2020 Stanley Cup playoffs#Host cities

{{See also|2019–20 NHL season#Return to play with modified playoff format|label 1=Return to play}}

On May 26, the league announced that 24 teams (12 per conference) advanced to this special conference-based playoff tournament with teams being seeded based on their points percentage at the time the regular season was suspended on March 12. The top four teams in each conference played in a separate seeding round-robin, with regular season overtime and shootout rules, with the clubs accumulating points like the regular season, to determine the seeding in the first round. In addition, any ties in the round-robin standings were broken by the regular season points percentage. The eight lower seeded teams in each conference played in the qualifying round, a best-of-five series with playoff overtime rules. The winners of these series advanced to face one of the round-robin teams in the first round.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-plans-to-return-with-24-team-stanley-cup-playoffs/c-317031010|title=NHL plans to return with 24 teams competing for Stanley Cup|last=Gulitti|first=Tom|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=June 9, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=June 29, 2020}}

On May 28, the NHL stated that both the round-robin and the qualifying round were to be counted under playoff records, on the same day that the league declared the winners of the stats-based regular season NHL awards.{{cite web|first=Greg|last=Wyshynski|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41095158-4|title=From the Dept. of "Is The Qualification Round a Playoff Round?"|publisher=ESPN Inc.|website=ESPN.com|date=May 28, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020}} The league then announced on June 4 that all series after the qualifying round would remain a best-of-seven series but were re-seeded after each round.{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-playoffs-will-re-seed-round-qualifying-best-five/|title=NHL playoffs will re-seed after each round, qualifying to be best-of-five|publisher=Rogers Media|date=June 4, 2020|website=Sportsnet.ca|access-date=June 4, 2020}} With the ratification of an extension to the collective bargaining agreement on July 10, the league also announced that all teams participating in the qualifying round are considered to have made the playoffs and have participated in a playoff series.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-ratify-cba-extension-return-to-play/c-317377156|title=NHL, NHLPA ratify four-year CBA extension, Return to Play Plan|publisher=NHL Public Relations|date=July 10, 2020|website=nhl.com|access-date=July 21, 2020}}

The playoffs were held in two "hub" cities both in Canada; Edmonton, Alberta at Rogers Place, and Toronto, Ontario at Scotiabank Arena. They were announced as host cities on July 10 with the NHLPA's ratification of the Return to Play plan, and an extension to its collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA through the 2025–26 season. From the start of the playoffs through to the end of the second round, each city hosted all of the games for one conference: the Eastern Conference teams played in Toronto, and the Western Conference teams played in Edmonton. All games in the conference finals and Stanley Cup Finals were played in Edmonton.{{Cite web|last=Johnston|first=Chris|title=NHL is back in business with ratification of CBA, return-to-play plan|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-nhlpa-vote-accept-cba-return-play-plan-protocols/|date=July 10, 2020|access-date=July 12, 2020|website=Sportsnet.ca|publisher=Rogers Sports & Media}}

Edmonton and Toronto were among a shortlist of ten host cities announced on May 26, along with Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Saint Paul, and Vancouver. After the league cut the shortlist down to six cities on June 22, Las Vegas and Vancouver were considered to be the frontrunners to host games.{{cite web|last=Duncan|first=Josh|title=NHL down to 6 potential hub cities and Vancouver is reportedly a front runner|url=https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/sports/news/Sports/NHL_down_to_6_potential_hub_cities_and_Vancouver_is_reportedly_a_front_runner/|publisher=Now Media Inc.|website=KelownaNow.com|date=June 23, 2020|access-date=July 26, 2020}} Shortly after this, Vancouver dropped out of consideration on June 25, after health officials in British Columbia were unable to agree with the league on a protocol in the event that a player tested positive for COVID-19.{{cite web|last=MacIntyre|first=Iain|title=Breakdown in talks leaves Vancouver out of running as NHL hub city|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/breakdown-talks-leave-vancouver-running-nhl-hub-city/|date=June 25, 2020|access-date=June 26, 2020|website=Sportsnet.ca|publisher=Rogers Sports & Media}} Las Vegas and the other U.S. cities were passed over after Nevada and other U.S. states began to experience a spike in COVID-19 cases in late June; it was reported that the NHL originally intended to have one host city in Canada and one in the United States.{{Cite web|last=Kaplan|first=Emily|title=NHL eyeing Toronto, Edmonton as hub cities for season restart|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29392649/nhl-eyeing-toronto-edmonton-hub-cities-season-restart|date=July 1, 2020|access-date=July 19, 2020|website=ESPN.com|publisher=ESPN Inc.|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Feschuk|first=Dave|title=How did Toronto and Edmonton beat out Las Vegas as NHL hub cities? It's all about the odds|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/opinion/2020/07/01/how-did-toronto-and-edmonton-beat-out-las-vegas-as-nhl-hub-cities-its-all-about-the-odds.html|date=July 1, 2020|access-date=July 19, 2020|language=en|newspaper=Toronto Star}}

With the New York Rangers playing designated home games in the hub cities instead of in Madison Square Garden, the team's home arena was able to keep its tax exemptions by executing an act of God clause in its agreement with New York City.{{cite web |last=Brooks |first=Larry |date=July 15, 2020 |title=Igor Shesterkin ‘outstanding’ in first bid to keep Rangers’ starting job |url=https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/shesterkin-outstanding-in-bid-for-rangers-starting-job/ |access-date=January 1, 2024 |work=The New York Post}} Under normal circumstances, like the 2014 NHL Stadium Series and 2018 NHL Winter Classic games played at other New York City venues, the Rangers would have always been designated as the visiting team to avoid breaking Madison Square Garden's tax-exempt status.{{cite news|last=Benjamin|first=Cody|title=Sabres 'hosting' 2018 Winter Classic vs. Rangers reportedly saves MSG $40M|url=http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/sabres-hosting-2018-winter-classic-vs-rangers-reportedly-saves-msg-40m/|website=CBSSports.com|date=May 12, 2017|access-date=January 2, 2024}}

Each group of teams played inside what was called a "bubble".{{cite news|url=https://triblive.com/sports/a-look-at-how-toronto-hockey-bubble-will-be-set-up-for-penguins/|title=A look at how Toronto 'hockey bubble' will be set up for Penguins|last=Benz|first=Tim|work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|date=July 15, 2020|access-date=August 1, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/this-is-what-life-will-be-like-inside-the-edmonton-nhl-bubble-1.5038038|title=This is what life will be like inside the Edmonton NHL bubble|last=Romero|first=Diego|work=CFRN-DT|date=July 24, 2020|access-date=August 1, 2020}} A secure perimeter was constructed around both venues with various amenities, with Edmonton's covering four hotels in the Ice District and Rogers Place's existing practice facilities, and Toronto's split between Exhibition Place (Hotel X, BMO Field, & Coca-Cola Coliseum) and the Fairmont Royal York hotel (which is connected to Scotiabank Arena). Both sites included fitness, dining and recreation areas. Restaurants were operating within the secure zones, and players were able to order outside food via concierge and local food delivery services. The games were held behind closed doors, but non-participating players were allowed to watch games.{{Cite web|title=NHL releases details about life in hub cities, in-game presentation|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-releases-details-life-hub-cities-game-presentation/|date=July 23, 2020|access-date=July 23, 2020|website=Sportsnet.ca|publisher=Rogers Sports & Media}} A large "stage" with multiple video screens was constructed to cover the empty stands for both teams in each end of the arena, and in-arena presentation was customized for each team when they were the designated home team (including use of their goal music, among other features).{{Cite web|last=Wyshynski|first=Greg|title=NHL games to have 5-second delay, EA cheering|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29527286/nhl-broadcasts-feature-5-second-delay-video-game-cheering|date=July 24, 2020|access-date=July 24, 2020|website=ESPN.com|publisher=ESPN Inc.|language=en}} The league implemented a compressed playoff schedule with more back-to-back games than usual to help address "bubble fatigue" among the players, who had to live with monotonous daily routines away from their families for several weeks.{{Cite web|last=Wawrow|first=John|title=Bubble fatigue cited as mental challenge during NHL playoffs|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/bubble-fatigue-cited-as-mental-challenge-during-nhl-playoffs-1.5697628|date=August 24, 2020|access-date=August 24, 2020|website=CBC News|publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada}}

