NHL Announces New Division Names
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - Starting this season, all 30 NHL teams will play in all 30 team's arenas at least once thanks to the rearrangement of the league's divisions.
The Western Conference now includes the Pacific Division and the Central Division, each with seven teams, and the Eastern Conference contains the Metropolitan Division and the Atlantic Division, each with eight teams.
The Detroit Red Wings are in the Atlantic Division along with the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
In accordance with the change of divisional format, the format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs is also different. The top three teams from each division will take the first 12 playoff slots, and each conference will send two more teams as wild cards based on regular season points.
The NHL will use this divisional format and playoff arrangement for at least the next three seasons, through 2015-2016.
