How the NHL Works: 32 Teams, 84 Games, No Ties, and Playoff Overtime That Goes Until Someone Scores.
The NHL has no ties. If a game is tied after 60 minutes, three players per side go to a 5-minute sudden-death overtime. If nobody scores, a shootout decides the winner. In the playoffs, the shootout disappears: teams play full 20-minute overtime periods, sudden death, until someone scores. The longest playoff game in history went 116 minutes and 30 seconds of overtime on top of the 60 minutes already played — 176 minutes and 30 seconds of total game time. That is the league.
The National Hockey League is the premier professional ice hockey league in North America, founded in 1917 and currently comprising 32 teams spread across the United States and Canada. The regular season runs from late September through April, 84 games per team, followed by a four-round playoff tournament that determines the winner of the Stanley Cup — the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, awarded since 1893. Understanding three things unlocks the entire league: how teams are organized, how points are earned during the regular season, and how the playoffs decide the champion.
——— THE TEAMS ———
How the NHL Is Organized: 32 Teams, Two Conferences, Four Divisions
The NHL’s 32 teams are divided into two conferences — the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference — each containing two divisions of eight teams. The Eastern Conference has the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division. The Western Conference has the Central Division and the Pacific Division. Each division has eight teams, for 16 per conference and 32 total.
The divisional structure matters because it determines both the regular season schedule and the playoff bracket. Teams play more games against divisional opponents than against teams from other divisions or conferences. Division rivalries — Boston vs Montreal, Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia, Colorado vs Dallas — are where the most heated, highest-stakes regular season games happen. The playoff bracket is also division-based: teams that finish in the top three of their division qualify automatically, and divisional matchups in the first round are where the most established rivalries are renewed.
THE 32 TEAMS BY CONFERENCE AND DIVISION (2026-27)
| Conference | Division | Teams (8) |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Atlantic | Boston Bruins · Buffalo Sabres · Detroit Red Wings · Florida Panthers · Montreal Canadiens · Ottawa Senators · Tampa Bay Lightning · Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Eastern | Metropolitan | Carolina Hurricanes · Columbus Blue Jackets · New Jersey Devils · New York Islanders · New York Rangers · Philadelphia Flyers · Pittsburgh Penguins · Washington Capitals |
| Western | Central | Chicago Blackhawks · Colorado Avalanche · Dallas Stars · Minnesota Wild · Nashville Predators · St. Louis Blues · Utah Mammoth · Winnipeg Jets |
| Western | Pacific | Anaheim Ducks · Calgary Flames · Edmonton Oilers · Las Vegas Golden Knights · Los Angeles Kings · San Jose Sharks · Seattle Kraken · Vancouver Canucks |
* Utah Mammoth joined the NHL for the 2024-25 season as the league’s 32nd franchise.
——— THE SEASON ———
How the NHL Regular Season Works: 84 Games, the Points System, and How Teams Qualify for the Playoffs
The 84-game regular season
Starting with the 2026-27 season, each NHL team plays 84 regular season games — 42 at home and 42 on the road — from late September through April. This is the NHL’s first 84-game season since 1993-94, and adds one additional home and one additional away game per team compared to previous seasons. The 1,344 total games across the league make the NHL regular season among the longest in North American professional sports by total game count. Teams play the majority of their games against divisional and conference opponents, with interconference games ensuring every team faces every other team at least once per season.
The points system
The NHL does not use wins and losses alone to determine standings. It uses a points system that rewards teams for winning in any format while also giving a consolation point to teams that lose in overtime or a shootout. A regulation win is worth 2 points. A win in overtime or a shootout is also worth 2 points. A loss in overtime or a shootout is worth 1 point — the loser still goes home with something. A regulation loss is worth 0 points. This system means that 3 points are available in every game that goes to overtime, which is why the total points in the NHL standings are not simply wins multiplied by two.
NHL POINTS SYSTEM: HOW STANDINGS ARE CALCULATED
| Result | Points Earned | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation win (W) | 2 points | Standard win in 60 minutes. |
| Overtime win (OTW) | 2 points | Won in 3-on-3 OT (5 minutes). |
| Shootout win (SOW) | 2 points | Won via shootout after OT. |
| Overtime loss (OTL) | 1 point | Lost in OT or shootout. Still earns a point. |
| Regulation loss (L) | 0 points | Lost in 60 minutes. No consolation point. |
* The overtime loss point (OTL) is sometimes called the ‘loser point.’ Teams that make the playoffs primarily on OTL points are occasionally described, informally, as ‘points frauds.’