Although the general public was not permitted within the direct vicinity of the arena or inside, Oilers Entertainment Group announced plans to set up an outdoor "FanFest" at the site of a former casino near Rogers Place with approval of municipal and provincial health officials, including a "drive-in" screening games and a beer garden.{{Cite web|last=Riebe|first=Natasha|title=Hockey drive-in and beer garden planned for downtown Edmonton|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-rogers-place-nhl-1.5658178|date=July 22, 2020|access-date=July 22, 2020|website=CBC News|publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada}}

Under the Return to Play plan that was ratified on July 10, any player could opt out of the restart without providing a reason and without any penalty, provided that they had informed their team by July 13, when formal training camps opened. COVID-19 tests were then to be administered to players and staff every other day. On July 19, testing increased to three times 48 hours apart. The identities of those who tested positive were not released to the public, they would then be isolated and designated with the generic description "unfit for play" until they were medically cleared, and all injury updates were handled by the league instead of the teams.{{Cite web|last=Gulitti|first=Tom|title=NHL health, safety protocols approved by CDC|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-health-safety-protocols-run-by-cdc-phase-4/c-317387510|date=July 11, 2020|access-date=July 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.}}{{Cite web|title=Return to Play FAQ|url=https://media.nhl.com/public/news/14036|date=July 10, 2020|access-date=July 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.}}

Teams arrived at their hub city on July 26; they were isolated in a "secure zone" consisting of their hotels, restaurants, practice facilities, and the arena. Testing was done every day, as well as daily temperature and symptom checks. Individuals had to wear masks outside their hotel rooms except when eating, exercising, or while on the ice or bench. Other exceptions included during interviews with appropriate social distancing.{{Cite web|title=Return to Sport Protocol: Phase 4|url=https://media.nhl.com/site/vasset/public/attachments/2020/07/14032/NHLReturnToSport_Phase4.pdf|date=July 5, 2020|access-date=July 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.}}

Under the Quarantine Act, all travellers entering Canada at the time were required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. The NHL received an exception to this policy for its players and staff, as long as they remained within the secure zone and were restricted from access to or by the general public.{{cite web|title=Federal government approves NHL cohort quarantine proposal for hub city in Canada|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-federal-government-approves-canada-hub-city-1.5619370|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|website=CBC.ca|publisher=Canadian Press}}{{Cite web|title=Cohorts and quarantine: How Edmonton's hub city plans would work for NHL families|url=https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/cohorts-and-quarantine-how-edmonton-s-hub-city-plans-would-work-for-nhl-families-1.4997622|date=June 24, 2020|access-date=July 24, 2020|website=Edmonton.CTVnews.ca|language=en|publisher=Bell Media}} Anybody who left the bubble without prior approval could have faced a mandatory 14-day quarantine or been barred from returning. Teams could have also faced fines or loss of draft picks.

During the conclusions of each qualifying round series, teams exchanged fist bumps instead of the traditional handshakes.{{cite web|title=Here's What NHL's Stanley Cup Playoff Handshake Lines Look Like In COVID-19 World|url=https://nesn.com/2020/08/heres-what-nhls-stanley-cup-playoff-handshake-lines-look-like-in-covid-world/|last=Cole|first=Mike|date=August 5, 2020|publisher=NESN|access-date=September 6, 2020|website=NESN.com}} As players and coaches continued to test negative for COVID-19, the traditional handshake lines returned at the end of each first-round series.{{cite news|title=Hockey's Fights and Handshakes? Not Exactly Socially Distant|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/sports/hockey/NHL-playoffs-pandemic-protocols.html|last=Smith|first=Stephen|date=August 31, 2020|access-date=September 6, 2020|newspaper=The New York Times}} After entering the bubble, the league had no personnel test positive for the virus during the playoffs.{{cite news|title=Completion of Stanley Cup Playoffs an achievement worth celebrating|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/completion-stanley-cup-playoffs-achievement-worth-celebrating/|last=Spector|first=Mark|date=September 29, 2020|access-date=September 29, 2020|website=Sportsnet.ca|publisher=Rogers Media}}

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:{{cite web|url=https://secure.nhl.com/rtp/en/standings.html|title=2019–2020 Standings by Points Percentage|website=NHL.com|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|access-date=May 26, 2020}}

;Seeding round-robin

1. Boston Bruins, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – .714
2. Tampa Bay Lightning – .657
3. Washington Capitals, Metropolitan Division champions – .652
4. Philadelphia Flyers – .645

;Qualifying round

5. Pittsburgh Penguins – .623
6. Carolina Hurricanes – .596
7. New York Islanders – .588
8. Toronto Maple Leafs – .579 (28 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}})
9. Columbus Blue Jackets – .579 (25 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}})
10. Florida Panthers – .565
11. New York Rangers – .564
12. Montreal Canadiens – .500

;Seeding round-robin

1. St. Louis Blues, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions – .662
2. Colorado Avalanche – .657
3. Vegas Golden Knights, Pacific Division champions – .606
4. Dallas Stars – .594

;Qualifying round

5. Edmonton Oilers – .585
6. Nashville Predators – .565 (28 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}})
7. Vancouver Canucks – .565 (27 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}})
8. Calgary Flames – .564
9. Winnipeg Jets – .563
10. Minnesota Wild – .558
11. Arizona Coyotes – .529
12. Chicago Blackhawks – .514

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice was determined based on regular season points percentage. Each best-of-five series followed a 2–2–1 format: the higher-seeded team was the designated as the host for games one and two (and game five, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was the host for games three (and game four, if necessary). Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team was the host for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was the host for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). In the first round, the top four teams in each conference were seeded one through four based on their final standings from the round-robin. The teams that advanced from the qualifying round were re-seeded five through eight based on their regular season points percentage.

