NHL bracket shakeup
The NHL’s playoff field is set, but seeding is still being determined and the Golden Knights are positioned to clinch the Pacific Division and lock a first‑round series with the Mammoth. (nhl.com) League data shows an uncommon six‑team turnover — Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Utah all returned after missing 2024‑25 — marking the second‑largest roster of changes in recent history. (nhl.com)
The National Hockey League’s playoff bracket is finally set, and the last Western Conference domino fell when Vegas clinched the Pacific Division on April 15. (nhl.com) Vegas beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 in its regular-season finale to finish first in the Pacific and secure a first-round series against the Utah Mammoth. Game 1 of that best-of-seven series is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, at T-Mobile Arena. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) That result locked in the Western Conference matchups: Vegas vs. Utah, Colorado vs. Los Angeles, Dallas vs. Minnesota, and Edmonton vs. Anaheim. The National Hockey League announced the first-round schedule on April 16, with the postseason opening Saturday, April 18. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The East had settled earlier, with Toronto facing Ottawa, Tampa Bay drawing Boston, Buffalo meeting Florida, and Pittsburgh matched with Philadelphia. By April 15, NHL.com said all four Eastern Conference series were already determined while three of four Western series were still moving. (nhl.com) The bigger shakeup is who got in. Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Utah all returned to the playoffs after missing the 2024-25 field, giving the league a six-team turnover from last season. (nhl.com) NHL.com said that is the second-largest year-over-year playoff turnover in league history, behind only seven-team swings that happened three times. It is also the ninth season in the last 11 with at least five new playoff teams. (nhl.com) Some of those returns carry extra weight. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are back in the postseason for a franchise-leading 16th time with Pittsburgh, while Utah is in the bracket in the club’s second season under its new identity. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) Vegas enters that reshaped bracket with home ice and a clearer path than it had 48 hours earlier. What looked like a seeding scramble on April 14 became a fixed first-round board by April 16, with the Golden Knights and Mammoth now opening one of the West’s newest playoff matchups on April 19. (nhl.com) (nhl.com)
