In March of 2020, the NHL (National Hockey League) announced that they were going to postpone the Stanley cup. Not only the Stanley Cup, but the entire season would not continue due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The regular season usually ends on April 4th, with the finals beginning right after. Due to unforeseen events, the NHL had to suspend the season, but planned on returning in June. Then, on May 26th, the NHL announced their plan in order to resume playing. 

The NHL’s return plan is to have 24 teams compete in the last week of July for a spot in the playoffs. The 12 teams with the highest point percentages make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The remaining 189 games that were supposed to be played in the regular season were unfortunately canceled. After the games– to determine which teams were going to compete in the Finals– the qualifier rounds began. A week later, the games for the playoff started.

The first round of games from the Eastern Conference included the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the Montreal Canadiens, the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Washington Capitals facing the New York Islanders, and the Boston Bruins against the Carolina Hurricanes. During these games, only one fight occurred. This fight was between the Capitals and the Islanders. In the end, the Islanders prevailed and are heading to round two. The winning teams won 4-1.

The Western Conference’s first games were the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames, and the St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks. The Vegas Knights were in the previous two Stanley Cups but they lost both. This year, they made it past the first round, winning 4-1. There were also some altercations between teams, especially between the Blues and Canucks. Zach Sanford (STL) and Zack MacEwen (VAN) fought in the second game. Then in the fourth game, Antoine Roussel (VAN) and Sammy Blais fought during the first quarter. None of the players were suspended. The Vancouver Canucks won 4-1 and proceeded to round two. The Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars also got into fights in the first round of their games. In the end, they made it to the next round.

The second round of the playoffs is currently going on right now. Some of the games had to be rescheduled due to the recent protests. As of now, the Flyers and the Islanders are tied while the Tampa Bay Lightning leads 2-1 against the Bruins in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the Knights and the Canucks are tied and the Stars are leading 2-1 against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Although the games are being delayed a bit, this season is looking interesting and the anticipation to see who is going to bring home the Stanley cup is increasing. Will the Vegas Knights finally win the Stanley Cup Finals? Will the teams who are currently behind in wins make a comeback? Will the Vancouver Canucks win their first Stanley Cup? Who will be victorious this year?

Stay tuned to The Ubiquity to find out!