Read the series score separately from the match score
The official 2026 format requires two match wins to advance. A tied Round One match proceeds directly from regulation to a penalty shootout, with no extra time. The shootout supplies the winner of that match and thereby contributes one win to the series, rather than an aggregate-goals adjustment.
An illustrative opener lost by several goals and a narrow second-game victory would leave one match win apiece. The size of those winning margins would not decide the series. A third match would then be necessary. This is an explanation of the format, not a claim about any actual 2026 pairing or result.
The home-away-home sequence is not a two-leg tie
The higher seed hosts the opener and any necessary third game; the lower seed hosts game two. A programme labelled Game Two can therefore be followed by another meeting even if the teams’ total goals across those first games are unequal. Keep the game number when saving an archive.
The conditional third game is also a reason to distinguish a published schedule placeholder from a match that actually took place. If one side wins the first two games, the series is complete. An absent third-game replay is not evidence of a missing broadcast when that game was unnecessary.
Change your expectation at the next round
The conference semifinals switch to a single-elimination match. A regulation tie there brings two complete fifteen-minute extra-time periods before a shootout if still level. A viewer who expects every playoff round to use Round One’s immediate shootout could consequently misread a continuing semifinal.
Keep the season, conference, round and game number together when comparing recordings. This guide reflects the organiser’s 2026 format checked on 4 November, without inventing the future participants or timetable. Consult the actual final match listing for the selected programme and its complete result.