Updated July 27, 2026: The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs are complete. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games to win the championship, finishing a remarkable postseason with a 16-3 record. The tables below provide a clean, completed bracket that you can print from your browser or save as a PDF.
This is a historical results page, not a live bracket. Every series winner and score is final. If you are looking ahead instead, use the current NHL schedule or read our 2026-27 schedule release guide.
Completed 2026 NHL playoff bracket at a glance
Sixteen teams entered the bracket and 15 best-of-seven series determined the champion. A series score of 4-2, for example, means the winner took four games and the eliminated team won two.
Eastern Conference path
| Round | Winner | Opponent | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | Buffalo Sabres | Boston Bruins | 4-2 |
| First Round | Montreal Canadiens | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4-3 |
| First Round | Carolina Hurricanes | Ottawa Senators | 4-0 |
| First Round | Philadelphia Flyers | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4-2 |
| Second Round | Montreal Canadiens | Buffalo Sabres | 4-3 |
| Second Round | Carolina Hurricanes | Philadelphia Flyers | 4-0 |
| Eastern Conference Final | Carolina Hurricanes | Montreal Canadiens | 4-1 |
Western Conference path
| Round | Winner | Opponent | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | Colorado Avalanche | Los Angeles Kings | 4-0 |
| First Round | Minnesota Wild | Dallas Stars | 4-2 |
| First Round | Vegas Golden Knights | Utah Mammoth | 4-2 |
| First Round | Anaheim Ducks | Edmonton Oilers | 4-2 |
| Second Round | Colorado Avalanche | Minnesota Wild | 4-1 |
| Second Round | Vegas Golden Knights | Anaheim Ducks | 4-2 |
| Western Conference Final | Vegas Golden Knights | Colorado Avalanche | 4-0 |
Stanley Cup Final
| Champion | Runner-up | Series | Clinching result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Hurricanes | Vegas Golden Knights | 4-2 | Carolina 3, Vegas 0 on June 14 |
The championship result is confirmed by the NHL's official Game 6 recap.
Carolina's path to the 2026 Stanley Cup
Three dominant Eastern rounds
Carolina's route through the Eastern Conference was unusually short. The Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators in the first round and the Philadelphia Flyers in the second. Montreal handed Carolina its first loss of the postseason in Game 1 of the conference final, but the Hurricanes won the next four games to take that series 4-1.
That made Carolina 12-1 when it reached the Stanley Cup Final. A bracket records that dominance more clearly than a list of individual dates: two straight sweeps, followed by a five-game conference final, left the Hurricanes only four wins from the Cup after just 13 games.
The six-game Stanley Cup Final
Vegas made the Final competitive immediately. The Golden Knights won Game 1 in Raleigh and Game 3 in double overtime in Las Vegas. Carolina answered every time, then took control with victories in Games 4 and 5. In Game 6, Brandon Bussi stopped all 22 shots he faced as Carolina won 3-0 on the road.
The Hurricanes' final 16-3 record was not merely the best record in the 2026 field. According to the NHL, it was the fewest games needed to win the Cup since the 1988 Edmonton Oilers completed a 16-2 run.
How to print this 2026 NHL playoff bracket
This article does not attach or advertise a separate downloadable PDF. You can create a clean copy with the print feature already built into your browser:
- Open the browser menu and choose Print, or press Ctrl+P on Windows and Linux or Command+P on macOS.
- Select landscape orientation if your print preview shows the result tables too narrowly.
- Choose your printer, or select Save as PDF if that option is available on your device.
- Review the preview before printing so page breaks do not split a conference table.
For future planning rather than 2026 playoff history, use the site's printable regular-season schedule. Fans who prefer a calendar can use the NHL calendar tools.
How to read the NHL playoff bracket
The 2026 field included the top three teams from each division plus two wild cards in each conference. The first two rounds followed division-based paths. The NHL did not reseed the surviving teams after Round 1, so each first-round branch already pointed to its second-round matchup.
Every series was best-of-seven: the first team to four wins advanced. The usual home-ice pattern was 2-2-1-1-1, meaning the club with home-ice advantage hosted Games 1 and 2 and, when necessary, Games 5 and 7. In the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, home ice was based on the better regular-season record.
What the completed bracket tells us
The finished bracket is a useful reminder that a strong opening two rounds does not guarantee a Final berth. Colorado swept Los Angeles and beat Minnesota in five games, entering the Western Conference Final with an 8-1 record. Vegas then eliminated the Avalanche in four straight games.
Four series ended in sweeps: Carolina over Ottawa, Colorado over Los Angeles, Carolina over Philadelphia, and Vegas over Colorado. At the opposite extreme, Montreal needed seven games to eliminate Tampa Bay and then Buffalo. Those two Game 7 wins carried the Canadiens from a third-place Atlantic seed to the Eastern Conference Final.
That mix of sweeps and deciding games is why a completed bracket is more than a list of teams. It shows the exact path a champion had to survive—and where apparently strong routes changed suddenly.
2026 NHL playoff bracket FAQ
Who won the 2026 Stanley Cup?
The Carolina Hurricanes won the 2026 Stanley Cup. They defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in the Final and completed the playoffs with a 16-3 record.
What was the result of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final?
Carolina won the series in six games. The Hurricanes clinched the Cup with a 3-0 victory in Las Vegas on June 14, 2026.
Can I download this bracket as a PDF?
There is no separate PDF file attached to this article. Use your browser's Print command and choose Save as PDF to create a local copy.
How many teams made the 2026 NHL playoffs?
Sixteen teams qualified—eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the Western Conference.
Did the NHL reseed teams after the first round?
No. The division-based bracket fixed the second-round paths. For current games rather than the completed 2026 bracket, check today's NHL games.
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