The atypical 2020-21 NHL regular season is overand the next stage of the tournament is underway.The four divisions already have their qualified teamsand the Stanley Cup Playoffs are around the corner.
The road to the trophy promises to be extremely exciting with sixteen sides taking part in the thrilling knockout stage of the National Hockey League campaign. This round, just like the previous one, will be an unconventionalone for this sportdue to the pandemic situation, but it won’t be lacking in excitement.
Under special circumstances, the hockey year has been shorter than usual, with the campaign beginning in January instead of October, as the leagueintendsto conclude this season earlier to get back to the normal calendar for the 2021-2022 term. However, the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun, and here we’ll take a look at the schedule, format, teams, andbracket.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Format 2021
The Stanley Cup Playoffs will be different than usual this year. For this season, teams were divided into four divisions, which were organized according to the franchises’ location to prevent them from making tons of long travel distances under the Covid situation. The 24 American teams were divided into three groups of eight, while the seven Canadian sides were groupedin the remaining division.
The top four teams in each Division earned a ticket to the upcoming knockout phase. The first two rounds of the Playoffs will be played withinDivisions, with thefirst-seeded sidefacingthe fourth, and the second-placed team clashing withthe third.The winners will clash between them in the following round.
Following those two stages, the four remainingteams, one of each division, will set up the semifinals. The winners of these serieswill face off in the Stanley Cup Final. All rounds will consist ofbest-of-7 series, withhome-ice advantage for the higher-seeded team.
2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs Teams
Sixteen sides have made their way into the first round of the playoffs. Those were the best four of the West, Central, East, and North Division. These are the qualified teams from each division:
- West
y – Colorado Avalanche
x- Vegas Golden Knights
x – Minnesota Wild
x – St Louis Blues
- Central
y – Carolina Hurricanes
x – Florida Panthers
x – Tampa Bay Lightning
x – Nashville Predators
- East
y – Pittsburgh Penguins
x – Washington Capitals
x – Boston Bruins
x – New York Islanders
- North
y – Toronto Maple Leafs
x – Edmonton Oilers
x – Winnipeg Jets
x – Montreal Canadiens
2021Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule and How to Watch
The2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round schedule was released and every division except for the West already knows the date and time for each game.
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East Division
Pittsburgh Penguins (1st) vs.New York Islanders (4th)
Game 1: Islanders 4-1 Penguins
Game 2: Islanders at Penguins – Tuesday, May 18 at 7:30 PM (ET)
How to watch:NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 3: Penguins at Islanders – Thursday, May 20 at 7 PM (ET)
How to watch:NBCSN, SN360, TVAS
Game 4: Penguins at Islanders – Saturday, May 22, 3 PM (ET)
How to watch:NBC, SN, TVAS
*Game 5:Islanders at Penguins – Monday, May 24
*Game 6: Penguins at Islanders – Wednesday, May 26
*Game 7: Islanders at Penguins – Friday, May 28
* Time and TV TBD
Washington Capitals (2nd) vs. Boston Bruins (3rd)
Game 1: .: Bruins 2-3 (OT) Capitals
Game 2: Bruins4-3 (OT)Capitals
Game 3: Capitals at Bruins – Wednesday, May 19, 6:30 PM (ET)
NBCSN, SNE, SNO, SNP, SN360, TVAS
