If the NHL is allowed to resume the pandemic-hit 2019-20 season this summer, the playoff portion of the schedule will feature the usual four rounds of best-of-seven series.
In this Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, file photo, fans pose below the NHL league logo at a display outside Falcon Stadium before an NHL Stadium Series outdoor hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche, at Air Force Academy, Colo. If the league is allowed to resume the pandemic-hit 2019-20 season this summer, the playoff portion of the schedule will feature the usual four rounds of best-of-seven series.
The NHL announced the 24-team format last week, but had yet to iron out certain details, including whether or not the first two rounds of the playoffs would be best-of-five or best-best of seven. Along with the decision on series length, the NHL said today that teams will be re-seeded after each playoff round instead of being placed in a bracket.
The return-to-play blueprint -- which will eventually require the approval of health and government officials to get off the ground in two so-called "hub" cities -- would begin with separate round-robin tournaments for the top-4 clubs in both the Eastern and Western Conference. The other 16 franchises would take part in eight best-of-five qualifying round series, leaving the NHL with its traditional 16 teams for the playoffs.
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