NHL playoffs
Currently no live events
Lock in your playoff picks. Battle through every round. Every series, overtime, and upset can mean more money for your charity.
Nothing to join right now.
Dates for the next one are to be decided. They appear here as soon as they are — or pick another sport below, which may well be running.
What you buy
One buy-in covers the whole playoffs, start to finish. You make every pick in one sitting, and that is the last thing it asks of you.
The playoffs
once a seasonYou pick the winner of all fifteen series, from the first round to the last.
3 battle rounds inside it, each against a fan from your own city — or, once in a while, a rivalry battle against another city altogether.
- First round30% at stake
- Second round30% at stake
- Conference finals and the final20% at stake
Banked for your charity the moment it locks10%
Mad4Change, which is what pays the card fees10%
That is the whole of it: 30 + 30 + 20 + 10 + 10 = 100. The first 10% is your charity’s whatever happens next, and we never ask you to cover the card fee on top. From $20, in whole dollars, and you can top it up until it locks.
The field
Who you are picking between, and what it took them to get there.
16 of 32
reach the playoffs
Eight from each conference: the top three in each division, then two more on record. Half the league is in, which makes the first round the least predictable opening weekend of any sport here.
4
rounds, every one best-of-seven
Sixteen wins to take the title, in eight weeks. The first two rounds are bracketed within each division, so the path a team has to walk is set before a puck is dropped.
15
series to call
Eight first-round series, four in the second, two conference finals and the final — all picked before the opening face-off.
How it works
- Pick the winner of every playoff series, not the individual games.
- Three battle rounds: the first round, the second round, then the conference finals and the final together.
- Every pick is made before the playoffs start, and fixed from the first face-off.
- Leave one blank and your backup rule fills it in: the better seed, or the better record.
Every round is a new battle
Each round, you face one other fan. Pick more series correctly and you take a bigger share of the round for your charity. Then the slate resets, the matchups change, and you battle someone new.
- Round 1new opponent
- Round 2new opponent
- Round 3new opponent
Round 1, Philadelphia
Made-up exampleBlitzForGood
Won the roundPlaying for Hometown Food Pantry
Series called right
6
Stake
$20.00
SteelCitySteve
Lost the roundPlaying for Kids' Hospital Fund
Series called right
5
Stake
$20.00
BlitzForGood picked more series right, so the two stakes of $20.00 come together as $40.00:
$28.00
banked for Hometown Food Pantry
Guaranteed. It can never be lost again.
$12.00
carried into round 2
BlitzForGood starts the next round with more at stake.
SteelCitySteve keeps every dollar already banked for Kids' Hospital Fund, and still has a stake waiting in rounds 2 to 3.
Level on correct picks? We look at your score across every round so far, then at who called the series fewer fans got right. If you are still inseparable it is a genuine tie, and each of you keeps your own stake — split the same way a win is, so you both carry something into the next round. In the last round there is no next round, so it is all banked.
Who do you battle?
Your friends, in a group
Start a group, send the link by email or text, and you are matched inside your group first. It is the office pool, except the bragging rights come with donations.
- Set your own buy-in for the group, at or above the $20 minimum.
- Four ready members and your group plays on its own.
- Friends in another city can join and you all battle each other — each of you still playing for a charity where you live.
Your city, in the open pool
No group? You are matched with another fan from your city. Different charities battling each other is the whole point, so the money moves around the city rather than in a circle.
- Matched with someone who gave a similar amount, so it stays fair.
- We avoid pairing you with the same charity, or the same opponent twice.
- Odd number of fans? Three of you battle, and the top score takes both stakes.
Where a $100 donation goes
When the tournament starts, your donation gets put to work. Some is locked in for your charity right away, some is set aside for each battle round, and a small portion helps keep Mad4Change running.
Then the fun starts. Each round gives you a chance to steal a bigger share of the money for your charity. Lose one battle? No problem. You’re back the next round with a new opponent and another shot to take more for your cause.
An example of how a stretch like this one splits. Each stretch carries its own figures, and you will see them before you donate to it.
| Block | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| At stake in First round | 30% | $30.00 |
| At stake in Second round | 30% | $30.00 |
| At stake in Conference finals and the final | 20% | $20.00 |
| Banked for your charity right away | 10% | $10.00 |
| Mad4Change operational expenses | 10% | $10.00 |
Win a round and you take your opponent's stake for it: a percentage is banked for your charity and the rest carries into your next round. The last round banks everything.
What if I win every round?
Assuming each opponent staked the same as you. This is the best case, not a promise.
| Round | You stake | Round total | Banked | Carried |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banked at the start | — | — | $10.00 | — |
| First round | $30.00 | $60.00 | $42.00 | $18.00 |
| Second round | $48.00 | $96.00 | $67.20 | $28.80 |
| Conference finals and the final | $48.80 | $97.60 | $97.60 | — |
| Total for your charity | $216.80 | |||
Lose every round instead and your charity still keeps the $10.00 banked at the start, while your stakes bank for other fans' charities. Either way, 90% of every dollar reaches a charity.
Worth knowing about NHL playoffs
The first round is eight series at once
Everything starts the same week, so the opening round is the busiest few days on the site — and the round where a bold call separates you from a fan who took every higher seed.
When it runs
2027 playoffs
- Registration opens
- April 10, 2027
- First game
- April 18, 2027
- Last game
- June 20, 2027
Dates are from the published schedule and can move for television. Picks close the moment your first game starts, and we remind you before that.
City vs city
Example — the real race starts when the first season opensBattle local fans. Back local charities. Keep the money in your city.
Then, when a rivalry battle comes up, your city gets a chance to steal a bigger share from another city’s total — all while competing to see which city can raise the most for home.
Philadelphia
LeadingPhiladelphia and South Jersey
$6,417.50
banked for Philadelphia charities
- Fans playing
- 174
- Per fan
- $36.88
Pittsburgh
Western Pennsylvania
$4,863.00
banked for Pittsburgh charities
- Fans playing
- 118
- Per fan
- $41.21
- Philadelphia: $6,417.50
- Pittsburgh: $4,863.00
- Combined: $11,280.50 for local charities
Philadelphia leads on the total, but Pittsburgh fans bank more each ($41.21 per fan). Bring more fans and the total follows.
Not in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh? You can still play: pick the city you want to raise money for.