Still confused? Well, let me explain. For the last 20 seasons, division winners automatically qualified as the top 3 seeds followed by 5 wild cards (just like the NBA). After the first-round, teams would then be reseeded. Before that, the top four teams in each division would face each other over the first two rounds to determine division representatives in the conference finals.
This new format is a combo of the two. The top 3 in each division qualify along with two wild cards from each conference. The division winners face the wild cards in the divisional semi-finals while the two and three seeds play each other. It's that simple.
Play begins tonight with a couple of surprises, the big one bring that there is just one Canadian team for the first time in 41 years (Ironically, the Montreal Canadiens). On the Western side, the Dallas Stars have to cross over to the Pacific Division playoffs due to a stacked Central producing both wild cards.
Photo: CBSSports.com
No comments:
Post a Comment