{{#invoke:transcludable section|main|section=Bracket|text=

{{32TeamBracket|byes=1

|nowrap=y|RD1-RD2-path=0|RD2-RD3-path=0

| RD1=Qualifying round

| RD2=First round

| RD3=Second round

| RD4=Conference finals

| RD5=Stanley Cup Finals

|RD3-group1=Eastern Conference

|RD3-group2=Western Conference

|RD1-seed05 =5

|RD1-team05 =Pittsburgh

|RD1-score05 =1

|RD1-seed06 =12

|RD1-team06 =Montreal

|RD1-score06 =3

|RD1-seed07 =6

|RD1-team07 =Carolina

|RD1-score07 =3

|RD1-seed08 =11

|RD1-team08 =NY Rangers

|RD1-score08 =0

|RD1-seed09 =7

|RD1-team09 =NY Islanders

|RD1-score09 =3

|RD1-seed10 =10

|RD1-team10 =Florida

|RD1-score10 =1

|RD1-seed11 =8

|RD1-team11 =Toronto

|RD1-score11 =2

|RD1-seed12 =9

|RD1-team12 =Columbus

|RD1-score12 =3

|RD1-seed21 =5

|RD1-team21 =Edmonton

|RD1-score21 =1

|RD1-seed22 =12

|RD1-team22 =Chicago

|RD1-score22 =3

|RD1-seed23 =6

|RD1-team23 =Nashville

|RD1-score23 =1

|RD1-seed24 =11

|RD1-team24 =Arizona

|RD1-score24 =3

|RD1-seed25 =7

|RD1-team25 =Vancouver

|RD1-score25 =3

|RD1-seed26 =10

|RD1-team26 =Minnesota

|RD1-score26 =1

|RD1-seed27 =8

|RD1-team27 =Calgary

|RD1-score27 =3

|RD1-seed28 =9

|RD1-team28 =Winnipeg

|RD1-score28 =1

|RD2-seed01 =1

|RD2-team01 =Philadelphia

|RD2-score01 =4

|RD2-seed02 =8

|RD2-team02 =Montreal

|RD2-score02 =2

|RD2-seed03 =2

|RD2-team03 =Tampa Bay

|RD2-score03 =4

|RD2-seed04 =7

|RD2-team04 =Columbus

|RD2-score04 =1

|RD2-seed05 =3

|RD2-team05 =Washington

|RD2-score05 =1

|RD2-seed06 =6

|RD2-team06 =NY Islanders

|RD2-score06 =4

|RD2-seed07 =4

|RD2-team07 =Boston

|RD2-score07 =4

|RD2-seed08 =5

|RD2-team08 =Carolina

|RD2-score08 =1

|RD2-seed09 =1

|RD2-team09 =Vegas

|RD2-score09 =4

|RD2-seed10 =8

|RD2-team10 =Chicago

|RD2-score10 =1

|RD2-seed11 =2

|RD2-team11 =Colorado

|RD2-score11 =4

|RD2-seed12 =7

|RD2-team12 =Arizona

|RD2-score12 =1

|RD2-seed13 =3

|RD2-team13 =Dallas

|RD2-score13 =4

|RD2-seed14 =6

|RD2-team14 =Calgary

|RD2-score14 =2

|RD2-seed15 =4

|RD2-team15 =St. Louis

|RD2-score15 =2

|RD2-seed16 =5

|RD2-team16 =Vancouver

|RD2-score16 =4

|RD3-seed01 =1

|RD3-team01 =Philadelphia

|RD3-score01 =3

|RD3-seed02 =6

|RD3-team02 =NY Islanders

|RD3-score02 =4

|RD3-seed03 =2

|RD3-team03 =Tampa Bay

|RD3-score03 =4

|RD3-seed04 =4

|RD3-team04 =Boston

|RD3-score04 =1

|RD3-seed05 =1

|RD3-team05 =Vegas

|RD3-score05 =4

|RD3-seed06 =5

|RD3-team06 =Vancouver

|RD3-score06 =3

|RD3-seed07 =2

|RD3-team07 =Colorado

|RD3-score07 =3

|RD3-seed08 =3

|RD3-team08 =Dallas

|RD3-score08 =4

|RD4-seed01 =6

|RD4-team01 =NY Islanders

|RD4-score01 =2

|RD4-seed02 =2

|RD4-team02 =Tampa Bay

|RD4-score02 =4

|RD4-seed03 =1

|RD4-team03 =Vegas

|RD4-score03 =1

|RD4-seed04 =3

|RD4-team04 =Dallas

|RD4-score04 =4

|RD5-seed01 =E2

|RD5-team01 =Tampa Bay

|RD5-score01 =4

|RD5-seed02 =W3

|RD5-team02 =Dallas

|RD5-score02 =2

}}}}

Prior to the start of the playoffs, all 24 qualified teams played one exhibition game.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-stanley-cup-qualifiers-exhibition-games-schedule/c-317433568|title=Exhibition schedule for Stanley Cup Qualifiers|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|website=NHL.com|access-date=July 20, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Pittsburgh Penguins

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|date1=

|score1=2–3

|ot1=1

|won1=2

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-philadelphia-flyers-game-recap/c-317515730

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Toronto Maple Leafs

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|date2=

|score2=4–2

|won2=1

|recap2=www.nhl.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-montreal-canadiens-game-recap/c-317515336

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Edmonton Oilers

|team2=Calgary Flames

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|date1=

|score1=4–1

|won1=1

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-calgary-flames-game-recap/c-317515732

}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=Florida Panthers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|date1=

|score1=5–0

|won1=1

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-florida-panthers-game-recap/c-317515338

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Colorado Avalanche

|team2=Minnesota Wild

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|date2=

|score2=3–2

|won2=1

|recap2=www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-minnesota-wild-game-recap/c-317515976

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Carolina Hurricanes

|team2=Washington Capitals

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|date1=

|score1=2–3

|won1=2

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-washington-capitals-game-recap/c-317515644

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Chicago Blackhawks

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|date2=

|score2=0–4

|won2=2

|recap2=www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-chicago-blackhawks-game-recap/c-317515734

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Islanders

|team2=New York Rangers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|date1=

|score1=2–1

|won1=1

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-new-york-rangers-game-recap/c-317515736

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vancouver Canucks

|team2=Winnipeg Jets

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|date2=

|score2=1–4

|won2=2

|recap2=www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-winnipeg-jets-game-recap/c-317515340

}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Nashville Predators

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|date1=

|score1=2–0

|won1=1

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/nashville-predators-dallas-stars-game-recap/c-317515738

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Columbus Blue Jackets

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|date2=

|score2=1–4

|won2=2

|recap2=www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-columbus-blue-jackets-game-recap/c-317515646

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vegas Golden Knights

|team2=Arizona Coyotes

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|date1=

|score1=4–1

|won1=1

|recap1=www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-arizona-coyotes-game-recap/c-317515342

}}

The top four playoff teams in each conference played in a round-robin tournament against each other to determine the final playoff seeding. The round-robin games were played with regular season overtime and shootout rules, with the teams accumulating points like the regular season, and any ties in the round-robin standings were broken by the regular season points percentage instead of regulation wins.

The bottom eight playoff teams in each conference played in a best-of-five series to determine which four teams advanced to the first round. The qualifying round games were played with Stanley Cup playoff overtime rules. Seeding was determined by regular season points percentage.

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WL OTL tiebreak

|update=complete

|source=National Hockey League{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/stanley-cup-qualifiers|title=2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers|website=nhl.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824091047/https://www.nhl.com/stanley-cup-qualifiers|archive-date=August 24, 2020}}

|OTwin_header={{Abbr|OTW|Won in overtime or shootout}} |OTloss_header={{Abbr|OTL|Lost in overtime or shootout}}