How teams qualify for the playoffs
At the end of the regular season, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The top three teams in each of the four divisions earn automatic berths — that is 12 spots. The remaining four spots go to wild card teams: the two teams with the best point totals in the Eastern Conference who did not finish in the top three of their division, and the same in the Western Conference. A team can miss the playoffs despite having a better record than a division winner in another division. The wild card format rewards division winners over raw point totals, which creates exactly the kind of end-of-season drama that makes the final weeks of the NHL regular season compelling.
“The NHL season is a marathon followed by a sprint. Spanning approximately eight to nine months, it features an 84-game regular season structured around divisional and conference competition, followed by a demanding four-round playoff tournament involving 16 teams.”
——— THE PLAYOFFS ———
How the NHL Playoffs Work: Four Rounds, Best-of-Seven, and Overtime That Never Ends
The bracket structure
The NHL playoffs involve 16 teams across four rounds, each round played as a best-of-seven series. The first round matches division winners against wild card teams and pits division runners-up against third-place finishers. The bracket is fixed at the start of the playoffs and does not reseed between rounds. This is different from the NFL, which reseeds after each round. In the NHL, your first-round matchup determines your entire side of the bracket: if you win, you know exactly which teams you could face in subsequent rounds before the playoffs even begin.
Overtime in the playoffs
Regular season overtime lasts 5 minutes with three skaters per side, followed by a shootout if nobody scores. The playoffs eliminate both of those features entirely. Playoff overtime is 5-on-5 sudden death with no time limit and no shootout. Teams play full 20-minute overtime periods until someone scores. Games have extended to four or more overtime periods in the same night. The longest game in NHL playoff history, between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons in 1936, lasted 116 minutes and 30 seconds of overtime on top of 60 minutes of regulation — 176 minutes and 30 seconds of total game time. No sport produces the sustained collective tension of NHL playoff overtime.
Winning the Stanley Cup
A team must win four best-of-seven series to win the Stanley Cup: the First Round, the Second Round, the Conference Finals, and the Stanley Cup Final. That is a minimum of 16 wins and a maximum of 28 games. The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America — the original bowl was donated by Lord Stanley of Preston, then Governor General of Canada, in 1892 and first awarded in 1893. Eligible players, coaches, and team personnel have their names engraved on the Cup after winning, subject to the NHL’s eligibility criteria. And each summer, members of the winning organization get to spend a day with the Stanley Cup — a tradition that has produced some of the sport’s most memorable photographs.
“Once you understand the system, the NHL Playoffs are actually structured in a very logical way. For new fans, the format can seem complex at first, but that exact structure is what makes the competition so exciting.”
——— THE BASICS ———
NHL Rules Explained for New Fans: The Essentials Before Your First Game
How goals are scored
A goal is scored when the puck crosses the opponent’s goal line and enters the net. The net is 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Disputed goals are reviewed by the NHL’s Situation Room in Toronto using video replay — officials confirm the puck crossed the line, check for interference with the goaltender, and verify no distinct kicking motion was used. Having a skate in the crease does not automatically invalidate a goal; what matters is whether the goaltender was interfered with. A goal counts only if it was struck by a stick or deflected off a player’s body without a distinct kicking motion.
Penalties and power plays
When a player commits a penalty — hooking, holding, tripping, slashing, interference, and others — they are sent to the penalty box for 2 minutes (minor penalty) or 5 minutes (major penalty). During that time, the penalized team plays with one fewer skater. The team with the extra skater plays on the power play. If the power play team scores on a minor penalty, the penalized player returns to the ice immediately. If the shorthanded team scores, the penalized player stays in the box and the minor penalty continues. Major penalties are served in full regardless of goals scored. Power plays and penalty kills account for a significant portion of all goals scored and are among the most strategically important moments in the sport.
Icing and offsides
Two rules confuse new fans most consistently. Icing generally occurs when a team shoots the puck from behind the center red line all the way down the ice past the opponent’s goal line without it being touched. The play is stopped and the puck is brought back for a faceoff in the offending team’s zone. Offsides occurs when an attacking player’s skates cross the opposing blue line before the puck does. The play is stopped immediately and a faceoff is held outside the zone. These two rules exist to prevent teams from simply launching the puck down the ice or stationing forwards in the offensive zone without earning their position.
32 teams. Two conferences. Four divisions. 84 games. A points system that rewards losing in overtime. 16 teams to the playoffs. A fixed bracket. Best-of-seven in every round. Sudden death overtime with no shootout and no time limit. Four series to win the Stanley Cup. A trophy with champions’ names engraved on it since 1893.
Late September through June. Eight months. One Cup.
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