The Vegas Golden Knights became the first team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in the league since the 1979–80Hartford Whalers and the Edmonton Oilers.[2] They also became the first expansion team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season since the 1967 NHL expansion.[3] For the fourth time in league history (2000, 2001, 2007), only two Original Six teams, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, clinched a berth for the playoffs. For the first time since 1966, no playoff games were played in the state of New York.
For the fifth time in eight years, all three California-based teams made the playoffs.[4]
The Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings both missed the playoffs this year, marking the first time this ever happened since the Red Wings were established in 1926. For the first time since 1969, both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs in the same season.[5]
This is the fifth year in which the top three teams in each division make 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 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs:[6]
(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC2) New Jersey Devils
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished first in the Atlantic Division earning 113 points. New Jersey finished as the Eastern Conference's second wild card, earning 97 points. This is the third playoff meeting between these two teams with New Jersey winning both previous series. They last met in the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which New Jersey won in six games. New Jersey won all three games in this year's regular season series.
The Boston Bruins finished second in the Atlantic Division earning 112 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 105 points to finish third in the Atlantic Division. This is the fifteenth playoff meeting between these two teams with Toronto winning eight of the fourteen previous series. They last met in the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Boston won in seven games. Toronto won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) Columbus Blue Jackets
The Washington Capitals finished first in the Metropolitan Division earning 105 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets finished as the Eastern Conference's first wild card earning 97 points. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Washington won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
(M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (M3) Philadelphia Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished second in the Metropolitan Division earning 100 points. The Philadelphia Flyers earned 98 points to finish third in the Metropolitan. This is the seventh playoff meeting between these two rivals with Philadelphia winning four of the six previous series. They last met in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Philadelphia won in six games. Pittsburgh won all four games in this year's regular season series.
(C1) Nashville Predators vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche
The Nashville Predators earned the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 117 points. The Colorado Avalanche finished as the Western Conference's second wild card earning 95 points. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Nashville won all four games in this year's regular season series.
The Winnipeg Jets finished second in the Central Division earning 114 points. The Minnesota Wild earned 101 points to finish third in the Central. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The only previous playoff meeting between professional hockey teams representing Winnipeg and Minnesota came during the inauguralWorld Hockey Association season (1973) when the original Jets defeated the Minnesota Fighting Saints in five games. Winnipeg won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Los Angeles Kings
The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division earning 109 points. The Los Angeles Kings earned 98 points to finish as the Western Conference's first wild card. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams and the first playoff series for the Golden Knights. These teams split their four-game regular season series.
The Anaheim Ducks finished second in the Pacific Division earning 101 points. The San Jose Sharks earned 100 points to finish third in the Pacific Division. This is the second playoff meeting between these teams. Their only previous series occurred in the 2009 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which Anaheim won in six games. San Jose won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.
This will mark the seventh postseason under NBC Sports' current 10-year contract for American television rights to the NHL. All national coverage of games will be aired on either NBCSN, the NBC broadcast network, NHL Network, USA Network, CNBC, or Golf Channel. NBC will air playoff games on Golf Channel for the first time.[7] During the first round, excluding games exclusively broadcast on NBC, the regional rights holders of each participating U.S. team will produce local telecasts of their respective games. For the second year, the national broadcasts will not be blacked out on television in the markets of participating teams, and could co-exist with the local broadcasts (however, NBC-provided coverage will be restricted in Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, where AT&T SportsNet holds the regional rights to the Penguins and the Golden Knights, respectively).[8]
In Canada, for the fourth postseason under Rogers Media's current 12-year contract, coverage will be broadcast by Sportsnet networks and CBC Television under the Hockey Night in Canada brand, and streamed on Sportsnet Now, CBCSports.ca (for games televised by CBC), or the subscription service Rogers NHL Live.[9]