|winpoints=2

|pld_header=GP |tiebr_header = PCT

|ranking_style=Points

|team1=PHI |team2=TBL |team3=WSH |team4=BOS

|win_PHI=3 |loss_PHI=0 |OTloss_PHI=0 |tiebr_PHI=.645 |gf_PHI=11 |ga_PHI=3

|win_TBL=2 |loss_TBL=1 |OTloss_TBL=0 |tiebr_TBL=.657 |gf_TBL=7 |ga_TBL=8

|win_WSH=1 |loss_WSH=1 |OTloss_WSH=1 |tiebr_WSH=.652 |gf_WSH=5 |ga_WSH=7

|win_BOS=0 |loss_BOS=3 |OTloss_BOS=0 |tiebr_BOS=.714 |gf_BOS=4 |ga_BOS=9

|name_BOS=Boston Bruins

|name_TBL=Tampa Bay Lightning

|name_WSH=Washington Capitals

|name_PHI=Philadelphia Flyers

}}

During the first game of round-robin play, the Flyers' Carter Hart made 34 saves against the Bruins in a 4–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-boston-bruins-game-recap/c-317514056|title=Flyers defeat Bruins in opening game of Qualifiers round-robin|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 2, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} In the game between Washington and Tampa Bay, with the game forced to go to a shootout (the first in Stanley Cup playoff history), Nikita Kucherov's shot got past Braden Holtby for the winning goal in a 3–2 triumph.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-tampa-bay-lightning-game-recap/c-317514216|title=Lightning defeat Capitals in Cup Qualifiers round-robin|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} The Lightning then faced the Bruins, and Tyler Johnson's goal at 18:33 of the third period won the game for Tampa Bay 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins-game-recap/c-317515018|title=Lightning defeat Bruins in Cup Qualifiers round-robin|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} In the Flyers' match-up against the Capitals, Scott Laughton's two goals assisted Philadelphia's 3–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-philadelphia-flyers-game-recap/c-317515720|title=Flyers defeat Capitals for second win of Qualifiers round-robin|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 6, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} Between the top two seeds, the Flyers defeated the Lightning 4–1 to take the first seed riding on Nicolas Aube-Kubel's two goals in the first period.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-tampa-bay-lightning-game-recap/c-317515972|title=Flyers defeat Lightning in round-robin, win Eastern Conference top seed|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 8, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} Battling out for the third spot, Holtby made 30 saves for Washington in their victory, defeating the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins 2–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-washington-capitals-game-recap/c-317515970|title=Capitals defeat Bruins in round-robin, are No. 3 seed in East|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 9, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 2

|score1 =4–1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-boston-bruins-game-recap/c-317514056

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =18:51 – Chris Wagner (1)

|1-2-2 =Michael Raffl (1) – 05:33
Nate Thompson (1) – 09:31
Philippe Myers (1) – 18:59

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Scott Laughton (1) – 04:07

|goalie1-1 =Jaroslav Halak 25 saves / 29 shots

|goalie1-2 =Carter Hart 34 saves / 35 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=Washington Capitals

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date2 =August 3

|score2 =2–3

|ot2 =SO

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-tampa-bay-lightning-game-recap/c-317514216

|2-1-1 =12:53 – Nikita Kucherov (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =07:48 – Mitchell Stephens (1)

|2-2-2 =Richard Panik (1) – 17:24
Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) – pp – 19:32

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|2-4-1 ={{SOmiss|goalie save}} Victor Hedman
{{SOgoal}} Brayden Point
{{SOgoal}} Nikita Kucherov

|2-4-2 =T. J. Oshie {{SOgoal}}
Evgeny Kuznetsov {{SOmiss|wide of net}}
Nicklas Backstrom {{SOmiss|goalie save}}

|goalie2-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 31 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Braden Holtby 26 saves / 28 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Tampa Bay Lightning

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 5

|score1 =3–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins-game-recap/c-317515018

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Brayden Point (1) – 07:33
Alex Killorn (1) – pp – 10:32

|1-2-1 =16:43 – Charlie McAvoy (1)

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =01:47 – Chris Wagner (2)

|1-3-2 =Tyler Johnson (1) – 18:33

|goalie1-1 =Tuukka Rask 32 saves / 35 shots

|goalie1-2 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 25 saves / 27 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Philadelphia Flyers

|team2=Washington Capitals

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date2 =August 6

|score2 =1–3

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-philadelphia-flyers-game-recap/c-317515720

|2-1-1 =13:03 – Scott Laughton (2)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =11:30 – Travis Sanheim (1)

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =08:37 – Scott Laughton (3)

|2-3-2 =Travis Boyd (1) – 08:49

|goalie2-1 =Brian Elliott 16 saves / 17 shots

|goalie2-2 =Braden Holtby 18 saves / 21 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 8

|score1 =4–1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-tampa-bay-lightning-game-recap/c-317515972

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Nicolas Aube-Kubel (1) – 07:40
Nicolas Aube-Kubel (2) – 14:00

|1-2-1 =05:21 – pp – Tyler Johnson (2)

|1-2-2 =Joel Farabee (1) – 14:22

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Tyler Pitlick (1) – en – 18:40

|goalie1-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 26 saves / 29 shots

|goalie1-2 =Carter Hart 23 saves / 24 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Washington Capitals

|team2=Boston Bruins

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date2 =August 9

|score2 =1–2

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-washington-capitals-game-recap/c-317515970

|2-1-1 =19:44 – T. J. Oshie (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =02:49 – Tom Wilson (1)

|2-3-2 =Jake DeBrusk (1) – 10:30

|goalie2-1 =Braden Holtby 30 saves / 31 shots

|goalie2-2 =Tuukka Rask 23 saves / 25 shots

}}

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WL OTL tiebreak

|update=complete

|source=National Hockey League

|OTwin_header={{Abbr|OTW|Won in overtime or shootout}} |OTloss_header={{Abbr|OTL|Lost in overtime or shootout}}

|winpoints=2

|pld_header=GP |tiebr_header = PCT

|ranking_style=Points

|team1=VGK |team2=COL |team3=DAL |team4=STL

|win_VGK=3 |loss_VGK=0 |OTloss_VGK=0 |tiebr_VGK=.606 |gf_VGK=15 |ga_VGK=10

|win_COL=2 |loss_COL=0 |OTloss_COL=1 |tiebr_COL=.657 |gf_COL=9 |ga_COL=5

|win_DAL=1 |loss_DAL=2 |OTloss_DAL=0 |tiebr_DAL=.594 |gf_DAL=5 |ga_DAL=10

|win_STL=0 |loss_STL=2 |OTloss_STL=1 |tiebr_STL=.662 |gf_STL=6 |ga_STL=10

|name_STL=St. Louis Blues

|name_COL=Colorado Avalanche

|name_VGK=Vegas Golden Knights

|name_DAL=Dallas Stars

}}

During the first game between Colorado and St. Louis, Nazem Kadri scored with 0.1 remaining on the clock for the Avalanche emerging victorious 2–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-colorado-avalanche-game-recap/c-317513182|title=Kadri scores with 0.1 seconds left, Avalanche defeat Blues in round-robin|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 2, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/avalanche-beat-blues-on-wild-buzzer-beating-goal-from-nazem-kadri/|title=Avalanche beat Blues on wild buzzer-beating goal from Nazem Kadri|last=Blackburn|first=Pete|publisher=CBS Interactive|website=CBSSports.com|date=August 2, 2020|access-date=August 9, 2020}} Vegas staged a two-goal comeback in their game against Dallas, coming back from 3–1 down to win 5–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-recap/c-317514086|title=Golden Knights rally for round-robin win against Stars|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz shut out the Stars 4–0 taking a 2–0 record in the round-robin.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-recap/c-317515308|title=Francouz, Avalanche shut out Stars in Cup Qualifiers round-robin|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} Vegas forward Alex Tuch and defenceman Shea Theodore both scored twice in their game against St. Louis, emerging victorious 6–4.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-st-louis-blues-game-recap/c-317515856|title=Golden Knights defeat Blues in Cup Qualifiers round-robin|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 6, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} Battling out for the first seed, the Avalanche and Golden Knights held a back-and-forth affair until Alex Tuch scored in overtime to give Vegas a 4–3 victory, emerging as the top seed in the Western Conference.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-colorado-avalanche-game-recap/c-317515328|title=Golden Knights defeat Avalanche in OT in round-robin, win West top seed|last=Sadwoski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 8, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}} The round-robin finale between the Stars and Blues was to determine the third seed. Joe Pavelski tied the game at one for the Stars with only 32 seconds remaining in regulation, then Denis Gurianov scored the only goal of the shootout to give Dallas the third seed with the 2–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-st-louis-blues-game-recap/c-317515640|title=Stars defeat Blues in round-robin, secure No. 3 seed in West|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 9, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Colorado Avalanche

|team2=St. Louis Blues

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 2

|score1 =1–2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-colorado-avalanche-game-recap/c-317513182

