NHL playoff bracket 2026: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for hockey's road to Stanley Cup

NHL playoff bracket 2026: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for hockey’s road to Stanley Cup originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

For hockey fans, it’s the best time of the year. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially here, and after a regular season defined by historic turnarounds and shifting divisional powers, the 2026 bracket is one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.

In the Eastern Conference, the field is a mix of battle-tested giants and long-awaited homecomings. The headline is the Buffalo Sabres, who not only snapped an NHL-record 14-season postseason drought but did so by capturing the Atlantic Division title. They’ll open against a Boston Bruins squad that returned to form after a year away, setting up a clash between Buffalo’s high-octane offense and Boston’s elite defensive structure. Meanwhile, the Battle of Pennsylvania is back, as the Penguins and Flyers renew their fierce rivalry in a first-round series for the first time since 2018.

Over in the West, the Colorado Avalanche have secured the Presidents’ Trophy, ensuring the road to the Cup runs through Denver. However, they face a gauntlet of contenders, including a Dallas Stars team that looks dangerous after a franchise-record winning streak and a Vegas Golden Knights squad that has found a new gear since John Tortorella took over the bench.

From the emergence of young stars like Cole Caufield to the enduring brilliance of veterans like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid, the stage is set for two months of high-stakes, sudden-death drama. With six teams qualifying for the postseason after missing out last year, the hunger for a deep run has never been higher. Let the chase for 16 wins begin.

The Sporting News has the complete bracket and schedule throughout the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs. Check it out below.

NHL playoff bracket 2026

Click here for the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket, updated live as series are completed.

NHL bracket

Second Round

Eastern Conference

Matchup

Series

(M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (M3) Philadelphia Flyers

Carolina leads 2-0

(A1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (A3) Montreal Canadiens

Tied 0-0

Western Conference

Matchup

Series

(C1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (C3) Minnesota Wild

Colorado leads 2-0

(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (P3) Anaheim Ducks

Vegas leads 1-0

First Round

Eastern Conference

Matchup

Series

(A1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins

Buffalo wins 4-2

(A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A3) Montreal Canadiens

Montreal wins 4-3

(M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC2) Ottawa Senators

Carolina wins 4-0

(M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (M3) Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia wins 4-2

Western Conference

Matchup

Series

(C1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) Los Angeles Kings

Colorado wins 4-0

(C2) Dallas Stars vs. (C3) Minnesota Wild

Minnesota wins 4-2

(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Utah Mammoth

Vegas wins 4-2

(P2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (P3) Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim wins 4-2

NHL playoffs schedule, scores 2026

Second Round

Hurricanes vs. Flyers – Carolina leads 2-0

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

May 2

Game 1: Hurricanes 3, Flyers 0

—

May 4

Game 2: Hurricanes 3, Flyers 2 (OT)

—

May 7

Game 3 at Philadelphia

8 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 9

Game 4 at Philadelphia

6 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 11

Game 5 at Carolina*

TBA

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 13

Game 6 at Philadelphia*

TBA

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 16

Game 7 at Carolina*

TBA

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

* If necessary

Sabres vs. Canadiens

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

May 6

Game 1 at Buffalo

7 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 8

Game 2 at Buffalo

7 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 10

Game 3 at Montreal

7 p.m.

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 12

Game 4 at Montreal

TBA

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 14

Game 5 at Buffalo*

TBA

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 16

Game 6 at Montreal*

TBA

ABC or ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 18

Game 7 at Buffalo*

TBA

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

* If necessary

Avalanche vs. Wild – Colorado leads 2-0

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

May 3

Game 1: Avalanche 9, Wild 6

—

May 5

Game 2: Avalanche 5, Wild 2

—

May 9

Game 3 at Minnesota

9 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 11

Game 4 at Minnesota

TBA

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 13

Game 5 at Colorado*

TBA

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 15

Game 6 at Minnesota*

TBA

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 17

Game 7 at Colorado*

TBA

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

* If necessary

Golden Knights vs. Ducks – Vegas leads 1-0

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

May 4

Game 1: Golden Knights 3, Ducks 1

—

May 6

Game 2 at Vegas

9:30 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 8

Game 3 at Anaheim

9:30 p.m.

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 10

Game 4 at Anaheim

9:30 p.m.

