NHL TIEBREAKING PROCEDURESWhen the NHL season ends,...

NHL TIEBREAKING PROCEDURES

When the NHL season ends, the top eight teams in each conference advance to the playoffs. The division winner with the most points is seeded first, followed by the other division winner.

If two or more teams are tied in points, the seeding of the teams in each conference will be determined in the following order:

1. Most victories.

2. Head-to-head record. If two teams are tied and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, the first game played in the city that had the extra game will not be included. For example, if the Kings and Mighty Ducks were tied and had played each other five times, the first game played in the city that had three of those games would not count. If more than two teams are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those teams will be used to determine the seeding. If the Kings, Ducks and Sharks tied, whichever team earned the most points against the two others would be listed first.

3. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Source: NHL