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =David Perron (1) – pp – 16:46

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =05:33 – Ryan Graves (1)
19:59 – pp – Nazem Kadri (1)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Philipp Grubauer 31 saves / 32 shots

|goalie1-2 =Jordan Binnington 36 saves / 38 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vegas Golden Knights

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date2 =August 3

|score2 =3–5

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-recap/c-317514086

|2-1-1 =01:04 – Chandler Stephenson (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =Joe Pavelski (1) – 07:50
Jamie Oleksiak (1) – 08:32
Corey Perry (1) – pp – 12:42

|2-3-1 =09:46 – Mark Stone (1)
11:15 – Nate Schmidt (1)
14:47 – William Carrier (1)
19:39 – en – William Karlsson (1)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Robin Lehner 24 saves / 27 shots

|goalie2-2 =Ben Bishop 28 saves / 32 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Dallas Stars

|team2=Colorado Avalanche

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 5

|score1 =4–0

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-recap/c-317515308

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Cale Makar (1) – pp – 03:19
Joonas Donskoi (1) – 15:29

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =Vladislav Namestnikov (1) – 17:30

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Andre Burakovsky (1) – pp – 01:31

|goalie1-1 =Anton Khudobin 36 saves / 40 shots

|goalie1-2 =Pavel Francouz 27 saves / 27 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Vegas Golden Knights

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date2 =August 6

|score2 =6–4

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-st-louis-blues-game-recap/c-317515856

|2-1-1 =04:02 – David Perron (2)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =01:45 – Colton Parayko (1)
14:07 – Colton Parayko (2)
14:28 – Troy Brouwer (1)

|2-2-2 =Shea Theodore (1) – pp – 06:50
Alex Tuch (1) – 10:47
Alex Tuch (2) – pp – 13:13

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Zach Whitecloud (1) – 02:01
Mark Stone (2) – 12:31
Shea Theodore (2) – 14:49

|goalie2-1 =Jordan Binnington 32 saves / 38 shots

|goalie2-2 =Marc-Andre Fleury 13 saves / 17 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Colorado Avalanche

|team2=Vegas Golden Knights

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 8

|score1 =4–3

|ot1 =1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-colorado-avalanche-game-recap/c-317515328

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =06:46 – pp – Nathan MacKinnon (1)
14:51 – Joonas Donskoi (2)

|1-2-2 =Jonathan Marchessault (1) – pp – 01:34
Nicolas Roy (1) – 12:55

|1-3-1 =18:58 – J. T. Compher (1)

|1-3-2 =Jonathan Marchessault (2) – ps – 03:02

|1-4-1 =No scoring

|1-4-2 =Alex Tuch (3) – 04:44

|goalie1-1 =Philipp Grubauer 22 saves / 26 shots

|goalie1-2 =Robin Lehner 32 saves / 35 shots

}}{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date2 =August 9

|score2 =2–1

|ot2 =SO

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-st-louis-blues-game-recap/c-317515640

|2-1-1 =03:43 – Robert Thomas (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Joe Pavelski (2) – 19:28

|2-4-1 ={{SOmiss|goalie save}} David Perron
{{SOmiss|goalie save}} Vladimir Tarasenko
{{SOmiss|goalie save}} Ryan O'Reilly

|2-4-2 =Joe Pavelski {{SOmiss|post}}
Denis Gurianov {{SOgoal}}

|goalie2-1 =Jake Allen 37 saves / 38 shots

|goalie2-2 =Anton Khudobin 21 saves / 22 shots

}}

Pittsburgh finished fifth in the Eastern Conference with 86 points in 69 games for a points percentage of .623. Montreal gained 71 points in 71 games for a points percentage of .500 to finish twelfth in the Eastern Conference. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with Montreal winning both previous series. They last met in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals, which Montreal won in seven games. Pittsburgh won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Canadiens upset the Penguins in four games. With game one remaining tied 2–2 after the third period, Jeff Petry scored in overtime to give the Canadiens the victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-pittsburgh-penguins-game-1-recap/c-317513176|title=Canadiens defeat Penguins in OT, win Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 2, 2020}} Among the 38 shots the Penguins forced on Carey Price in game two, Pittsburgh forward Jason Zucker's goal in the third period was the game-winner in their 3–1 triumph.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-pittsburgh-penguins-game-2-recap/c-317514998|title=Penguins defeat Canadiens in Game 2 of Cup Qualifiers, even series|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 3, 2020}} In game three, Jeff Petry's goal in the third period capped a two-goal comeback for Montreal winning the affair 4–3 and taking the series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-montreal-canadiens-game-3-recap/c-317515448|title=Canadiens defeat Penguins in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, take series lead|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} In game four, Carey Price shut the Penguins out 2–0 advancing the team to the first round of the playoffs.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-montreal-canadiens-game-4-recap/c-317515724|title=Canadiens shut out Penguins in Game 4 of Cup Qualifiers, win series|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 7, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 7, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Pittsburgh Penguins

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 1

|score1 =3–2

|ot1 =1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-pittsburgh-penguins-game-1-recap/c-317513176

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1) – 11:27

|1-2-1 =09:55 – Sidney Crosby (1)
12:34 – pp – Bryan Rust (1)

|1-2-2 =Nick Suzuki (1) – 06:53

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|1-4-1 =No scoring

|1-4-2 =Jeff Petry (1) – 13:57

|goalie1-1 =Matt Murray 32 saves / 35 shots

|goalie1-2 =Carey Price 39 saves / 41 shots

|date2 =August 3

|score2 =1–3

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-pittsburgh-penguins-game-2-recap/c-317514998

|2-1-1 =04:25 – Sidney Crosby (2)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =14:41 – Jason Zucker (1)
19:50 – en – Jake Guentzel (1)

|2-3-2 =Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2) – 17:50

|goalie2-1 =Matt Murray 26 saves / 27 shots

|goalie2-2 =Carey Price 35 saves / 37 shots

|date3 =August 5

|score3 =3–4

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-montreal-canadiens-game-3-recap/c-317515448

|3-1-1 =Patric Hornqvist (1) – pp – 08:40
Jason Zucker (2) – pp – 09:39

|3-1-2 =04:57 – Shea Weber (1)

|3-2-1 =Teddy Blueger (1) – 05:34

|3-2-2 =10:13 – Jonathan Drouin (1)
15:50 – Paul Byron (1)

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =05:33 – Jeff Petry (2)

|goalie3-1 =Matt Murray 27 saves / 31 shots

|goalie3-2 =Carey Price 30 saves / 33 shots

|date4 =August 7

|score4 =0–2

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/pittsburgh-penguins-montreal-canadiens-game-4-recap/c-317515724

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =15:49 – Artturi Lehkonen (1)
19:28 – en – Shea Weber (2)

|goalie4-1 =Tristan Jarry 20 saves / 21 shots

|goalie4-2 =Carey Price 22 saves / 22 shots

|series = Montreal won series 3–1

}}

Carolina finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with 81 points in 68 games for a points percentage of .596. New York gained 79 points in 70 games for a points percentage of .564 to finish eleventh in the Eastern Conference. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New York won all four games in this year's regular season series.

