The Blackhawks are one step away from being a playoff team again.
The Blackhawks, the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference, are scheduled to play the No. 5 seed Oilers in a best-of-five qualifying series in the NHL’s 24-team return-to-play format. Chicago was 2-1 during the regular season against Edmonton.
The NHL paused its season March 12 due to the coronavirus and has since agreed with the NHL Players’ Association the regular season is completed and the League will shift to its 24-team format.
The winner of the Blackhawks-Oilers series will advance to a 16-team playoff against the top seed from the West, which will be determined by a round robin against the top four teams in the conference.