Stanley Cup Playoffs to be best-of-7 following qualifiers
Seeding format, round-robin tiebreakers also announced
ByNHL.com @NHLdotcom
All series in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be best-of-7 and will be set based on seeding, the NHL announced June 4.
When the NHL on May 26 announced its Return to Play Plan, which involves 24 teams in competition for the Stanley Cup, it said the length of the first-round and second-round series would be determined.
"Everybody is used to a best-of-7," Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang told The Associated Press. "You know how it's structured. You know how it feels if you lose the first two or you win the first two. You kind of know all the scenarios that can go through a best-of-7."
The tournament will begin with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which will include 16 teams playing eight best-of-5 series and a round-robin among the top four teams in each conference to determine seeds for the playoffs.
In each round of the playoffs, the highest remaining seed in each conference will play the lowest remaining seed in that conference, the second-highest remaining seed will play the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. It will not be predetermined by a set bracket, the format that had been used since 2013-14.
Ties during the round-robin will be broken by regular-season points percentage. The seeding order for these top four teams will remain the same throughout the playoffs.
In the qualifiers, the higher-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 1, 2 and 5. The lower-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 3 and 4.
During the first round, second round and conference finals, the higher-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. The lower-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 3, 4 and 6.
In the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the higher regular-season points percentage will be designated as the home team in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. The team with the lower regular-season points percentage will be designated as the home team in Games 3, 4 and 6.
"Any team that is going to win five rounds, four rounds of best-of-7 ... I think it will be a very worthy Stanley Cup champion and they'll be as worthy as any team or players that won it before them," Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares told the AP.
The NHL paused the regular season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus and said the remaining 189 games would not be completed. The 12 qualifying teams from the Eastern and Western conferences were determined by points percentage as of that date. Seven teams did not qualify.
The best-of-5 series and round-robin will be played at two hub cities to be identified, one for the 12 participating Eastern Conference teams and one for the 12 Western Conference teams, and begin at a date to be determined. The playoffs also will be held in those two cities.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers each will have a bye and play each other once in the round-robin to determine the order of the top four seeds for the first round of the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference series in the qualifiers will be the Penguins against the Montreal Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes against the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders against the Florida Panthers, and the Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars each will have a bye and play in the round-robin to determine their seeding order.
The Western Conference series in the qualifiers will be the Edmonton Oilers against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Nashville Predators against the Arizona Coyotes, the Vancouver Canucks against the Minnesota Wild, and the Calgary Flames against the Winnipeg Jets.
Phase 2 of the Return to Play Plan, which allows for voluntary limited workouts at team facilities, began June 8. Full training camps, part of Phase 3, will begin on July 10, provided that medical and safety conditions allow and the League and NHLPA have reached an overall agreement on resuming play.