Game 4: Capitals at Bruins – Friday, May 21, 6:30 PM (ET)
NBCSN, SNE, SNO, SNP, SN360, TVAS
*Game 5: Bruins at Capitals- Sunday, May 23
*Game 6: Capitals at Bruins – Tuesday, May 25
*Game 7: Bruins at Capitals – Thursday, May 27
* If necessary
-
Central Division
Carolina Hurricanes (1st) vs. Nashville Predators (4th)
Game 1: Predators2-5Hurricanes
Game 2: Predators at Hurricanes – Wednesday, May 19, 8 PM (ET)
CNBC, FX-CA, TVAS
Game 3: Hurricanes at Predators – Friday, May 21, 7 pm (ET)
USA, FXX-CA, TVAS
Game 4: Hurricanes at Predators – Sunday, May 23 TBD
TBD
*Game 5: Predators at Hurricanes – Tuesday, May 25
*Game 6:Hurricanes at Predators – Thursday, May 27
*Game 7: Predators at Hurricanes – Saturday, May 29
* If necessary
Florida Panthers (2nd) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (3rd)
Game 1: Lightning4-3Panthers – Sunday, May 16, 7:30 PM (ET)
NBCSN, SN, TVAS
Game 2: Lightning at Panthers – Tuesday, May 18, 8 PM (ET)
CNBC, SNE, TVAS
Game 3: Panthers at Lightning – Thursday, May 20, 6:30 PM (ET)
USA, FX-CA, TVAS
Game 4: Panthers at Lightning – Saturday, May 22, 12:30 PM (ET)
CNBC, SN, TVAS
*Game 5: Lightning at Panthers – Monday, May 24
*Game 6: Panthers at Lightning – Wednesday, May 26
*Game 7: Lightning at Panthers – Friday, May 28
* If necessary
-
West Division
Colorado Avalanche(1st) vs. St. Louis Blues (4th)
Game 1: Blues 1-4Avalanche- Monday, May 17, 10 PM (ET)
NBCSN, SN1, TVAS
Game 2: Blues at Avalanche- Wednesday, May 19, 10:30 PM (ET)
CNBC, SN360, TVAS
Game 3: Avalancheat Blues – Friday, May 21, 9:30 PM (ET)
USA, SN360, TVAS
Game 4: Avalancheat Blues – Sunday, May 23 TBD
*Game 5: Blues at Avalanche- Tuesday, May 25, TBD
*Game 6: Avalanche at Blues – Thursday, May 27, TBD
*Game 7: Blues at Avalanche- Saturday, May 29, TBD
* If necessary
Vegas Golden Knights (2) vs. Minnesota Wild (3)
Game 1: Wild 1-0Golden KnightsSunday, May 16, 3 PM (ET)
NBC, SN, TVAS
Game 2: Wild at Golden Knights – Tuesday, May 18, 10 PM (ET)
BCSN, SN360, TVAS
Game 3: Golden Knights at Wild – Thursday, May 20, 9:30PM (ET)
NBCSN, SN360, TVAS
Game 4: Golden Knights at Wild – Saturday, May 22, 8 PM (ET)
NBC, SN360, TVAS
*Game 5: Wild at Golden Knights – Monday, May 24
*Game 6: Golden Knights at Wild – Wednesday, May 26
*Game 7:Wild at Golden Knights – Friday, May 28
* If necessary
-
North Division
Toronto Maple Leafs (1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (4)
Game 1: Canadiens at Maple Leafs – Thursday, May 20, 7:30 PM (ET)
NHLN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 2:Canadiens at Maple Leafs – Saturday, May 22, 7 PM (ET)
NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 3: Maple Leafs at Canadiens – Monday, May 24, TBD
Game 4: Maple Leafs at Canadiens – Tuesday, May 25, TBD
*Game 5: Canadiens at Maple Leafs – Thursday, May 27
*Game 6: Maple Leafs at Canadiens – Saturday, May 29
*Game 7: Canadiens at Maple Leafs – Monday, May 31
* If necessary
Edmonton Oilers (2) vs. Winnipeg Jets (3)
Game 1:Jets at Oilers – Wednesday, May 19, 9
NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 2: Jets at Oilers – Friday, May 21, 9 PM (ET)
NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 3: Oilers at Jets – Sunday, May 23, TBD
Game 4: Oilers at Jets – Monday, May 24, TBD
*Game 5: Jets at Oilers – Wednesday, May 26
*Game 6: Oilers at Jets – Friday, May 28
*Game 7: Jets at Oilers – Sunday, May 30
* If necessary
2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket
With the sixteen teams inside the knockout stage, this is how the NHL 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket looks like, with exciting matchups in the beginning of the knockout stage:
