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NHL Playoffs: Qualifying round is tough to predict

FILE - In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, right, and Chicago Blackhawks center Ryan Carpenter vie for the puck during the first period of a game in Chicago. McDavid gets just his second taste of the playoffs in his fifth season. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

By The Associated Press

The NHL’s regular season is over and the chase for the Stanley Cup is on if hockey returns this summer.

The league settled on a 24-team postseason format that Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano supported back in March as the coronavirus was shutting down sports.

“You can’t eliminate teams who are out on points percentage or stuff like that,” Giordano said. “I think you go 12 and 12. More teams get in this year, maybe a couple of byes at the top and play it out.”

The top four teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences get byes into the final 16 except for a handful of round-robin games to determine seeding. That’s Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia in the East and St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas in the West.

“It rewards those teams that had a good regular season, and it’s going to serve as almost a little bit of a preseason for those top four in each conference,” said NBC Sports analyst Patrick Sharp, who won the Cup three times as a player with Chicago. “There’s standings on the line and you want to position yourself the best you can, but it’s an opportunity for those guys to kind of get the rust off and get ready for a tough opponent because whoever they face in that first round is going to be coming off a pretty intense series.”

The top seeds would face the winners of these eight opening-round, best-of-five series:

EASTERN

CONFERENCE

No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 12 Montreal Canadiens: Penguins captain and three-time champion Sidney Crosby didn’t mind going directly into playoffs given the limited timing. His reward is a matchup against elite goaltender Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens, who had 15 fewer points than Pittsburgh when the season was halted. Season series: Penguins won two of three.

No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 11 New York Rangers: Carolina was one of two teams (along with Tampa Bay) that voted against this playoff format. The Hurricanes shouldn’t need emergency goaltender David Ayres anymore with Petr Mrazek and James Reimer healthy and Dougie Hamilton ready to return on defense. Season series: Rangers won all four.

No. 7 New York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida Panthers: This is a rematch of a 2016 series, but basically everything has changed for these teams since. Barry Trotz has put his stamp on the Islanders, and three-time Cup-winning coach Joel Quenneville is in his first season with high-flying Florida. Season series: Islanders won all three.

No. 8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. No. 9 Columbus Blue Jackets: If Toronto is to bring the Cup home for the first time since 1967, Auston Matthews and Co. first have to deal with the pesky Blue Jackets who eliminated the top-seeded Lightning in the first round last year. Season series: Split two games.

WESTERN

CONFERENCE

No. 5 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. 12 Chicago Blackhawks: Connor McDavid gets just his second taste of the playoffs in his fifth season. No. 97, who had 97 points in the regular season, gets to ride alongside NHL leading scorer Leon Draisaitl against an aging Blackhawks opponent. Season series: Blackhawks won two of three.

No. 6 Nashville Predators vs. No. 11 Arizona Coyotes: Nashville and Arizona each made a major in-season move. The Predators replaced coach Peter Laviolette with John Hynes and the Coyotes traded for 2018 MVP Taylor Hall. Only one of them will get into the final 16. Season series: Split two games.

No. 7 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 10 Minnesota Wild

The Canucks get goalie Jacob Markstrom back from a knee injury, and he has had the benefit of skating at home in Sweden during the pause. Minnesota interim coach Dean Evason gets a chance to show he deserves the full-time job. Season series: Wild won two of three.

No. 8 Calgary Flames vs. No. 9 Winnipeg Jets

The constantly changing Flames face the continuity of the Jets, and the winner of this series could make some real noise in the West. Some big changes are probably coming for the loser. Season series: Jets won only meeting in overtime.

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