2017–18 NHL season

The 2017-18 NHL season is the 101st season of operation (100th season of play) of the National Hockey League. The 31 teams are playing an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 4, 2017 and ended on April 7, 2018. The Stanley Cup playoffs began a few days after and the Stanley Cup finals was held between Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights which ended with the Washington Capitals winning their first Stanley cup in their franchise history. The Vegas Golden Knights joined the league for this season and became the first team to win the first three games of their history. They now have five wins and one loss making them the first team to do this since the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL's first season. The two-time defending Stanley Cup and Eastern Conference champions are the Pittsburgh Penguins while Penguins' player Sidney Crosby is the two-time defending Conn Smythe Trophy winner. The Nashville Predators are the defending Western Conference champions. The Washington Capitals are the two-time defending Presidents' Trophy winners. Edmonton Oilers player Connor McDavid is the defending winner of the Hart Memorial and Art Ross Trophies.

2017–18 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 4, 2017 – June 7, 2018
Number of games	82
Number of teams	31
TV partner(s)	CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada) NBCSN, NBC, CNBC, USA (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Nico Hischier
Picked by	New Jersey Devils
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Nashville Predators
Season MVP	Taylor Hall (Devils)
Top scorer	Connor McDavid (Oilers)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Alexander Ovechkin (Capitals)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Washington Capitals
Runners-up	Vegas Golden Knights

Standings

Top 3 (Metropolitan Division)

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	49	26	7	46	259	239	+20	105
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	29	6	45	272	250	+22	100
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	26	14	40	251	243	+8	98

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Top 3 (Atlantic Division)

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	z – Tampa Bay Lightning	82	54	23	5	48	296	236	+60	113
2	x – Boston Bruins	82	50	20	12	47	270	214	+56	112
3	x – Toronto Maple Leafs	82	49	26	7	42	277	232	+45	105

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; z – Clinched conference

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	ME	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
2	ME	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
3	AT	Florida Panthers	82	44	30	8	41	248	246	+2	96
4	ME	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
5	ME	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
6	ME	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77
7	AT	Detroit Red Wings	82	30	39	13	25	217	255	−38	73
8	AT	Montreal Canadiens	82	29	40	13	27	209	264	−55	71
9	AT	Ottawa Senators	82	28	43	11	26	221	291	−70	67
10	AT	Buffalo Sabres	82	25	45	12	24	199	280	−81	62

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Top 3 (Central Division)

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	p – Nashville Predators	82	53	18	11	47	267	211	+56	117
2	x – Winnipeg Jets	82	52	20	10	48	277	218	+59	114
3	x – Minnesota Wild	82	45	26	11	42	253	232	+21	101

Source: National Hockey League
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Top 3 (Pacific Division)

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Vegas Golden Knights	82	51	24	7	47	272	228	+44	109
2	x – Anaheim Ducks	82	44	25	13	40	235	216	+19	101
3	x – San Jose Sharks	82	45	27	10	40	252	229	+23	100

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Western Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	PA	x – Los Angeles Kings	82	45	29	8	43	239	203	+36	98
2	CE	x – Colorado Avalanche	82	43	30	9	41	257	237	+20	95
3	CE	St. Louis Blues	82	44	32	6	41	226	222	+4	94
4	CE	Dallas Stars	82	42	32	8	38	235	225	+10	92
5	PA	Calgary Flames	82	37	35	10	35	218	248	−30	84
6	PA	Edmonton Oilers	82	36	40	6	31	234	263	−29	78
7	CE	Chicago Blackhawks	82	33	39	10	32	229	256	−27	76
8	PA	Vancouver Canucks	82	31	40	11	31	218	264	−46	73
9	PA	Arizona Coyotes	82	29	41	12	27	208	256	−48	70

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Tie Breakers:
1. Fewer number of games played.
2. Greater Regulation + OT Wins (ROW)
3. Greatest number of points earned in head-to-head play (If teams played an unequal # of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded.)
4. Greater Goal differential