Chicago Blackhawks: 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs Updates

There are new details outlining the 24-team playoffs plan, which the Chicago Blackhawks will be part of.

The Chicago Blackhawks will meet the Edmonton Oilers in the Qualifying Round of the playoffs if all progresses as planned.

24 teams have made it into this year’s post-season, using a points percentage system from the total number of games each played prior to the NHL season being paused.

16 of those teams, which includes the Blackhawks, will faceoff in an initial play-in series to determine if they will make it through to meet those awaiting them for the First Round.

Qualifying Round

With 16 organizations involved for this part of the playoffs, it will consist of the eight lowest-ranked teams from both the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference.

These will each be a best-of-5 series, with the higher-ranked club as the home team for Games 1, 2, and 5.

The winners will then move forward towards establishing the match-ups for the next round.

The top four teams in each conference have a bye straight into the First Round. However, they will be part of Seeding Round Robin games to establish their ranking throughout the playoffs.

Western Conference Matches

Calgary Flames (8th)
Winnipeg Jets (9th)

Edmonton Oilers (5th)
Chicago Blackhawks (12th)

Vancouver Canucks (7th)
Minnesota Wild (10th)

Nashville Predators (6th)
Arizona Coyotes (11th)

Eastern Conference Matches

Toronto Maple Leafs (8th)
Columbus Blue Jackets (9th)

Pittsburgh Penguins (5th)
Montreal Canadiens (12th)

New York Islanders (7th)
Florida Panthers (10th)

Carolina Hurricanes (6th)
New York Rangers (11th)

Seeding Round Robin

The top four teams from each conference (eight total) will be awaiting the winners of the Qualifying Round to see which others will establish the 16-team playoffs from that point forward.

First, they will participate in a round-robin portion of the post-season which will consist of three games per team. They will play each of the others from their conference once, as part of this round.

The standings that result from these games will then determine the respective playoffs positioning for each team.

Two hub cities, one to represent each conference, will host the Qualifying Round and Seeding Round Robin games. These locations are to be determined.

Western Conference Pool

St. Louis Blues
Colorado Avalanche
Vegas Golden Knights
Dallas Stars

Eastern Conference Pool

Boston Bruins
Tampa Bay Lightning
Washington Capitals
Philidelphia Flyers

Re-Seeding Throughout Playoffs

Every series, beyond the Seeding Round Robin and Qualifying Round, will then be a best-of-7. Re-seeding will also occur each round, as opposed to the tournament following a pre-set bracket.

Once the 16-team playoffs are established, as of the First Round, the highest seed in the conference will meet the lowest seed of that conference, second-highest facing off against second-lowest, and so on until all respective match-ups are set.

For the First Round, Second Round, and Conference Finals, this seeding format will determine the home team who will then have that advantage for Games 1, 2, 5, and 7.

However, the Stanley Cup Final will see the team with the better regular-season points percentage as the higher seed. They’ll be on the home side for Games 1, 2, 5, and 7.

On June 8, Phase 2 of the NHL’s Return to Play Plan will begin, allowing for limited workouts at team facilities. Training camps are not yet scheduled, but won’t begin before July 10.