It was back on March 12 that the National Hockey League (NHL) suspended its season due to the coronavirus pandemic. No fixed date has been set for its return, but the major news is that the remaining conference games will not be played. Instead, 24 teams will battle it out to win the Stanley Cup.
The Eastern and Western Conferences final placing have been decided by a points percentage per game. The top 12 from each conference will take part in the 2020 Stanley Cup play-offs, an unprecedented figure and its good news for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Teams have been allowed to their facilities from the start of June. Formal training camps can begin no earlier than July 1. No date for the play-off games has been confirmed but games will be played at two yet to be confirmed ‘hub centres’ but there will be no fans cheering on the players, something we’re going to have to get used to in the coming months.
24 teams then will be in the play-offs, meaning only seven of the original teams taking part have been eliminated. The teams placed fifth to 12th will play in the first round of the play-offs. They will be joined in the last eight by the teams that finished in the top four in the regular season.
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So, who are the favourites to win the 2020 Stanley Cup play-offs? The Boston Bruins are the 11/2 favourites at William Hill. They have been confirmed as the Eastern Conference winners with a points percentage of .714. The Bruins lost to the St Louis Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup final and haven’t won the cup since 2011.
Second favourites are the Vegas Golden Knights at 6/1. They finished third in the Western Conference. Next in the betting market are Tampa Bay Lightning at 13/2. It’s five years since they reached the final and 16 since they were champions.
The defending champions are joint fourth favourites at 8/1. They are bidding to become the first side to win the title for two years in a row since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016/17. There’s a good chance they could do that after winning the Western Conference.
Ending the season early was indeed good news for the Chicago Blackhawks. They finished 12th in the Western Conference, the final qualifying place. 32 of their 70 games were won during the regular season and they can be backed at odds of 100/1 to win the Stanley Cup play-offs. It would be a return to their glory days after winning the cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
This has been a year full of surprises so who knows what could happen. A fascinating tournament lies ahead of us as the sporting calendar comes back to life.