Boston Bruins players stretch out before practice Tuesday in Boston. The Bruins will travel to Toronto for the NHL restart on July 26 and play their first game in the round robin for seeding among the top four teams in the Eastern Conference on Aug. 2. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
The Bruins will play a meaningful hockey game on a Wednesday afternoon in Aug.. It’s not the strangest thing about sports in 2020 for sure, but it’s another odd thing in the oddest of years.
The NHL released some of it’s start times for the 24-team restart which begins Aug. 1 in Edmonton (Western Conference) and Toronto (Eastern Conference).
The league, which has been shut down since March 12, is returning 24 teams – 12 in each conference. The top four teams in each conference have byes in the opening round and play each other to determine seeding. The bottom eight on each side will square on if best-of-five play-in round game. Once the field has been reduced to 16 teams, the normal four-round tournament will progress in those hub cities with no fans in attendance.
The Bruins, who had the NHL’s best record before the pause will be in the Eastern Conference round robin. But regular season record only matters in the event of a tie-breaker. Whichever team finishes with the best record in the round-robin will be the top seed. The field will be reseeded once the play-in rounds have been completed.
With the best-of-five series games filling most of the primetime TV slots, the round robin games will be in the afternoon.
The Bruins round-robin schedule is:
vs. Philadelphia Flyers on Aug. 2 at 3 p.m.
vs. Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 5 at 4 p.m.
vs. Washington Capitals on Aug. 8. TBA
The faceoff time for the game vs. Washington will likely be decided by what is on the line when it happens.
The league also announced exhibition games. Each team will play one tune up. Boston will face Columbus on July 30 at 7 p.m.
The play-in round with five games, including three Eastern Conference matchups on Aug. 1. The round-of-16 playoffs begins Aug. 11.
The Bruins began training camp at Warrior Arena Monday. The rest of Boston’s restart schedule is below.
Complete NHL/Bruins Calendar for restart:
Sunday, July 26: Boston Bruins travel to Toronto, ON
Tuesday, July 28: Thursday, July 30 -Exhibition Games
Sunday, Aug. 2: Round Robin Game vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Round Robin Game vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Saturday, Aug. 8: Round Robin Game vs. Washington Capitals
Tuesday, Aug. 11: First Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs begins
Tuesday, Aug. 25:Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs begins
Tuesday, Sept. 8: Conference finals begin
Tuesday, Sept. 22: Stanley Cup final begins
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