With their win on Saturday night, the Flyers locked up the top seed and set up a series with the 12-seed Montreal Canadiens. The schedule for that first-round series is out.
The NHL Board of Governors and the NHLPA voted in approval to ratify a Memorandum of Understanding to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Return to Play protocols.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made a formal announcement on Tuesday afternoon to detail the rest of this four-phase plan and break down the playoff structure and draft lottery protocols as the NHL strives to make a return to play.
The NHLPA Executive Board had a call on Thursday to discuss the proposed 24-team playoff structure for the NHL’s return to play. On Friday, the NHLPA officially announced approval of the 24-team structure and authorized further negotiations with the NHL in pursuing the return to play.
On Wednesday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the NHL and NHLPA is working toward a 24-team playoff setup that would be conference-based and it certainly has an interesting structure.
Anything is possible in the playoffs. But for the Flyers to have the best chance to play beyond the first round of the playoffs, being the first wildcard may be their best bet.