)
Game 2: Kings at Oilers — April 24, 10 p.m. ET (TBS, MAX, SN, TVAS, CBC)
Game 3: Oilers at Kings — April 26, 10:30 p.m. ET (TBS, MAX, SN, TVAS)
Game 4: Oilers at Kings — April 28, 10:30 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, SN1, TVAS)
Game 5: Kings at Oilers — May 1, TBD
Game 6: Oilers at Kings — May 3, TBD
Game 7: Kings at Oilers — May 5, TBD