2020 NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers Schedule
The NHL is officially restarting its season next month after recently finalizing its hub cities. The league just released the complete round-robin and qualifying-round schedules for urgent season comeback games in all conferences.
Starting August 1, each conference will have four best-of-five qualifying round match-ups. Eastern Conference games will be played at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, while Western Conference games will be at the Rogers Place in Edmonton. More than that, expect the new broadcast angles to come into play as the league pushes to provide more viewership access to NHL fans from all over the globe.
All matches on the schedule are exhibition games following the conclusion of the training camps. The qualifying round will be a knockout round that finalizes the list of 16 postseason teams through a standard playoff format. The round-robin games, meanwhile, will seed the top team in each conference.
Teams will re-seed following the conclusion of both the qualifying rounds and each subsequent round. The winners of these series advance to the first round of the Stanley Cup 2020 Playoffs against the four top teams from the round-robin.
Here’s the complete list of schedule:
Saturday, Aug. 1
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1, 12 p.m.
Florida Panthers vs New York Islanders, Game 1, 4 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1, 8 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers, Game 1, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 2
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Round-robin
Philadelphia Flyers vs Boston Bruins, 3 p.m.
Best-of-5 series
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1, 8 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Arizona Coyotes vs, Nashville Predators, Game 1, 2 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.
Round-robin
St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 3
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2, 8 p.m.
Round-robin
Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning, 4 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers, Game 2, 10:30 p.m.
Round-robin
Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 4
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Florida Panthers vs New York Islanders, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 2, 4 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers, Game 3, 8 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Arizona Coyotes vs Nashville Predators, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Calgary Flames vs Winnipeg Jets, Game 3, 6:45 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks, Game 2, 10:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 5
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Islanders vs Florida Panthers, Game 3, 12 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens, Game 3, 8 p.m.
Round-robin
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins, 4 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Nashville Predators vs Arizona Coyotes, Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks, Game 3, 10:30 p.m.
Round-robin
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3, TBD
Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers, Game 4*, TBD
Round-robin
Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild, Game 3, TBD
Calgary Flames vs Winnipeg Jets, Game 4*, TBD
Round-robin
Vegas Golden Knights vs St. Louis Blues, TBD
Friday, Aug. 7
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Islanders vs Florida Panthers, Game 4*, TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens, Game 4*, TBD
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4*, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Nashville Predators vs Arizona Coyotes, Game 4*, TBD
Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild, Game 4*, TBD
Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks, Game 4*, TBD
Saturday, Aug. 8
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes, Game 5*, TBD
Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames, Game 5*, TBD
Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Vegas Golden Knights vs Colorado Avalanche, TBD
Sunday, Aug. 9
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Florida Panthers vs New York Islanders, Game 5*, TBD
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Philadelphia Flyers vs Tampa Bay Lightning, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks, Game 5*, TBD
Arizona Coyotes vs Nashville Predators, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues, TBD