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 12

Game 5 at Vegas*

TBA

ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

May 14

Game 6 at Anaheim*

TBA

TNT, truTV, DIRECTV

May 16

Game 7 at Vegas*

TBA

ABC or ESPN, DIRECTV, fubo, ESPN app

* If necessary

First Round

Sabres vs. Bruins – Buffalo wins 4-2

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 19

Game 1: Sabres 4, Bruins 3

—

April 21

Game 2: Bruins 4, Sabres 2

—

April 23

Game 3: Sabres 3, Bruins 1

—

April 26

Game 4: Sabres 6, Bruins 1

—

April 28

Game 5: Bruins 2, Sabres 1 (OT)

—

May 1

Game 6: Sabres 4, Bruins 1

—

Lightning vs. Canadiens – Montreal 4-3

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 19

Game 1: Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (OT)

—

April 21

Game 2: Lightning 3, Canadiens 2 (OT)

—

April 24

Game 3: Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (OT)

—

April 26

Game 4: Lightning 3, Canadiens 2

—

April 29

Game 5: Canadiens 3, Lightning 2

—

May 1

Game 6: Lightning 1, Canadiens 0 (OT)

—

May 3

Game 7: Canadiens 2, Lightning 1

—

Hurricanes vs. Senators – Carolina wins 4-0

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 18

Game 1: Hurricanes 2, Senators 0

—

April 20

Game 2: Hurricanes 3, Senators 2 (2 OT)

—

April 23

Game 3: Hurricanes 2, Senators 1

—

April 25

Game 4: Hurricanes 4, Senators 2

—

Penguins vs. Flyers – Philadelphia wins 4-2

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 18

Game 1: Flyers 3, Penguins 2

—

April 20

Game 2: Flyers 3, Penguins

—

April 22

Game 3: Flyers 5, Penguins 2

—

April 25

Game 4: Penguins 4, Flyers 2

—

April 27

Game 5: Flyers 3, Penguins 2

—

April 29

Game 6: Flyers 1, Penguins 0 (OT)

—

Avalanche vs. Kings – Colorado wins 4-0

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 19

Game 1: Avalanche 2, Kings 1

—

April 21

Game 2: Avalanche 2, Kings 1 (OT)

—

April 23

Game 3: Avalanche 4, Kings 2

—

April 26

Game 4: Avalanche 5, Kings 1

—

Stars vs. Wild – Minnesota wins 4-2

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 18

Game 1: Wild 6, Stars 1

—

April 20

Game 2: Stars 4, Wild 2

—

April 22

Game 3: Stars 4, Wild 3 (2 OT)

—

April 25

Game 4: Wild 3, Stars 2 (OT)

—

April 28

Game 5: Wild 4, Stars 2

—

April 30

Game 6: Wild 5, Stars 2

—

Golden Knights vs. Mammoth – Vegas wins 4-2

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 19

Game 1: Golden Knights 4, Mammoth 2

—

April 21

Game 2: Mammoth 3, Golden Knights 2

—

April 24

Game 3: Mammoth 4, Golden Knights 2

—

April 27

Game 4: Golden Knights 5, Mammoth 4 (OT)

—

April 29

Game 5: Golden Knights 5, Mammoth 4 (2 OT)

—

May 1

Game 6: Golden Knights 5, Mammoth 1

—

Oilers vs. Ducks – Anaheim wins 4-2

Date

Game

Time (ET)

Watch

April 20

Game 1: Oilers 4, Ducks 3

—

April 22

Game 2: Ducks 6, Oilers 4

—

April 24

Game 3: Ducks 7, Oilers 4

—

April 26

Game 4: Ducks 4, Oilers 3 (OT)

—

April 28

Game 5: Oilers 4, Ducks 1

—

April 30

Game 6: Ducks 5, Oilers 2

—

Where to watch NHL playoffs 2026

TV channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, TBS, truTV
Live streams: DIRECTV,fubo, ESPN app

The Stanley Cup Playoffs will be broadcast across ESPN and TNT Sports platforms, with six different channels being destinations for games. The Stanley Cup Final will be exclusively on ABC.

Fans can live stream every game from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on DIRECTV. Games appearing on ESPN networks, including ABC, can also be streamed live on fubo and the ESPN app.

Catch every game – try DIRECTV FREE today! Stream live MLB, March Madness, soccer and more with must-have sports channels like TNT, TBS, truTV, ESPN, FS1, and NFL Network—all included with DIRECTV.

Start your FREE trial now and never miss a moment of the action. No contracts, no hassle, just wall-to-wall sports and entertainment.

How will the 2026 NHL playoffs work?

Sixteen teams qualify for the NHL playoffs, eight from each conference. This includes the top three seeds from each division, who earn automatic berths. The remaining four spots are filled by the two highest-placed finishers in each conference outside of the automatic qualifiers, regardless of their division.

The NHL uses a fixed, division-based bracket. There is no reseeding between rounds, meaning teams can map out their potential path to the Final from Day 1. The division winner with the best record in the conference plays the wild card with the fewer points. The other division winner plays the wild card with more points. Meanwhile, the teams that finished second and third in each division face off against one another. The winners of the first-round series within each divisional bracket meet to determine who moves on to the Conference Finals, then the final four teams battle for their respective conference titles.

The Eastern Conference champion and Western Conference champion then meet in the Stanley Cup Final.