Start times revealed for Wild's first two games with Canucks
The NHL revealed its Stanley Cup Qualifier series schedule on Tuesday and for the Minnesota Wild, that means they'll open their best-of-five series with the Vancouver Canucks on Aug. 2.
The Wild's playoff push will have a different feel than year's past thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic as 12 teams from the Eastern and Western Conference will play their games in bubbles located in Edmonton and Toronto to determine a Stanley Cup champion.
The 10th seeded Wild's draw with the seventh-seeded Canucks puts them in a later time slot, however, as the two teams will play Game 1 of their schedule at 9:30 p.m. and the second game of the series at 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 4.
As part of the process to return to the ice, each team in the 24-team tournament will get a preseason game with the Wild having theirs against the Colorado Avalanche at 2:30 p.m. on July 29.
The preseason games will run up to real action on the ice as the fifth through twelfth seeds will play in best-of-five qualifying series while the top four seeds in each conference will play in a round-robin format to determine seeding.
The format will lead to plenty of hockey including 15 hours on Aug. 1 beginning with the New York Rangers taking on the Carolina Hurricanes at 11 a.m.
Here's a look at the Wild's playoff schedule with Games 3 through 5 to be determined as the field plays itself out.
- Game 1: Wild vs. Canucks Aug. 2, 9:30 p.m. (CT)
- Game 2: Wild vs. Canucks Aug. 4, 9:45 p.m. (CT)
- Game 3: Canucks vs. Wild Aug. 6, TBD
- Game 4: Canucks vs. Wild Aug. 7, TBD*
- Game 5: Wild vs. Canucks, Aug. 9, TBD*
* If necessary
** All games played in Edmonton