Every 2025-26 NHL playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Carolina Hurricanes won the 2025-26 title from a regular season record of 53-22-7. 16 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every series below is taken from the NHL API; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Colorado Avalanche | 4-0 in games | Los Angeles Kings | April 19 to April 26, 2026 |
| First round | Carolina Hurricanes | 4-0 in games | Ottawa Senators | April 18 to April 25, 2026 |
| First round | Minnesota Wild | 4-2 in games | Dallas Stars | April 18 to April 30, 2026 |
| First round | Buffalo Sabres | 4-2 in games | Boston Bruins | April 19 to May 1, 2026 |
| First round | Montréal Canadiens | 4-3 in games | Tampa Bay Lightning | April 19 to May 3, 2026 |
| First round | Philadelphia Flyers | 4-2 in games | Pittsburgh Penguins | April 18 to April 29, 2026 |
| First round | Vegas Golden Knights | 4-2 in games | Utah Mammoth | April 19 to May 1, 2026 |
| First round | Anaheim Ducks | 4-2 in games | Edmonton Oilers | April 20 to April 30, 2026 |
| Second round | Colorado Avalanche | 4-1 in games | Minnesota Wild | May 3 to May 13, 2026 |
| Second round | Carolina Hurricanes | 4-0 in games | Philadelphia Flyers | May 2 to May 9, 2026 |
| Second round | Montréal Canadiens | 4-3 in games | Buffalo Sabres | May 6 to May 18, 2026 |
| Second round | Vegas Golden Knights | 4-2 in games | Anaheim Ducks | May 4 to May 14, 2026 |
| Conference Finals | Vegas Golden Knights | 4-0 in games | Colorado Avalanche | May 20 to May 26, 2026 |
| Conference Finals | Carolina Hurricanes | 4-1 in games | Montréal Canadiens | May 21 to May 29, 2026 |
| Stanley Cup Final | Carolina Hurricanes | 4-2 in games | Vegas Golden Knights | June 2 to June 14, 2026 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.
The races that filled this bracket: Eastern Wild Card Western Wild Card