The Hurricanes defeated the Rangers in a three-game sweep. In game one, Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin both recorded a goal and an assist in the Hurricanes 3–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-rangers-carolina-hurricanes-game-1-recap/c-317513170|title=Hurricanes defeat Lundqvist, Rangers in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 2, 2020}} Andrei Svechnikov scored the Hurricanes' first playoff hat trick during game two in a 4–1 victory, giving Carolina the chance to clinch in game three.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-rangers-carolina-hurricanes-game-2-recap/c-317513964|title=Svechnikov hat trick sparks Hurricanes to win in Game 2 of Qualifiers|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 3, 2020}} Aho provided two goals and an assist in game three giving Carolina a 4–1 victory and advancing the team to the first round of the playoffs.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-new-york-rangers-game-3-recap/c-317515012|title=Hurricanes sweep Rangers in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, reach playoffs|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 4, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Carolina Hurricanes

|team2=New York Rangers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 1

|score1 =2–3

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-rangers-carolina-hurricanes-game-1-recap/c-317513170

|1-1-1 =01:01 – Jaccob Slavin (1)

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =06:29 – pp – Sebastian Aho (1)

|1-2-2 =Mika Zibanejad (1) – 14:26

|1-3-1 =10:51 – Martin Necas (1)

|1-3-2 =Marc Staal (1) – sh – 18:05

|goalie1-1 =Petr Mrazek 24 saves / 26 shots

|goalie1-2 =Henrik Lundqvist 34 saves / 37 shots

|date2 =August 3

|score2 =1–4

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-rangers-carolina-hurricanes-game-2-recap/c-317513964

|2-1-1 =04:32 – Andrei Svechnikov (1)

|2-1-2 =Artemi Panarin (1) – pp – 12:05

|2-2-1 =01:11 – pp – Andrei Svechnikov (2)
02:22 – Jordan Martinook (1)

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =14:02 – Andrei Svechnikov (3)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Petr Mrazek 23 saves / 24 shots

|goalie2-2 =Henrik Lundqvist 30 saves / 34 shots

|date3 =August 4

|score3 =4–1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-new-york-rangers-game-3-recap/c-317515012

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Teuvo Teravainen (1) – 03:18

|3-2-2 =00:12 – Chris Kreider (1)

|3-3-1 =Warren Foegele (1) – 05:07
Sebastian Aho (2) – 10:26
Sebastian Aho (3) – sh-en – 19:29

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =James Reimer 37 saves / 38 shots

|goalie3-2 =Igor Shesterkin 27 saves / 30 shots

|series = Carolina won series 3–0

}}

New York finished seventh in the Eastern Conference with 80 points in 68 games for a points percentage of .588. Florida gained 78 points in 69 games for a points percentage of .565 to finish tenth in the Eastern Conference. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 2016 Eastern Conference first round, which New York won in six games. New York won all three games in this year's regular season series.

The Islanders defeated the Panthers in four games. In game one, a 27-save performance by New York goaltender Semyon Varlamov gave the Islanders a 2–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-new-york-islanders-game-1-recap/c-317513958|title=Islanders hold off Panthers in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 2, 2020}} Game two had Jordan Eberle score two goals for the Islanders, leading the team to a 4–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-new-york-islanders-game-2-recap/c-317515010|title=Islanders defeat Panthers in Game 2 of Cup Qualifiers, extend series lead|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} The Panthers, in danger of elimination in game three, scored two power-play goals en route to a 3–2 victory to force a fourth game.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-florida-panthers-game-3-recap/c-317514238|title=Panthers defeat Islanders in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, avoid sweep|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} In the fourth game, Anthony Beauvillier scored twice for New York to send the Islanders to the first round of the playoffs in a 5–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-florida-panthers-game-4-recap/c-317515968|title=Islanders defeat Panthers in Game 4 of Cup Qualifiers, win series|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 7, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 7, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Islanders

|team2=Florida Panthers

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 1

|score1 =1–2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-new-york-islanders-game-1-recap/c-317513958

|1-1-1 =12:00 – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1)

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =03:39 – pp – Anthony Beauvillier (1)

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Jonathan Huberdeau (1) – 00:23

|goalie1-1 =Semyon Varlamov 27 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Sergei Bobrovsky 26 saves / 28 shots

|date2 =August 4

|score2 =2–4

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-new-york-islanders-game-2-recap/c-317515010

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =Mike Hoffman (1) – 11:16

|2-2-1 =06:12 – Matt Martin (1)
13:48 – pp – Ryan Pulock (1)
16:27 – Jordan Eberle (1)

|2-2-2 =Aleksander Barkov (1) – pp – 07:54

|2-3-1 =10:29 – pp – Jordan Eberle (2)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 28 shots

|goalie2-2 =Sergei Bobrovsky 30 saves / 34 shots

|date3 =August 5

|score3 =2–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-florida-panthers-game-3-recap/c-317514238

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2) – 16:26

|3-2-2 =04:02 – pp – Erik Haula (1)

|3-3-1 =Brock Nelson (1) – 18:33

|3-3-2 =00:41 – pp – Mike Hoffman (2)
02:48 – Brian Boyle (1)

|goalie3-1 =Semyon Varlamov 19 saves / 22 shots

|goalie3-2 =Sergei Bobrovsky 20 saves / 22 shots

|date4 =August 7

|score4 =5–1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-florida-panthers-game-4-recap/c-317515968

|4-1-1 =Anthony Beauvillier (2) – 11:32
Anthony Beauvillier (3) – 15:10

|4-1-2 =18:41 – pp – Mike Hoffman (3)

|4-2-1 =Brock Nelson (2) – pp – 08:01

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =Mathew Barzal (1) – 10:34
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3) – en – 17:17

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Semyon Varlamov 24 saves / 25 shots

|goalie4-2 =Sergei Bobrovsky 33 saves / 37 shots

|series = New York won series 3–1

}}

Toronto finished eighth in the Eastern Conference with 81 points in 70 games for a points percentage of .579 and 28 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}}. Columbus had the same points percentage, but with 25 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}} they finished ninth. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. These teams split their two-game regular season series.

The Blue Jackets defeated the Maple Leafs in five games. Joonas Korpisalo shut out the Maple Leafs in game one, stopping all 28 shots in a 2–0 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-toronto-maple-leafs-game-1-recap/c-317514162|title=Blue Jackets shut out Maple Leafs in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 2, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 3, 2020}} Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen responded with his own shut out in game two, stopping 20 shots in the process of a 3–0 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-toronto-maple-leafs-game-2-recap/c-317514228|title=Maple Leafs shut out Blue Jackets in Game 2, even series|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} Pierre-Luc Dubois's hat-trick, three-goal comeback-fulfilling, overtime goal spurred Columbus' game three victory, winning by a score of 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-columbus-blue-jackets-game-3-recap/c-317515962|title=Dubois, Blue Jackets rally past Maple Leafs in Game 3, lead series|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 6, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 6, 2020}} The Maple Leafs then responded with their own three-goal comeback, all while sporting an extra attacker with the goaltender pulled. Auston Matthews then scored the overtime game-winner, the Leafs were victorious by a score of 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-columbus-blue-jackets-game-4-recap/c-317515726|title=Maple Leafs rally, defeat Blue Jackets in OT to win Game 4, extend series|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 7, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 7, 2020}} In game five, Korpisalo shut the door on the Leafs, stopping all 33 shots in a 3–0 victory to advance to the first round of the playoffs.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-toronto-maple-leafs-game-5-recap/c-317515334|title=Blue Jackets shut out Maple Leafs in Game 5 of Cup Qualifiers, win series|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 9, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 9, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Toronto Maple Leafs

|team2=Columbus Blue Jackets

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 2

|score1 =2–0

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-toronto-maple-leafs-game-1-recap/c-317514162

