NHL20 Sim: Round 2 Preview

After pushing the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoff Bracket to 23 teams, we’re back down to 16 after seven Best-of-3 series between bubble teams decided who moved on. The series went as follows:

East

(6) Carolina Hurricanes vs (11) New York Rangers (Rangers win series 2-0)

(7) New York Islanders vs (10) Florida Panthers (Panthers win series 2-0)

(8) Toronto Maple Leafs vs (9) Columbus Blue Jackets (Maple Leafs win series 2-1)

West

(5) Edmonton Oilers vs (12) Chicago Blackhawks (Oilers win series 2-1)

(6) Calgary Flames vs (11) Arizona Coyotes (Flames win series 2-1)

(7) Nashville Predators vs (10) Vancouver Canucks (Predators win series 2-0)

(8) Winnipeg Jets vs (9) Minnesota Wild (Wild win series 2-1)

That does it for the first round of the playoffs. 4/7 of the favourites won their respective series and 4/7 series went the full three games. Here are the top ten scorers for the first round of the playoffs:

Here are the matchups for the second round using a re-seeding, with the highest seed facing the lowest remaining seed. The second round will be a Best-of-5 series, with the higher seed getting Games 1, 2, and 5 at home.

Second Round Matchups

East

(1) Boston Bruins vs (11) New York Rangers

(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs (10) Florida Panthers

(3) Washington Capitals vs (8) Toronto Maple Leafs

(4) Philadelphia Flyers vs (5) Pittsburgh Penguins

West

(1) St. Louis Blues vs (9) Minnesota Wild

(2) Colorado Avalanche vs (7) Nashville Predators

(3) Vegas Golden Knights vs (6) Calgary Flames

(4) Dallas Stars vs (5) Edmonton Oilers

Round 2 will start on Tuesday night with Flames/Knights, Blues/Wild, Bruins/Rangers, and Flyers/Penguins. The other four series will play on Wednesday and every second night after that.

by Michael MacGillivray