| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 4–May 24, 1990 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Calgary Flames |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Edmonton Oilers |
| Runner-up | Boston Bruins |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | Craig Simpson (Oilers) Mark Messier (Oilers) (31 points) |
| MVP | Bill Ranford (Oilers) |
The 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 5, 1990, following the 1989–90 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, from the top four teams of the four divisions, played best-of-seven series. The Conference Champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.
This was the last time that the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs until 2017. They would make the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons from 1991 to 2016, excluding 2005, when the season was cancelled.
Since entering the NHL as expansion teams in the 1967–68 NHL season this was the first and only time until 2023 that both the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs in the same season.
The playoffs concluded on May 24 with the Edmonton Oilers winning the Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins in the final series four games to one. Edmonton goaltender Bill Ranford was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.