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

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.