After postseason qualifiers and round-robin tournament to determine seedings wrapped up over the weekend, NHL has officially set the bracket for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Eastern Conference saw Philadelphia Flyers taking the No. 1 seed with three wins in the seeding round robin, and will now play Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Canadiens, who finished the regular season as the No. 12, made their way to the playoffs by upset 3-1 series win against the No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins.

”It was a tall task to get that No. 1 seed, and we did it,” said Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. ”We came in here and have been strictly business. I think for us to go out there and get three big wins in a row and get that No. 1 seed is huge for us.”

Other matchups in the East include Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders, and Boston Bruins against Carolina Hurricanes.

In the Western Conference, Vegas Golden Knights claimed the top seed with three wins from three games and get to face Chicago Blackhawks in the next round. Blackhawks’ clinched the ticket to the postseason by eliminating the fifth-seeded Edmonton Oilers.

The No.2 seed Colorado Avalanche play against the Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars are pitted against Calgary Flames, while St. Louis Blue Jackets face Vancouver Canucks.

Stanley Cup Playoffs officially kick off on August 11th. Check out the full bracket below.

The post NHL Sets the Bracket For Stanley Cup Playoffs 2020 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NHL will most likely resume its 2019/20 season in Canada. According to multiple reports, the league is favoring Toronto and Edmonton as hub cities to stage play-in-tournament and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The decision won’t be final until later this week when the National Hockey League Players’ Association is set to take a vote on this and several other elements of season restart.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie first reported the news.   

It was previously believed that the league will end up choosing Las Vegas as the hub city since it offered more accommodation options and could serve as a strong bubble environment. However, the rise of coronavirus cases and several other factors made it a less favorable option in recent weeks and gave an advantage to Toronto and Edmonton.

Toronto and Edmonton make sense from both hockey and financial standpoint for the league. Besides offering a desirable infrastructure, it will also be a lot cheaper to organize games in these two cities.

NHL is set to resume its activities between July 10th and July 13th when the teams are set to enter mandatory training camps.

The post NHL Favors Toronto and Edmonton as Hub Cities for 2019/20 Season Resume appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After an unlikely Stanley Cup win last season, St. Louis Blues plan to go all the way in 2019/20 as well. According to Blues’ head coach Craig Berube, his players can’t wait to get back to the ice after NHL resumes its season and are “hungry” to repeat as champions.

NHL recently confirmed that it’s terminating the regular season and will instead resume with a playoff consisting put of 24 teams. According to the league’s schedule, the Blues will return to training in the next few days and will begin playing competitive games in late July.

“They’re hungry,” said Berube in a recent chat with reporters. “They want to get back. We got the good motivation, I believe, coming back and playing and trying to repeat. Our guys are in a pretty good spot now.”

The Blues caught the league off guard last season, going from the last place in January to getting a playoff spot and winning the Stanley Cup. This year, however, the team had a much stronger regular season campaign and found itself at the top of Western Conference with 42-19-10 record. This should give them a significant advantage in the new playoff format.

However, Berube knows that there is always a chance for one team to come out of nowhere and win it all.

“It’s all an even playing field when we come back,” he added. “The team that wants to get out there and plays the hardest and plays at their pace is going to have the best chance.”

The Blues will start the playoffs as part of the Western Conference Seeding Round Robin, where they will play Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars. The exact schedule is still to be confirmed.

The post St. Louis Blues’ Players “Hungry” to Repeat Last Season’s Success appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The resume of the NHL season might see more teams getting in the Stanley Cup race than ever before. The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced on Monday that they have voted in favor of having 24-team playoffs as part of the efforts to finish out 2019/20.

According to the plan, the season would resume immediately with the playoffs, which would see 24 teams taking part. The top four seeded teams from each conference would get the boot in the first round, while teams currently seeded from 5th to 12th position would meet in the five-game series. The winners of the first round would then play the top-seeded teams in a standard Stanley Cup playoff format of 16 teams.

“The Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) has authorized further negotiations with the NHL on a 24-team return to play format to determine the winner of the 2020 Stanley Cup,” an NHLPA statement reads. “Several details remain to be negotiated, and an agreement on the format would still be subject to the parties reaching agreement on all issues relevant to resuming play.”

This format, however, is still yet to be put in front of the league for voting. NHL is reportedly in favor of the proposal, as it would include the teams that have realistic chances of getting to the postseason but wouldn’t make it 2019/20 season would resume with traditional 16-team playoffs.

NHL is currently discussing several options for season resume, but the most likely outcome seems to be a centralized approach. According to sources, the league would choose two cities in which it would gather teams and play out all the games. Reportedly, nine cities are being considered, with Las Vegas being the overwhelming favorite.