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Cam Atkinson (1) – 01:05
Alexander Wennberg (1) – en – 19:41

|goalie1-1 =Frederik Andersen 33 saves / 34 shots

|goalie1-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 28 saves / 28 shots

|date2 =August 4

|score2 =0–3

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-toronto-maple-leafs-game-2-recap/c-317514228

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =16:00 – Auston Matthews (1)

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =04:56 – John Tavares (1)
19:17 – en – Morgan Rielly (1)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Frederik Andersen 20 saves / 20 shots

|goalie2-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 36 saves / 38 shots

|date3 =August 6

|score3 =3–4

|ot3 =1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-columbus-blue-jackets-game-3-recap/c-317515962

|3-1-1 =Cody Ceci (1) – sh – 18:52

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =William Nylander (1) – pp – 07:08
Nicholas Robertson (1) – 08:48

|3-2-2 =11:39 – Pierre-Luc Dubois (1)

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =07:27 – Seth Jones (1)
10:49 – Pierre-Luc Dubois (2)

|3-4-1 =No scoring

|3-4-2 =18:24 – Pierre-Luc Dubois (3)

|goalie3-1 =Frederik Andersen 39 saves / 43 shots

|goalie3-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 12 saves / 15 shots
Elvis Merzlikins 21 saves / 21 shots

|date4 =August 7

|score4 =4–3

|ot4 =1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-columbus-blue-jackets-game-4-recap/c-317515726

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =03:58 – Cam Atkinson (2)

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =04:40 – Vladislav Gavrikov (1)

|4-3-1 =William Nylander (2) – 16:03
John Tavares (2) – 16:54
Zach Hyman (1) – 19:37

|4-3-2 =14:18 – Boone Jenner (1)

|4-4-1 =Auston Matthews (2) – pp – 13:10

|4-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Frederik Andersen 36 saves / 39 shots

|goalie4-2 =Elvis Merzlikins 49 saves / 53 shots

|date5 =August 9

|score5 =3–0

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-toronto-maple-leafs-game-5-recap/c-317515334

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =Zach Werenski (1) – 06:29

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =Liam Foudy (1) – 11:40
Nick Foligno (1) – en – 19:37

|goalie5-1 =Frederik Andersen 19 saves / 21 shots

|goalie5-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 33 saves / 33 shots

|series = Columbus won series 3–2

}}

Edmonton finished fifth in the Western Conference with 83 points in 71 games for a points percentage of .585. Chicago gained 72 points in 70 games for a points percentage of .514 to finish twelfth in the Western Conference. This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Edmonton winning three of the four previous series. They last met in the 1992 Western Conference finals, which Chicago won in a four-game sweep. Chicago won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Blackhawks upset the Oilers in four games. Blackhawks rookie forward Dominik Kubalik scored two goals and assisted three times in game one, resulting in Chicago's 6–4 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-edmonton-oilers-game-1-recap/c-317513654|title=Blackhawks defeat Oilers in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 2, 2020}} In game two, Oilers captain Connor McDavid recorded a hat-trick assisted thrice by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tying the series 1–1 in a 6–3 triumph.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-edmonton-oilers-game-2-recap/c-317514220|title=McDavid hat trick helps Oilers top Blackhawks in Game 2 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} In game three, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews scored twice, including the game-winner with 1:16 remaining in the game, capping off a 4–3 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-chicago-blackhawks-game-3-recap/c-317515626|title=Blackhawks defeat Oilers in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, take series lead|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 6, 2020}} In game four, Kubalik's goal at 8:30 of the third period proved to be the series-winner, defeating the Oilers 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-chicago-blackhawks-game-4-recap/c-317515964|title=Blackhawks defeat Oilers in Game 4 of Cup Qualifiers, win series|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 7, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 8, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Edmonton Oilers

|team2=Chicago Blackhawks

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 1

|score1 =6–4

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-edmonton-oilers-game-1-recap/c-317513654

|1-1-1 =02:34 – pp – Connor McDavid (1)

|1-1-2 =Dylan Strome (1) – 05:51
Jonathan Toews (1) – pp – 07:56
Brandon Saad (1) – 09:17
Jonathan Toews (2) – 12:57

|1-2-1 =04:13 – pp – Leon Draisaitl (1)

|1-2-2 =Dominik Kubalik (1) – pp – 06:32
Dominik Kubalik (2) – pp – 17:35

|1-3-1 =16:07 – pp – James Neal (1)
16:43 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Mike Smith 18 saves / 23 shots
Mikko Koskinen 18 saves / 19 shots

|goalie1-2 =Corey Crawford 25 saves / 29 shots

|date2 =August 3

|score2 =3–6

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-edmonton-oilers-game-2-recap/c-317514220

|2-1-1 =00:19 – Connor McDavid (2)
04:05 – Connor McDavid (3)

|2-1-2 =Patrick Kane (1) – 09:06

|2-2-1 =01:44 – Tyler Ennis (1)
17:10 – pp – Connor McDavid (4)

|2-2-2 =Slater Koekkoek (1) – 04:22
Olli Maatta (1) – 15:13

|2-3-1 =07:25 – James Neal (2)
08:05 – Alex Chiasson (1)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mikko Koskinen 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Corey Crawford 29 saves / 35 shots

|date3 =August 5

|score3 =3–4

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-chicago-blackhawks-game-3-recap/c-317515626

|3-1-1 =Leon Draisaitl (2) – 09:42

|3-1-2 =09:14 – Olli Maatta (2)
19:55 – pp – Jonathan Toews (3)

|3-2-1 =Leon Draisaitl (3) – 04:07
Connor McDavid (5) – pp – 19:52

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =14:13 – Matthew Highmore (1)
18:44 – Jonathan Toews (4)

|goalie3-1 =Mikko Koskinen 21 saves / 25 shots

|goalie3-2 =Corey Crawford 25 saves / 28 shots

|date4 =August 7

|score4 =2–3

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-chicago-blackhawks-game-4-recap/c-317515964

|4-1-1 =Josh Archibald (1) – 00:45

|4-1-2 =05:16 – Brandon Saad (2)
07:56 – Matthew Highmore (2)

|4-2-1 =Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2) – 02:02

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =08:30 – Dominik Kubalik (3)

|goalie4-1 =Mikko Koskinen 26 saves / 29 shots

|goalie4-2 =Corey Crawford 43 saves / 45 shots

|series = Chicago won series 3–1

}}

Nashville finished sixth in the Western Conference with 78 points in 69 games for a points percentage of .565, winning the tiebreaker against Vancouver with 28 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}}. Arizona gained 74 points in 70 games for a points percentage of .529 to finish eleventh in the Western Conference. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 2012 Western Conference semifinals, which Arizona won in five games. These teams split their two-game regular season series.

