Hockey : NHL Playoffs 2010 preview

Conference standings on 9.3.2010:

The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the NHL playoffs. Division leaders are seeded #1, #2, and #3. The next five best teams were seeded fourth through eighth. Seeding is determined by: point total, wins, points obtained in games against tied teams and goal differential.

There are three rounds of playoffs in each conference (first round, conference semi finals and conference finals). The winner in these three rounds will be declared the Eastern or Western Conference Champion. In the final round, these two face off against each other for the Stanley Cup.

In the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, teams are re-seeded according to the same criteria as the First Rounds, the highest remaining seeds play against the lowest remaining seeds.

NHL tie-breaking procedure

If two or more clubs are tied in points at the end of the regular season, the standing of the clubs in each Conference will be determined in the following order:

a. The greater number of games won.
b. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing.
c. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Playoffs format

Best-of-7 format is used in all stage of playoffs. Home-ice advantage is given to the higher seed in all rounds except the first, when all division winners are assured a seed no lower than three. Home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup Finals is determined by points. The team with home-ice advantage is at home for Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 and on the road for games 3, 4 and 6.