[1] The Boston Bruins made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners after setting the league record for the most wins and points in a single regular season.
The new longest active playoffs streak in major North American sports belonged to MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers, who qualified for the postseason every year since 2013.
[4][5] The Kraken also became the first NHL exclusive expansion team to make their first playoff appearance in their second season since the Atlanta Flames in 1974.
[20] In game two, Maple Leafs captain John Tavares scored a hat trick and Ryan O'Reilly provided four assists for Toronto's 7–2 victory.
[22] In game four, the Maple Leafs overcame a three-goal deficit led by two goals from Auston Matthews, and in the subsequent overtime, Alexander Kerfoot tipped in a shot to give Toronto a 5–4 victory and 3–1 series lead.
Martin Necas and Brent Burns assisted on both Carolina goals in game one whose team emerged victorious for a 2–1 triumph.
[25] The Hurricanes prevented New York from achieving a two-goal comeback in game two by forcing overtime wherein Jesper Fast scored to give Carolina a 4–3 victory.
[34] In game five, Erik Haula scored twice and notched an assist while Schmid stopped all 23 shots he faced for the Devils, defeating the Rangers 4–0 for a 3–2 series lead.
[43] game seven saw Oliver Bjorkstrand score twice for Seattle, and coupled with Grubauer's 33-save performance to hold a 2–1 lead, the Kraken advanced to the second round, becoming the first expansion team to triumph over the defending Stanley Cup champions in their inaugural playoff series.
[45] Forward Roope Hintz scored a hat trick and defenceman Miro Heiskanen provided four assists for the Stars in game two, defeating the Wild 7–3 to tie the series 1–1.
[47] Hintz assisted thrice and goaltender Jake Oettinger made 32 saves for the Stars, tying the series 2–2 with a 3–2 victory.
[48] In game five, Oettinger shut out the Wild stopping all 27 shots in a 4–0 victory to give Dallas a 3–2 series lead.
[49] Max Domi and Mason Marchment both scored a goal and provided an assist in game six, moving onto the second round with a 4–1 victory.
[52] The Golden Knights prevented the Jets from overtaking a three-goal lead in game three with Michael Amadio scoring in double overtime to win 5–4.
[59] In game five, the Oilers forced Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to be pulled after tallying four goals on nineteen shots, wrapping in a 6–3 victory to take a 3–2 series lead.
[60] Kailer Yamamoto sealed the Oilers' victory late in game six, scoring with 3:03 left in the third period to win 5–4 and advance to the second round.
[64][65] The Panthers emerged victorious in this game, winning 3–2 via Sam Reinhart's overtime goal, taking a 3–0 series lead in the process.
[67] With game five tied 2–2 after three periods, the Panthers' Nick Cousins scored in overtime to advance Florida to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in twenty-seven years.
[72] Andersen made 27 saves in game five for the Hurricanes and with an overtime goal by Jesper Fast, Carolina advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a 3–2 victory.
[74] Wyatt Johnston and Tyler Seguin each provided a goal and an assist in Dallas' game two victory, outscoring Seattle 4–2.
[77] In game five, Roope Hintz provided an assist and scored twice for Dallas, giving the Stars a 5–2 victory and a 3–2 series lead.
[79] In game seven, Hintz and Johnston each provided a goal and an assist for the Stars, sending Dallas to the conference finals with a 2–1 victory.
[82] In game three, Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Jack Eichel provided a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights to win 5–1.
[84] In game six, Jonathan Marchessault scored a natural hat trick in the second period, giving the Golden Knights a 5–2 victory and a fourth advancement to the conference finals/Stanley Cup Semifinals.
Ryan Lomberg appeared to have scored early in the first overtime period, but the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference.
With 12.7 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime period, Matthew Tkachuk scored for Florida to end the sixth-longest playoff game in NHL history.
[87] In game three, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 32 shots he faced, helping the Panthers to a 1–0 victory which gave them a 3–0 series lead.
[90] Game two also required overtime, wherein Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas to give the Golden Knights a 3–2 victory and a 2–0 series lead.
[95] In game six, William Karlsson scored twice and provided an assist and Hill stopped all 23 shots for the Golden Knights to defeat the Stars 6–0 to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
[64] This left several Edmonton fans to suffer cancelation/rescheduling fees for flights and tickets as they were not initially aware of the NHL schedule change.