NHL Teams in Postseason Race

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Photo credit Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

There have been some hiccups, it looks like the NHL is set to return to action. The league is about two weeks away from Phase 3 of its plan that will eventually lead to a 24-team tournament played across two hub cities: Toronto and Edmonton. This tourney will be unlike anything ever seen in the NHL, with the top four seeds in each conference guaranteed a spot, and the other eight playing a best-of-five "Play In" round. And in an added twist, the eight teams that lose those play-in rounds will all have an equal shot at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, after the initial lottery drawing left us without a choice.

It's been three months since we last saw a NHL game. As a refresher, here's how the playoff race looks in each conference:

Eastern Conference:

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Cream of the crop: The Bruins, Lightning, Capitals and Flyers are all in the second round, as they are the teams with the four best point totals in the East (Boston, in fact, has the best record in the entire league at 44-26-12, good for 100 points). Obviously being one step closer to the Stanley Cup is a good thing, but the team each plays will have already had at least three games to get back into the swing of things. Rust could be a very real thing after four months off for these contenders.

Also up in the air is who exactly each team will play. The league hasn't yet announced whether they will re-seed after each round (i.e. Boston would play the lowest remaining seed, whoever it may be) or if there will be a bracket (i.e. Boston would play the winner of the 8-versus-9 matchup).

First Round matchups: The official return to play in Toronto will feature a quartet of best-of-five series:

  • The Penguins will face the Canadiens, who are seven points worse than the next-lowest seed in the East.
  • The Hurricanes meet the Rangers in a Metropolitan Division clash (will New York go with Henrik Lundqvist or Igor Shestyorkin in goal?).
  • The Islanders and Panthers have a rematch of their 2016 first-round series.
  • And in the 8-9 contest it's the Maple Leafs squaring off with the Blue Jackets.

Sorry, season's over: The Devils, Sabres, Senators and Red Wings all see their season come to an end. It's not all bad for Ottawa, who has picks three and five in the upcoming draft. It's the worst-case scenario for Detroit, one of the worst teams of the modern era who had the best shot at the No. 1 pick, and will wind up picking fourth.

Western Conference: 

Cream of the crop: The Blues have a chance to defend their Cup as the top seed in the West, followed by the Avalanche, Golden Knights and Stars. If you look at the standings you'll notice that Dallas (82 points) has fewer points than Edmonton (83). So why do they get a first-round bye? Because all the schedules are imbalanced, points percentage is what the league goes by. At 37-24-8, the Stars have a .595 points percentage (despite losing their final six games before the lockdown), better than the Oilers' 37-25-9 record, good for a .585 points percentage. The good news for Connor McDavid and company: their second playoff appearance since 2006 will be at home, as Edmonton is the hub city.

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First Round matchups: Just like the East, there are four best-of-five series to determine who faces the top seeds:

  • The Oilers take on the Blackhawks, who won five of their final seven games before the shutdown to sneak in despite sitting in last place in the Central Division.
  • The Predators play the Coyotes, who partake in their first postseason since making the conference final in 2012.
  • Vancouver and Minnesota square off in the 7-versus-10 series.
  • The Flames and Jets are the 8-versus-9 contest. Calgary (79), Winnipeg (80), Vancouver (78) and Minnesota (77) are separated by just three points. And though it doesn't matter in this case, the Flames are the eight-seed based on points percentage over the Jets, despite having one fewer point.

Again, the consolation for all the losers of the first-round series have the consolation of having a 12.5 percent chance of getting the top pick in the draft.

Sorry, season's over: Everyone in the Central Division qualified for the playoffs. Over in the Pacific, though, the Ducks, Kings and Sharks are all done for the year. Los Angeles has the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Anaheim picks sixth, and San Jose doesn't own its first-round pick, thanks to the Erik Karlsson trade (Ottawa has their pick).