NHL Playoff Picture: NHL Playoff Standings, Bracket and Format

1) Florida 122 points
2) Toronto 115 points
3) Tampa Bay 110 points
4) Boston 107 points

Metropolitan Division

1) Carolina 116 points
2) NY Rangers 110 points
3) Pittsburgh 103 points
4) Washington 100 points

Central Division

1) Colorado 119 points

2) Minnesota 113 points
3) St. Louis 109 points
4) Dallas 98 points

5) Nashville 97 points

Pacific Division

1) Calgary 111 points
2) Edmonton 104 points
3) Los Angeles 99 points

The second and third place teams in each division play against each other in the first round. In the Atlantic Division, Toronto will play Tampa Bay. In the Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers play Pittsburgh. In the Central Division, Minnesota will play St. Louis. In the Pacific Division, Edmonton will play Los Angeles.

The winners of each division will play one of two wildcard teams in each conference.  The wildcard teams are the top two teams in each conference that are not in the top three teams in each division. In the Eastern Conference, the wildcard teams are Boston and Washington, In the Western Conference, the wildcard teams are Dallas and Nashville. The top team in each conference (Florida in the East and Colorado in the West) will play the lowest wildcard team in each conference (Washington in the East and Nashville in the West). Meanwhile, the division winner with the lower record in each conference (Carolina in the East and Calgary in the West), will play the highest wildcard team in each conference (Boston in the East and Dallas in the West). So in essence, Boston is moving to the Metropolitan Division, Washington is moving to the Atlantic Division, and Dallas is moving to the Pacific Division.

The winners of each series in each division will face each other in the conference semifinals. There is then two conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final, as the winner of each conference final will play for the title.