Season structure of the NHL Season structure of the NHL The season structure of the National Hockey League (NHL) is divided into the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the regular season, which generally runs from early October through early April, teams play 82 games which determine their standings. The three highest-placed teams in each division and two wild card teams per conference enter the playoff elimination tournament to determine the Stanley Cup champion. Since the 1995–96 season, each team in the NHL plays 82 regular season games, 41 each of home and road. In all, 1,271 games are scheduled (480 of them
Rugby League Conference trophy winners Premier Divisions. Until 2004 it was possible for a team to finish runners-up in their division, qualify for the play-offs and still win the Harry Jepson trophy, hence some champions did not pick up a regional title in the same year. From 2005, the Harry Jepson trophy was solely for the winners of the RLC Premier divisions. Conference sides that remained in the regional divisions competed for a new trophy - the RLC Regional. The Harry Jepson trophy is still contested by teams from RLC successor leagues. The RLC Challenge was a knock-out competition designed to give clubs meaningful pre-season