The NHL has hundreds of games every year. Once all of the teams are done with the regular season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs start. It is a tournament of that consists of the top 16 teams from that years NHL regular season. Every franchise is fighting to win the Stanley Cup. It is the National Hockey League’s biggest trophy. The Canadiens have been the most successful team winning more than 20 over the years. They also have the most appearances in the playoffs. The last two teams compete in the Stanley Cup Finals. It a best of seven competition that brings an end to a seasons worth of great hockey. The fight for the Stanley Cup is always fun to watch. You can watch the games through services like NBC, NHL.TV, TUDN, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. Please join us as we teach you how to watch Stanley Cup Playoffs games with a VPN.
How to Use a VPN to Get Around Stanley Cup Playoffs Blackout Restrictions
Here’s a quick guide for watching Stanley Cup Playoffs games with a VPN.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (30 day risk-free money-back guarantee)
- Install the ExpressVPN browser extension, desktop, or mobile app.
- Launch the ExpressVPN app and select a server in your chosen region. We recommend Canada or Mexico for viewing NHL games to bypass blackout restrictions.
- Cheer on your favorite team through NHL.TV or any of the popular streaming services that broadcast the games.
Before we get more in depth as to how to watch NHL.TV games with a VPN let us tell you more about the benefits of using a VPN for watching sports. Sports often have blackout restrictions for multiple reasons. One is an attempt to encourage more people to go to the game. Another is that the broadcast is only available in certain countries or regions. A VPN can help you out in these situations because it allows you to change your IP address. It does this by allowing you to choose a server location and assigning you an IP address from the region. If you choose a server in an area that the game is watchable, then you will be able to stream it. A VPN also hides your IP address and helps protect your privacy.
The National Hockey League plays games constantly. They are available through NHL.TV streaming service. You can also sign up for Sling TV to gain access through NBC, USA, and NHL Network. Other options include Hulu Live TV and Youtube TV. The services might allow you to view some games when your team is away, but the games that are closer to where you live are likely blackout restricted. Some games are geo-blocked for those from other regions of the world. Connecting to a VPN will help you avoid the blackout restrictions to cheer on your favorite team through every game.
Stanley Cup History and Team Info
The Stanley Cup started in 1892. It was called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. It was a Canadian trophy. The NHL took control of it in 1926. The first postseason appearance of the Stanley Cup was 1927. Ever since they have had the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Over the years, the format has changed to adjust to the increased number of teams in the league. For example, more teams can qualify to compete in the playoffs than when it started. The most successful teams are from the original six. They have dominated in both total Stanley Cups earned and playoff appearances. Most expansion teams struggled when they first joined, but some have developed to be dominant forces in the National Hockey League. The Golden Knights made history in 2017 by making the Stanley Cup finals their first year in existence. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are the culmination of a seasons worth of work.
Normally, the Stanley Cup Playoffs start with 16 teams seeded based on their conference and regular season record. Eight teams are taken from each conference. Their would be four rounds of games. Each team would play in the best of seven series where one team would start with home advantage in the first two games. The last round would be played between the winners of each side of the bracket. The games are called the Stanley Cup Finals.
2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Format and Teams
The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are slightly different. The competition will start with a 16 teams and will have four rounds. The conferences have temporarily been disbanded and each team is seeded based on their regular season performance. Every match is a best-of-seven series where the winners will advance to play in the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Meanwhile, the losers’ seasons are over. The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are going to be great.
Eastern Conference teams:
- Boston Bruins
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Florida Panthers
- New York Islanders
- New York Rangers
- New Jersey Devils
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference teams:
- Colorado Avalanche
- Dallas Stars
- Edmonton Oilers
- Los Angeles Kings
- Minnesota Wild
- Seattle Kraken
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Winnipeg Jets
How to Watch Stanley Cup Playoffs Games with ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is our choice of VPN for sports. They have over 3000 servers across 94 countries. This gives you access to sports around the world. All you have to do is connect to a location that will have access to the game and then start watching live. Many popular sports leagues implement blackout restrictions that not only block in-market but international viewers from watching. ExpressVPN allows you to circumvent this and cheer through every exciting match. The service allows up to 5 simultaneous connections. This means you can use ExpressVPN on multiple devices at once to track your favorite matches.
We’re excited to share an exclusive ExpressVPN discount with our readers. You can sign up and save 49% off a year of VPN and receive an extra 3 months for free. This will give you unlimited access to their large VPN network and MediaStreamer service. Access your favorite streaming services from anywhere, reduce lag, and bypass blackout restrictions. ExpressVPN offers a 30 day money back guarantee which gives you a month to watch your favorite sporting events and experience all the benefits of the service.