The post NHLPA Gives a Green Light for 24-Team Playoffs to Resume the 2019/20 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After postseason qualifiers and round-robin tournament to determine seedings wrapped up over the weekend, NHL has officially set the bracket for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Eastern Conference saw Philadelphia Flyers taking the No. 1 seed with three wins in the seeding round robin, and will now play Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Canadiens, who finished the regular season as the No. 12, made their way to the playoffs by upset 3-1 series win against the No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins.

”It was a tall task to get that No. 1 seed, and we did it,” said Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. ”We came in here and have been strictly business. I think for us to go out there and get three big wins in a row and get that No. 1 seed is huge for us.”

Other matchups in the East include Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders, and Boston Bruins against Carolina Hurricanes.

In the Western Conference, Vegas Golden Knights claimed the top seed with three wins from three games and get to face Chicago Blackhawks in the next round. Blackhawks’ clinched the ticket to the postseason by eliminating the fifth-seeded Edmonton Oilers.

The No.2 seed Colorado Avalanche play against the Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars are pitted against Calgary Flames, while St. Louis Blue Jackets face Vancouver Canucks.

Stanley Cup Playoffs officially kick off on August 11th. Check out the full bracket below.

The post NHL Sets the Bracket For Stanley Cup Playoffs 2020 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NHL will most likely resume its 2019/20 season in Canada. According to multiple reports, the league is favoring Toronto and Edmonton as hub cities to stage play-in-tournament and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The decision won’t be final until later this week when the National Hockey League Players’ Association is set to take a vote on this and several other elements of season restart.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie first reported the news.   

It was previously believed that the league will end up choosing Las Vegas as the hub city since it offered more accommodation options and could serve as a strong bubble environment. However, the rise of coronavirus cases and several other factors made it a less favorable option in recent weeks and gave an advantage to Toronto and Edmonton.

Toronto and Edmonton make sense from both hockey and financial standpoint for the league. Besides offering a desirable infrastructure, it will also be a lot cheaper to organize games in these two cities.

NHL is set to resume its activities between July 10th and July 13th when the teams are set to enter mandatory training camps.

The post NHL Favors Toronto and Edmonton as Hub Cities for 2019/20 Season Resume appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After an unlikely Stanley Cup win last season, St. Louis Blues plan to go all the way in 2019/20 as well. According to Blues’ head coach Craig Berube, his players can’t wait to get back to the ice after NHL resumes its season and are “hungry” to repeat as champions.

NHL recently confirmed that it’s terminating the regular season and will instead resume with a playoff consisting put of 24 teams. According to the league’s schedule, the Blues will return to training in the next few days and will begin playing competitive games in late July.

“They’re hungry,” said Berube in a recent chat with reporters. “They want to get back. We got the good motivation, I believe, coming back and playing and trying to repeat. Our guys are in a pretty good spot now.”

The Blues caught the league off guard last season, going from the last place in January to getting a playoff spot and winning the Stanley Cup. This year, however, the team had a much stronger regular season campaign and found itself at the top of Western Conference with 42-19-10 record. This should give them a significant advantage in the new playoff format.

However, Berube knows that there is always a chance for one team to come out of nowhere and win it all.

“It’s all an even playing field when we come back,” he added. “The team that wants to get out there and plays the hardest and plays at their pace is going to have the best chance.”

The Blues will start the playoffs as part of the Western Conference Seeding Round Robin, where they will play Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars. The exact schedule is still to be confirmed.

The post St. Louis Blues’ Players “Hungry” to Repeat Last Season’s Success appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The resume of the NHL season might see more teams getting in the Stanley Cup race than ever before. The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced on Monday that they have voted in favor of having 24-team playoffs as part of the efforts to finish out 2019/20.

According to the plan, the season would resume immediately with the playoffs, which would see 24 teams taking part. The top four seeded teams from each conference would get the boot in the first round, while teams currently seeded from 5th to 12th position would meet in the five-game series. The winners of the first round would then play the top-seeded teams in a standard Stanley Cup playoff format of 16 teams.

“The Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) has authorized further negotiations with the NHL on a 24-team return to play format to determine the winner of the 2020 Stanley Cup,” an NHLPA statement reads. “Several details remain to be negotiated, and an agreement on the format would still be subject to the parties reaching agreement on all issues relevant to resuming play.”

This format, however, is still yet to be put in front of the league for voting. NHL is reportedly in favor of the proposal, as it would include the teams that have realistic chances of getting to the postseason but wouldn’t make it 2019/20 season would resume with traditional 16-team playoffs.

NHL is currently discussing several options for season resume, but the most likely outcome seems to be a centralized approach. According to sources, the league would choose two cities in which it would gather teams and play out all the games. Reportedly, nine cities are being considered, with Las Vegas being the overwhelming favorite.

The post NHLPA Gives a Green Light for 24-Team Playoffs to Resume the 2019/20 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.