Here's your guide to the first stage of the NHL playoffsOn Saturday — 143 days after putting its season on pause — the NHL will finally play meaningful games again. Unlike the NBA, which is having its teams play eight more de facto regular-season games each, the NHL is going straight to an expanded version of the playoffs. Refresher on how this will work: The first stage, branded the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, consists of two parts. The Stanley Cup champ is more likely to come from that group of eight. But a best-of-five series introduces even more randomness into the already notoriously random NHL playoffs, and Carey Price can steal one of these if he gets hot.

Source: CBC News July 31, 2020 21:56 UTC