The NHL consists of 31 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL divides the 31 teams into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference is split into two divisions:
- The Eastern Conference contains 16 teams. 8 teams in the Atlantic Division, and 8 teams in the Metropolitan Division
- The Western conference has 15 teams. 7 in the Central Division and 8 in the Pacific Division
The schedule ensures that all 31 teams play in all 31 arenas at lest once during the season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will consist of 16 teams, eight from each conference, but it is division-based and a wild-card system. The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference – regardless of division – based on regular-season points. You can read more about this here: https://www.nhl.com/
The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined by regular season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the fewest points; the division winner with the second most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points.
If you want to read more about a special team in the Metropolitan Division, you can do that here: https://dm-course-maren.blogspot.com/2019/11/phildaelphia-flyers.html
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