The NHL: A Professional Ice Hockey League
Overview
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America. It is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, along with the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NHL consists of 32 teams, with 23 in the United States and 9 in Canada.
History
The NHL was founded in 1917 as the National Hockey Association (NHA). The NHA was renamed the NHL in 1926. The NHL has expanded several times over the years, with the most recent expansion coming in 2017 when the Las Vegas Golden Knights joined the league.
Teams and Cities
The NHL is divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference is divided into two divisions: the Metropolitan Division and the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and the Central Division and the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The following is a list of the NHL teams and their cities: * **Eastern Conference** * Metropolitan Division * Carolina Hurricanes - Raleigh, NC * Columbus Blue Jackets - Columbus, OH * New Jersey Devils - Newark, NJ * New York Islanders - Elmont, NY * New York Rangers - New York, NY * Philadelphia Flyers - Philadelphia, PA * Pittsburgh Penguins - Pittsburgh, PA * Washington Capitals - Washington, DC * Atlantic Division * Boston Bruins - Boston, MA * Buffalo Sabres - Buffalo, NY * Detroit Red Wings - Detroit, MI * Florida Panthers - Sunrise, FL * Montréal Canadiens - Montréal, QC * Ottawa Senators - Ottawa, ON * Tampa Bay Lightning - Tampa, FL * Toronto Maple Leafs - Toronto, ON * **Western Conference** * Central Division * Arizona Coyotes - Tempe, AZ * Chicago Blackhawks - Chicago, IL * Colorado Avalanche - Denver, CO * Dallas Stars - Dallas, TX * Minnesota Wild - Saint Paul, MN * Nashville Predators - Nashville, TN * St. Louis Blues - St. Louis, MO * Winnipeg Jets - Winnipeg, MB * Pacific Division * Anaheim Ducks - Anaheim, CA * Calgary Flames - Calgary, AB * Edmonton Oilers - Edmonton, AB * Los Angeles Kings - Los Angeles, CA * San Jose Sharks - San Jose, CA * Seattle Kraken - Seattle, WA * Vancouver Canucks - Vancouver, BC * Vegas Golden Knights - Paradise, NV
Regular Season
The NHL regular season runs from October to April. Each team plays 82 games, with 41 home games and 41 away games. The top 16 teams in the regular season standings qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs are a single-elimination tournament. The top 8 teams in each conference are seeded 1-8. The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-7 series, with the higher-seeded team hosting the first 3 games and the lower-seeded team hosting the last 2. The second round and conference finals are also best-of-7 series. The Stanley Cup Final is a best-of-7 series between the winners of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals. The winner of the Stanley Cup is awarded the Stanley Cup trophy, which is the oldest trophy in professional sports.
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