Local PA Teams
As previously mentioned, Pennsylvania has two NHL teams, both of which play under the Eastern Conference as part of the Metropolitan Division. Since their inception as part of the 1967 league extension from six teams to twelve, both sides have had success over the years.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are colloquially known as the Pens. The team has faced some hardship during time as a franchise. Thankfully under Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle’s ownership, the team dodged bankruptcy in 1999.
The Pens now play out of the PPG Paints Arena and have some impressive records to their name. Out of the six Stanley Cup finals they’ve played, the team has won five.
They became the first back-to-back champions of the cup in 19 years when they won in 2016 and 2017.
Among the non-original six NHL teams, they’re tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the most Stanley Cups.
Philadelphia Flyers
PA states Philadelphia Flyers is a NHL team that also hold several records to boast about. They were the first post-original six teams to win the Stanley Cup in 1974, and to top it off, they won again the next year. The club also has the record for the most appearances in the conference finals out of all 24 expansion teams. In total, they’ve had 16 appearances and won half of them.
The Flyers have played out of the Wells Fargo Center since 1996. The club is renowned for its fierce rivalries with multiple other teams over the years, including the Pens.
Complete NHL teams list & Conference Structure in NHL
So how many NHL teams are there? The biggest hockey league in the world consists nowadays of 32 NHL teams. They are divided into two conferences, Eastern and Western. After the newest team in NHL, Seattle Kraken, joined the NHL, 25 of those teams are from the US. The remaining 7 are NHL Canadian teams.
Below you can find a full NHL teams list with divided teams depending on conference and division.
The conferences are further organized into divisions based on the team’s geographic location. In the Eastern Conference, there’s the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division. The Western Conference consists of the Central and Pacific Divisions. There are 16 teams in each conference and each division has eight teams.
| Eastern Conference | |
| Atlantic | Metropolitan |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Washington Capitals |
| Ottawa Senators | New York Rangers |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Florida Panthers | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Montreal Canadiens | New York Islanders |
| Detroit Red Wings | New Jersey Devils |
| Boston Bruins | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Buffalo Sabres | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Western Conference | |
| Central | Pacific |
| Winnipeg Jets | Seattle Kraken |
| St. Louis Blues | Vancouver Canucks |
| Nashville Predators | San Jose Sharks |
| Dallas Stars | Anaheim Ducks |
| Minnesota Wild | Arizona Coyotes |
| Colorado Avalanche | Calgary Flames |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Edmonton Oilers |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Los Angeles Kings |
NHL Canadian teams
The NHL contains of both American and Canadian teams. As we already mentioned there are 25 U.S teams and 7 Canadian NHL teams. Below is the list of the current Canadian teams in NHL:
- Calgary Flames
- Edmonton Oilers
- Montreal Canadiens
- Ottawa Senators
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vancouver Canucks
- Winnipeg Jets
Bet on Stanley Cup: Where the Best NHL Teams Meet
The NHL sporting year is divided into three parts. The preseason, regular season, and the postseason which includes the Stanley Cup playoffs. The playoffs typically occur in April and run until June. The teams that enter qualify through their regular-season points.
The playoffs consist of four rounds based on a best-of-seven series format to crown the best NHL team. Dont forget to compare betting sites available in Philadelphia if you want to bet on the Stanley Cup.
Playoff Brackets
After the regular season has played out, the top 16 best NHL teams based on the regular-season points (eight from each conference) qualify for the playoffs.
The top three NHL teams out of each division will gain automatic qualification. The remaining four spots are then given to the next two highest-scoring teams from each conference regardless of their division. These teams are known as wild cards.
Playoff Game Location Framework
The first round will see the division winner with the highest points from each NHL conference face off against the wild card with the lowest scores. The wild card with the highest points will match up against the other divisional winner.
Second and third-place teams from every division will meet in the first round. The winners from these games then meet in the second round to determine the four NHL teams playing in the Conference Finals. The two winners of the Conference Finals will then go head to head for the Stanley Cup.
During the first and second rounds, the home-ice advantage is given to the highest placed team in the regular-season standings. The Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup home-ice advantage is given to the team that has the best regular-season record regardless of the previous standings.
Wildcards & Bye-round rules
As mentioned, there are four wild cards in the Stanley Cup playoffs. While these teams face off against the division winners for a qualifying spot, the top-seeded teams will automatically proceed to receive a bye-round.
