The Winnipeg Jets made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season, doing so for the first time in the franchise's history. It is also the first time a Canadian-based team has done it since the 2011–12 Vancouver Canucks.[2] The Toronto Maple Leafs extended the longest active playoff streak to nine years, reaching the playoffs every season since 2017. The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, snapping an eight-year playoff streak, which was previously tied with the Maple Leafs for longest active playoff streak in the NHL. The New York Rangers became the fourth defending Presidents' Trophy winner to miss the playoffs.[3] The Ottawa Senators qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017, ending what had been the league's third-longest active playoff drought. For the first time in League history, all four of the U.S.-based Original Six teams missed the playoffs.[4] For the first time since 2017, every team in Eastern Canada (the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs) qualified for the playoffs.
This is the tenth year in which the top three teams in each division made the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:[5]
In each round, teams will compete in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage will play at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team will play at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top three teams in each division made the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference, for a total of eight teams from each conference.
In the first round, the lower seeded wild card in the conference will play against the division winner with the best record while the other wild card will play against the other division winner, and both wild cards will be de facto #4 seeds. The other series will match the second and third-place teams from the divisions. In the first two rounds, home-ice advantage will be awarded to the team with the better seed. Thereafter, it will be awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished first in the Atlantic Division with 108 points. The Ottawa Senators earned 97 points to finish as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. This is the fifth playoff meeting between these two rivals with Toronto winning all four previous series. They last met in the 2004 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which Toronto won in seven games. Ottawa won all three games in this year's regular season series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division with 102 points. The Florida Panthers earned 98 points to finish third in the Atlantic. This will be the second consecutive and fourth overall playoff meeting between these two rivals with Tampa Bay winning two of the three previous series. Florida won the previous season's Eastern Conference first round series in five games. These teams tied their four-game regular season series.
The Washington Capitals finished first in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference earning 111 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned 91 points to finish as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. This will be the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous playoff meeting was in the 2010 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which Montreal came back from a 3–1 series deficit to defeat Washington in seven games. Washington won two of the three games in the regular season series.
The Carolina Hurricanes finished second in the Metropolitan Division with 99 points. The New Jersey Devils earned 91 points to finish third in the Metropolitan. This is the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams with Carolina winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the 2023 Eastern Conference second round, which Carolina won in five games. These teams tied their four-game regular season series.
The Winnipeg Jets earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 116 points. The St. Louis Blues earned 96 points to finish as the second wild card in the Western Conference, winning the tiebreaker against Calgary with 32 RWs. This is the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous playoff meeting was in the 2019 Western Conference first round, which St. Louis won in six games. Winnipeg won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
The Dallas Stars finished second in the Central Division with 106 points. The Colorado Avalanche earned 102 points to finish third in the Central. This is the second consecutive and seventh overall playoff series between these two teams with Dallas winning four of the six previous playoff series. Dallas won the previous season's Western Conference second round in six games. Colorado won two of the three games in the regular season series.
The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division with 110 points. The Minnesota Wild earned 97 points to finish as the first wild card in the Western Conference. This is the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous playoff meeting was in the 2021 West Division first round, which Vegas won in seven games after giving up a 3–1 series lead. Vegas won all three games in this year's regular season series.
The Los Angeles Kings finished second in the Pacific Division with 105 points. The Edmonton Oilers earned 101 points to finish third in the Pacific. This will be the fourth consecutive and eleventh overall playoff meeting between these two rivals with Edmonton winning eight of the ten previous series as well as the previous six series. Edmonton won the previous season's Western Conference first round series in five games. Los Angeles won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
In Canada, this marks the 11th postseason under Rogers Media's 12-year contract. Games will air across the Sportsnet networks and CBC under the Hockey Night in Canada brand. For first and second-round U.S.–U.S. games not on CBC, Sportsnet generally simulcasts the U.S. feed instead of producing their own telecast. The 2025 Stanley Cup Finals will be simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.[6]
Every game will be available to stream on Sportsnet+.[6]
For games in the first two rounds, games are split between ESPN-produced telecasts (either on ESPN, ABC, or ESPN2) and TNT Sports-produced telecasts (either on TNT or TBS, with selected simulcasts on TruTV). Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster will also televise local coverage of first-round games, except for any games on ABC.[8][9]
The Stanley Cup playoffs started on the same day as the NBA playoffs this year for the second consecutive season. As a result, TNT opened the first round with a Saturday doubleheader, and will be followed by ESPN or ESPN2 airing games on Sunday, April 20 through Tuesday, April 22. Games will then be split between ESPN, ESPN2, and TBS on Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24. TNT or TBS will have games on Friday, April 25, before TBS has quadruple-headers on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27.[8] ESPN will then air at least one game on Monday, April 28. The league will announce the network assignments for the rest of the first round at a later date.
The ESPN networks have the first choice of which conference final series to air, and TNT Sports will broadcast the other conference finals. As per the alternating rotation, TNT Sports has coverage of the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals.[7]
Max will stream all TNT Sports-produced telecasts.[9]
During game one of the St. Louis–Winnipeg first round series, TNT was criticized for not sending announcers John Forslund and Jennifer Botterill to Winnipeg for the game, instead calling it remotely in the network's Atlanta studios.[10] In response, ESPN decided to send the announce team of John Buccigross and Kevin Weekes to call games in Canada, encompassing game two of the St. Louis–Winnipeg series and the first three games of the Ottawa–Toronto series.[11]
This is the fourth and final year under Sports USA Radio Network's deal to syndicate select Stanley Cup playoff games via NHL Radio across the U.S., including the entire conference finals and Stanley Cup Finals.[12]
