The NHL, which held its inaugural season in 1917-18, has labeled its penultimate round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as the conference finals since the 1981-82 campaign. The league realigned its teams that season to better reflect their geographical locations. The league officially adopted the Eastern Conference and Western Conference labels during the 1993-94 season.
The NHL labeled the conference finals round as the Stanley Cup semifinals during the 2021 playoffs due to teams playing across conferences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are key facts and stats about the NHL's conference finals:
Player with the most assists in a conference finals game
Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens, five (1994 Game 2 vs.