Coyotes return to play, begin Stanley Cup qualifying round Aug. 2
Jul 10, 2020, 4:32 PM
Conor Garland #83 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 12, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Arizona Coyotes’ return to the ice now has an official date.
The Coyotes will begin a five-game series against the Nashville Predators in the NHL’s qualifying round on Aug. 2. Games 2 and 3 of the series will come on consecutive days on Aug. 4-5, with the “if necessary” Games 4 and 5 on Aug. 7 and 9, respectively.
As the 11th seed, the Coyotes will play sixth-seeded Nashville in a 24-team tournament to wrap up the 2019-20 NHL season.
The top 12 teams in each conference as ranked by points percentage as of March 12 qualified for the 24-team tournament. The top four teams in each conference will play round-robin tournaments to determine seeding. The rest of the teams will play best-of-five series. After that, a 16-team playoff will commence.
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Arizona finished with a record of 33-29-8 in the regular season before it was suspended. The Coyotes made one of the most notable moves of the season in mid-December, acquiring All-Star forward Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils.
This season, the Coyotes have a 1-1-0 record against the Predators.
