Washington's extensive playoff run begs the question, how long does a typical NHL postseason last? The chart below describes each postseason since 1987 (when the NHL expanded each playoff round to seven games) by start date, end date and length (i.e., total days and games).
| Year | Start Date / End Date | Days | Games |
| 1987 |
April 8 - May 31
|
54
|
87
|
| 1988 |
April 6 - May 26
|
51
|
83
|
| 1989 |
April 5 - May 25
|
51
|
82
|
| 1990 |
April 5 - May 24
|
50
|
85
|
| 1991 |
April 3 - May 25
|
53
|
92
|
| 1992 |
April 18 - June 1
|
45
|
86
|
| 1993 |
April 18 - June 9
|
53
|
85
|
| 1994 |
April 16 - June 14
|
60
|
91
|
| 1995 |
May 6 - June 24
|
50
|
80
|
| 1996 |
April 16 - June 10
|
56
|
86
|
| 1997 |
April 16 - June 7
|
53
|
82
|
| 1998 |
April 22 - June 16
|
56
|
82
|
| 1999 |
April 21 - June 19
|
60
|
86
|
| 2000 |
April 12 - June 10
|
60
|
83
|
| 2001 |
April 11 - June 9
|
60
|
86
|
| 2002 |
April 17 - June 13
|
58
|
90
|
| 2003 |
April 9 - June 9
|
62
|
89
|
| 2004 |
April 7 - June 7
|
62
|
90
|
| 2006 |
April 21 - June 19
|
60
|
84
|
| 2007 |
April 11 - June 6
|
57
|
81
|
| 2008 |
April 9 - June 4
|
57
|
85
|
| 2009 |
April 15 - June 12
|
59
|
87
|
| 2010 |
April 14 - June 9
|
57
|
89
|
| 2011 |
April 13 - June 15
|
64
|
89
|
| 2012 |
April 11 - June 11
|
62
|
86
|
| 2013 |
April 30 - June 24
|
56
|
86
|
| 2014 |
April 16 - June 13
|
59
|
93
|
| 2015 |
April 15 - June 15
|
62
|
89
|
| 2016 |
April 13 - June 12
|
61
|
91
|
| 2017 |
April 12 - June 11
|
61
|
87
|
| 2018 |
April 11 - June 7
|
58
|
84
|
| Avg |
57
|
86
|
Since the NHL expanded all four rounds of the playoffs to a seven game series, the maximum number of playoff games that could possibly be played if all series went to a Game 7 is 105. Alternatively, the least possible number of playoff games if all 15 series resulted in a sweep is 60 games.
In terms of total games played in a postseason since 1987, the fewest is 80 games (1995). Only four times has a playoff lasted more than 90 games (1991, 1994, 2014, 2016), the longest postseason being 93 games in 2014. The average playoff length during this span is 86 games.
Only once in the past 31 postseasons has a playoff lasted fewer than 50 days (45 days in 1992) and just seven times has it exceeded 60 days (2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017), the longest lasting 64 days (2011). The average playoff length during this span sits at 57 days.
With each team playing 82 regular season games for a total of 1,230 games, 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals skated in 106 games (82 + 24) during 246 days dating back to the opener on October 5, 2017, representing 67% of the days in a calendar year and leaving only 119 days off between the Stanley Cup winning game and opening night of the next regular season.
Players on the 15 teams that did not skate in the 2018 postseason will enjoy 178 days off between regular season games, 60 more days off than their Stanley Cup winning counterpart. For those suffering such a playoff drought, here's hoping that rest translates into success.
* See also NHL League Size And Regular Season Length.
* See also Fewest And Most Games Needed to Win Stanley Cup.
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