The NHL playoffs consist of four rounds:

• First Round
• Second Round
• Conference Finals
• Stanley Cup Finals

Each round is a best-of-seven series, meaning the first team to win four games advances to the next round

. Thus, a team must win 16 games in total (4 wins per round × 4 rounds) to win the Stanley Cup

. Home-ice advantage is given to the higher-seeded team in the first two rounds, and in the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals, it goes to the team with the better regular-season record