Road to the 2019/20 Stanley Cup Playoffs

June 26, 2020 08:18 am

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(Update: the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin on August 1, with all previous phases being successful. The playoffs will take place in two Canadian hub cities, Toronto and Edmonton)

The quarantine that swept through the world affected all of the major leagues, including the NHL. The league suspended its 2019/20 season indefinitely on March 12.

In late May, League Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the remaining regular season games would not be completed. Instead, the league would jump straight into a 24-team playoffs for the Stanley Cup, the season for the remaining seven teams has come to an end.

Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils
Anaheim Ducks
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings

Important Dates for the Return of Hockey

Right now, the players are in the second phase of a four phase plan. The teams are currently in phase two of the plan which began on June 2.

Phase two includes making sure that all players and teams will have a safe and controlled playing environment to return to training camp. The players are currently allowed to train in separate groups of six people.

Phase three is set to begin on July 10. This will detail the league’s return to full training camps in preparation for the season’s Stanley Cup playoffs. This phase will only be realized if all medical and safety requirements are met.

Finally, after the completion of the middle two phases, we will meet phase 4, which is the official start of the 2019/20 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The entire playoffs will take place in two hub cities in Canada. Several cities were in the running, with these two being announced. Toronto will take the Eastern Conference teams, whereas the Western Conference teams will head to Edmonton.

Edmonton
Toronto

According to the latest data, the league leadership, together with the players' union, decided to open official training camps for the teams continuing the season on July 10th. NHL officials emphasize that opening camps will only be possible if all medical and safety requirements are met. The duration of the training camps and the start dates of the matches will be determined later.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Format

The NHL season will resume in the middle of Summer with the highest competition of the league, between 24 of the league’s top teams.

The four best clubs from each conference will play three matches in a round robin format and thus determine the seeding number in the playoffs. Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Philadelphia will face off in the East, and St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas, and Dallas in the West.

The remaining 16 teams are divided into pairs, they will play in the qualifying round series of three games. In the Eastern Conference, we already have our expected first-round matchups. As always, Legalbet will bring you the best odds we have found for each of these contests.

Eastern Conference Playoff Matchups

Matchups in the Eastern Conference include:

Pittsburgh Penguins (BetMGM -175) vs. Montreal Canadians (SugarHouse +145)
Carolina Huriccanes (Borgata 1.77) vs. New York Rangers (888sport +110)
New York Islanders (BetMGM -115) vs. Florida Panthers (Unibet +100)
Toronto Maple Leafs (Borgata -167) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (888sport +140)

Western Conference Playoff Matchups

Matchups in the Western Conference include:

Edmonton Oilers (BetMGM -156) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (SugarHouse +135)
Nashville Predators (BetMGM -125) vs. Arizona Coyotes (888sport +115)
Vancouver Canucks (Borgata -119) vs. Minnesota Wild (SugarHouse +100)
Calgary Flames (BetMGM -119) vs. Winnipeg Jets (Unibet +105)

Stanley Cup Conference Winners

Currently, sportsbooks have presented lines to the winners of the East and West. In the Eastern Conference, the main favorites are Tampa Bay and Boston. Both teams are also shared favorites to take home the Stanley Cup at the end.

NHL Hockey