NEW YORK – Pre-registration is now open for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge™ presented by Betway at NHL.com/Bracket. Once the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchups are set, hockey fans worldwide can start creating and submitting brackets outlining their predictions for each playoff series online or via the NHL App.
Brackets will be locked before the puck drops for the first Game 2 of the First Round, tentatively scheduled for 6:59 p.m. ET on April 22, giving fans the chance to change their predictions based on Game 1 outcomes. A leaderboard will allow fans to see how their brackets are performing compared to fellow competitors in their leagues as well as others competing globally. Fans can share their brackets across social media with the official hashtag #NHLBracket.
The popular “Random Picks” feature that debuted last year will return to the program, allowing brackets to be chosen in an instant – entirely at random – with the option for fans to edit their choices before submitting. The returning “Matchup Analysis” tool allows fans to compare team stats as they make their bracket selections. The Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge will again be available in six languages – English, Czech, French, Finnish, German and Swedish.
Bracket Challenge, now in its 11th year, is joined by a slate of games giving avid and casual hockey fans the chance to win prizes, including NHL PrePlay presented by GEICO (U.S.) / Bet99.ca (Canada) and Stanley Cup Final BINGO, which will open prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The NHL is averaging 6.2 goals per game in 2023-24, with 42% of games ending as comeback wins – a top three rate in NHL history. This is on track to be the fifth time in six seasons that the League’s goals-per-game rate is at least 6.0, a first in nearly 30 years – thanks in part to Auston Matthews (63 goals) becoming the first active player with multiple 60-goal seasons. The Art Ross Trophy race includes three players separated by four points, with five-time winner Connor McDavid (29-97—126) and Nathan MacKinnon (47-80—127) pursuing 2018-19 scoring leader Nikita Kucherov (42-88—130). All three are on pace for at least 135 points, a feat seen only four times in League history (and not since 1992-93).
The Presidents’ Trophy race for the NHL’s No. 1 seed includes six teams separated by six points, the closest that competition has been during an 82-game season since 2014-15 when the New York Rangers – the current leaders in 2023-24 – emerged from a seven-team group to claim the honor. Four teams that did not qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs currently hold a playoff spot: Vancouver Canucks (already clinched), Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals. At least 25% of the playoff field has turned over in each season under the Wild Card format (introduced in 2013-14).
The Grand Prize for the Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge will be the opportunity to attend a 2024-25 NHL event awarded to the eligible entrant who finishes at the top of the leaderboard. All prizes are subject to confirmation of eligibility and compliance with winner notification requirements, and tiebreaker rules apply in the event of a tie. There is no purchase necessary to participate in the Bracket Challenge. For Official Rules, visit NHL.com/Bracket.
The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge experience was developed in conjunction with Low6, an NHL free to play gaming provider.
