Folks, the first round picture in the Western Conference has become a lot clearer. By virtue of several series ending on Friday, the Calgary Flames will meet either the Dallas Stars or St. Louis Blues in the first round.
Updated:
Advanced to top 8 in West:
1/2: VGK
1/2: COL
3/4: DAL
3/4: STL
8: CGY
11: ARZ
12: CHI#Flames will face Dallas or St. Louis in the first round.— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) August 8, 2020
By virtue of the #11 seed Arizona eliminating #6 Nashville and #12 Chicago beating #6 Edmonton, the Flames will be either the best or second best team advancing from the qualifying round. As a result, they’ll face either the worst or second worst round robin team. (And they avoid match-ups with Vegas or Colorado, at least in the first round.)
The Flames’ seeding within the four advancing teams will be determined by the result of the series between Vancouver (#7) and Minnesota (#10) – Vancouver leads the series 2-1 and can eliminate Minnesota in Friday night’s late game.
The other side of the equation, the round robin seeding, will be determined by a Sunday meeting between Dallas and St. Louis.
The best-of-seven first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs are expected to begin on Tuesday or Wednesday in Edmonton (Western games) and Toronto (Eastern games).