This is just some of the NHL rules that are good to have knowledge about when betting on icehockey.
NHL Teams Performance
The NHL was formed 1917, and since its inception, the teams have been impressing fans with their performances season after season. Out of the now 32 teams, some have seen more success than others, with the Montreal Canadiens being known as the best NHL team.
Pennsylvania Team Legacy and Past Performance
Let’s take a closer look at the past performances of the two Pennsylvanian teams.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are a more successful team in comparison to the Flyers. They have five Stanley Cup titles to their name. The team has also won eight Division Championships and six Conference Championships. The club holds a single President’s Trophy.
The Pens’ most recent victory was when they won the 2016/17 Stanley Cup. The win was the second one for the club in a row, making them the first team since 1997/98 to defend their title. The finals were a nail-biter with the team winning two, then losing two before finally bringing it home with a final two victories.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have only won two Stanley Cup titles over their history. However, they do boast an impressive collection of Division Championships at 16. They also hold eight Conference Championships titles. The team’s point percentage is 57.5%, making them thrift in the entire league behind the Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens.
The Flyers’ last significant victory was during 2010/11 when they last won the Division Championships. 2018/19 seemed to be an unlucky year for the team, which began with lots of firing and hiring. The club also faced issues with racial controversy and fell apart, missing the playoffs.
Best NHL Teams and Past Performance
The Montreal Canadiens were founded in 1909. They’re the longest-operating hockey team in the world and predate the beginning of the NHL. The club has the record for the most Stanley Cups with 25 to their name. However, they last held the cup back in 1993. Their most recent success was the 2016/17 Championships, which they had won consecutively for three years.
The St. Louis Blues are the one of the recent years Stanley Cup champions. Although they aren’t considered one of the more successful teams in the league, they shouldn’t be overlooked for their recent victory. Their 2018/19 win was their first since they were founded in 1967. The club has had 42 playoff appearances out of the 52 seasons and has made the cup finals four times. A win was well overdue for the Blues.
These two teams are often mentioned when ranking the best NHL teams over time. However, recent decade other teams have been in the drivers’s seat. Our own Pennsylvanian team Pittsburgh Penguins, with players like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, have dominated the last years.
Even the years they didn’t win the Stanley Cup, they still deliver good results and make it far in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Another team that are obvious when talking about the best NHL team is Tampa Bay Lightning. They won the Stanley Cup two consecutive years in a row 2020 and 2021 with leading players as Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman.
Notable Team NHL Rivalries
The league is known to have some of the fiercest and most entertaining NHL rivalries of any major league sport.
| Team Vs. Team Rivalry | Reason for Rivalry |
| Philadelphia Flyers Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins | One of the most famous rivalries that began the day the teams were formed in the same territory. They’re division rivals and meet frequently. |
| Ottawa Senators Vs. Toronto Maple Leafs | The teams are division rivals. In the 2000s, the team met four times in the playoffs, and Toronto swept Ottawa away every time. |
| New Jersey Devils Vs. New York Rangers | Known as the cross-river rivals because these teams play out of stadiums less than ten miles apart. Causing a fierce territory rivalry between the players and fans. |
| NewYork Islanders Vs. Washington Capitals | A long-standing rivalry dates back to the 80s when the Islanders won nearly every matchup between 1983 and 1987. The teams faced off for the most memorable playoff series in 1987, where the Islanders yet again walked away with the overall victory. |
Notable NHL Players in PA
PA has seen many talented NHL players come and go over the years. Below are a few of the most noteworthy NHL players that have played in Pennsylvanian NHL teams.
Mario Lemieux
Lemieux was the number one selection in the 1984 NHL Draft. He’d just completed a 133 goal and 282 point season in the Major Junior Hockey League. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1984 to 2006 before taking over ownership of the club.
He’s accumulated a myriad of achievements and records during his career. These include leading the Pens to two consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. He then led them as an owner to three more wins in 2009, 2016, and 2017.
He’s renowned for his gifts as a playmaker, his fast skating despite his size, and wit on the ice.
Jaromir Jagr
Jagr is considered one of the greats and began his career with a record-breaker. When he debuted with the NHL, he was the youngest player. Overall, Jagr has had a long and successful career that has seen him play for over ten hockey teams. These include the Flyers and the Pens.
He’s famous for having the second-most points in NHL history and being the most productive European player.