Blackhawks Would Face Oilers In 24-Team Playoff Proposal

The Blackhawks won two of three meetings against the Oilers this season, both coming at the United Center.

The Chicago Blackhawks would face the Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-five play-in series if the NHL goes forward with a 24-team postseason, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Friedman also stated that nothing is set in stone, as the discussed playoff format still needs to be approved by both the NHL and the NHLPA.

In this proposed format, the top four seeds (based on points percentage) in the Eastern and Western Conferences would receive byes through the play-in round. The top four seeds in the Eastern Conference are Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Philadelphia. In the Western Conference, the top four seeds are St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas, and Dallas.

The remaining playoff teams would be bracketed, which means in both conferences, 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9. The Blackhawks would be the 12 seed in this scenario, which means they would take on the No. 5 Oilers. The winner of that series advances to face the No. 4 Dallas Stars in a best-of-seven series.

The Blackhawks defeated the Oilers 3-1 in the first meeting between the two teams back on Oct. 14, and then won again 4-3 on Mar. 5. Edmonton won the only matchup at Rogers Place 5-3 on Feb. 11. Patrick Kane led the Hawks with four points (2G, 2A) in the three contests, and Adam Boqvist had three points (1G, 2A) in the two games he played against Edmonton as well.

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