blank'/> THE PUCK REPORT: NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Length By Days & Games

Friday, June 16, 2023

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Length By Days & Games

The 2023 NHL playoffs began on April 17 and ended on June 13, boasting 88 games in 58 days. During this time, the Stanley Cup winning Vegas Golden Knights skated in 22 playoff games, for a total of 104 games (82 + 22). 

Vegas' 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     
2019
April 10 - June 12   
64      
87     
2020
August 11 - September 28   
49      
79     
2021       
May 15 - July 7     
54      
84     
2022       
May 2 - June 26     
56      
89     
2023       
April 17 - June 13     
58      
88     
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 79 games (2020). 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 twice in the past 36 postseasons has a playoff lasted fewer than 50 days (1992, 2020) and just eight times has it exceeded 60 days (2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019), the longest lasting 64 days (2011, 2019). The average playoff length during this span sits at 57 days.

With each team playing 82 regular season games, 2023 Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights skated in 104 games (82 + 22) during 250 days dating back to the opener on October 10, 2022, representing almost 70% 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 on October 10, 2023.

Players on the 16 teams that did not skate in the 2023 postseason will enjoy 179 days off between regular season games, almost two extra months or 60 days over their Cup winning counterpart. For those suffering 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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