What to expect from the upcoming non-standard playoffs? A short guide and expectations for all pairs of East and West from the Hockeyground blog
To begin with, please do not demand and do not expect in this preview the predictions on the outcomes of the series and reasonable bets on the winner in this preview, after all, the current playoffs are too force majeure, and the state of the teams in such “summer conditions” should be studied exclusively by and then draw conclusions!
HOW WILL THE NEW PLAY-OFF LOOK LIKE?
This season, for all known reasons, the NHL post-season format will undergo major changes.
In short, the league decided to “offend” as few teams as possible and allow 24 clubs to participate in elimination matches and fight for the cup (instead of the usual 16).
The playoffs itself, which starts on August 1, will begin with the qualifying [zero] round, and the shortened series in it will last only up to 3 wins (in all subsequent rounds again in the format of up to 4 wins).
WHICH COMMANDS HAVE ALREADY GOT FURTHER?
Due to the expansion of the playoff grid to 24 participants and the convenient formation of the usual grid further, 8 clubs will automatically bypass the qualifying round at once: 4 best in each conference at the time of the termination of the regular season (the percentage of victories from matches played in the regular season was calculated).
But they will not rest an extra week while others are already playing for elimination, and among themselves in a kind of mini-tournament they will play the seed numbers (from 1 to 4) for the first round, but more about these teams is a little below.