The Coyotes defeated the Predators in four games. In game one, the Coyotes jumped out to a 4–1 lead, scoring a power play and a shorthanded goal, and held off a Predators third period rally for the victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-nashville-predators-game-1-recap/c-317513178|title=Coyotes defeat Predators in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 2, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 3, 2020}} Although the Coyotes had two goals in the final minute of game two, the Predators successfully kept the lead winning 4–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-nashville-predators-game-2-recap/c-317514600|title=Predators defeat Coyotes in Game 2 of Cup Qualifiers, even series|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} In game three, Darcy Kuemper stopped 39 of 40 shots and his teammates exploded for three goals in the third period, leading to a 4–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-predators-arizona-coyotes-game-3-recap/c-317514240|title=Coyotes defeat Predators in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, take series lead|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} The Coyotes clinched in game four after much drama; they blew a 2–0 second period lead and allowed Filip Forsberg's tying goal with only 32 seconds left in regulation, but Brad Richardson scored the series-winner 5:27 into overtime.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-predators-arizona-coyotes-game-4-recap/c-317515722|title=Coyotes top Predators in OT to win Game 4 of Cup Qualifiers, end series|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 7, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 7, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Nashville Predators

|team2=Arizona Coyotes

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 2

|score1 =4–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-nashville-predators-game-1-recap/c-317513178

|1-1-1 =19:57 – pp – Filip Forsberg (1)

|1-1-2 =Oliver Ekman-Larsson (1) – 07:59
Christian Dvorak (1) – 10:52
Clayton Keller (1) – pp – 15:42

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =Michael Grabner (1) – sh – 16:25

|1-3-1 =00:30 – Ryan Ellis (1)
08:56 – pp – Filip Forsberg (2)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Juuse Saros 33 saves / 37 shots

|goalie1-2 =Darcy Kuemper 40 saves / 43 shots

|date2 =August 4

|score2 =2–4

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-nashville-predators-game-2-recap/c-317514600

|2-1-1 =07:50 – Nick Bonino (1)
10:27 – Ryan Johansen (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =06:02 – Calle Jarnkrok (1)

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =13:49 – pp – Viktor Arvidsson (1)

|2-3-2 =Clayton Keller (2) – 19:03
Lawson Crouse (1) – 19:12

|goalie2-1 =Juuse Saros 24 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Darcy Kuemper 24 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =August 5

|score3 =1–4

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/nashville-predators-arizona-coyotes-game-3-recap/c-317514240

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =05:09 – Christian Dvorak (2)

|3-2-1 =Viktor Arvidsson (2) – 07:31

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =07:08 – Conor Garland (1)
15:38 – pp – Taylor Hall (1)
18:06 – en – Carl Soderberg (1)

|goalie3-1 =Juuse Saros 24 saves / 27 shots

|goalie3-2 =Darcy Kuemper 39 saves / 40 shots

|date4 =August 7

|score4 =3–4

|ot4 =1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/nashville-predators-arizona-coyotes-game-4-recap/c-317515722

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =17:27 – Michael Grabner (2)

|4-2-1 =Matt Duchene (1) – pp – 04:29
Viktor Arvidsson (3) – 08:26

|4-2-2 =01:37 – Phil Kessel (1)

|4-3-1 =Filip Forsberg (3) – 19:28

|4-3-2 =04:21 – Jordan Oesterle (1)

|4-4-1 =No scoring

|4-4-2 =05:27 – Brad Richardson (1)

|goalie4-1 =Juuse Saros 30 saves / 34 shots

|goalie4-2 =Darcy Kuemper 49 saves / 52 shots

|series = Arizona won series 3–1

}}

Vancouver finished seventh in the Western Conference with 78 points in 69 games for a points percentage of .565, losing the tiebreaker against Nashville with 27 {{abbr|RWs|Regulation wins}}. Minnesota gained 77 points in 69 games for a points percentage of .558 to finish tenth in the Western Conference. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 2003 Western Conference semifinals, which Minnesota came back from a 3–1 series deficit to win in seven games. Minnesota won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Canucks defeated the Wild in four games. Alex Stalock stopped all 28 shots he faced in Minnesota's game one victory; the Wild won 3–0.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/minnesota-wild-vancouver-canucks-game-1-recap/c-317514058|title=Wild shut out Canucks in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 2, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 3, 2020}} In game two, Bo Horvat and Alexander Edler both had a goal and an assist to help Vancouver even the series 1–1 winning the contest 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/minnesota-wild-vancouver-canucks-game-2-recap/c-317514230|title=Canucks defeat Wild in Game 2 of Cup Qualifiers, even series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} Quinn Hughes assisted on all three goals and Jacob Markstrom stopped all 27 shots for Vancouver's game three victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-minnesota-wild-game-3-recap/c-317515316|title=Canucks shut out Wild in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, lead series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 6, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 6, 2020}} In game four, the Canucks' Christopher Tanev provided two assists and the series-winning overtime goal to send Vancouver to the first round of the playoffs. Tanev's goal at eleven seconds into overtime tied the second fastest playoff overtime goal.{{cite web|url=https://www.wktv.com/content/news/Canucks-win-in-overtime-advance-to-Stanley-Cup-Playoffs-first-round--572055951.html|title=CANUCKS WIN IN OVERTIME, ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND|last=Sherrod|first=Chelsea|publisher=Heartland Media, LLC.|date=August 9, 2020|website=wktv.com|access-date=August 12, 2020|archive-date=September 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916235402/https://www.wktv.com/content/news/Canucks-win-in-overtime-advance-to-Stanley-Cup-Playoffs-first-round--572055951.html|url-status=dead}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vancouver Canucks

|team2=Minnesota Wild

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 2

|score1 =3–0

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/minnesota-wild-vancouver-canucks-game-1-recap/c-317514058

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Kevin Fiala (1) – pp – 02:50

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =Jared Spurgeon (1) – pp – 10:24

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Jared Spurgeon (2) – en – 19:13

|goalie1-1 =Jacob Markstrom 28 saves / 30 shots

|goalie1-2 =Alex Stalock 28 saves / 28 shots

|date2 =August 4

|score2 =3–4

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/minnesota-wild-vancouver-canucks-game-2-recap/c-317514230

|2-1-1 =00:24 – Tanner Pearson (1)

|2-1-2 =Luke Kunin (1) – sh – 17:16

|2-2-1 =03:01 – J. T. Miller (1)
08:42 – Brock Boeser (1)

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =06:22 – pp – Bo Horvat (1)

|2-3-2 =Kevin Fiala (2) – 17:31
Kevin Fiala (3) – 19:51

|goalie2-1 =Jacob Markstrom 32 saves / 35 shots

|goalie2-2 =Alex Stalock 24 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =August 6

|score3 =3–0

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-minnesota-wild-game-3-recap/c-317515316

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Brock Boeser (2) – pp – 13:49

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =Antoine Roussel (1) – 02:18
Elias Pettersson (1) – pp – 18:38

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Jacob Markstrom 27 saves / 27 shots

|goalie3-2 =Alex Stalock 26 saves / 29 shots

|date4 =August 7

|score4 =5–4

|ot4 =1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-minnesota-wild-game-4-recap/c-317515324

|4-1-1 =Tanner Pearson (2) – 12:52

|4-1-2 =02:58 – pp – Luke Kunin (2)
13:32 – Eric Staal (1)

|4-2-1 =Brandon Sutter (1) – 07:20
Quinn Hughes (1) – pp – 08:44

|4-2-2 =05:39 – Joel Eriksson Ek (1)
19:08 – Nico Sturm (1)

|4-3-1 =Bo Horvat (2) – 14:14

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|4-4-1 =Christopher Tanev (1) – 00:11

|4-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Jacob Markstrom 25 saves / 29 shots

|goalie4-2 =Alex Stalock 26 saves / 31 shots

|series = Vancouver won series 3–1

}}

Calgary finished eighth in the Western Conference with 79 points in 70 games for a points percentage of .564. Winnipeg gained 80 points in 71 games for a points percentage of .563 to finish ninth in the Western Conference. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was also the first Stanley Cup playoff meeting between these two cities since the 1987 Smythe Division semifinals. Winnipeg won the only game in this year's regular season series, which was played outdoors.

The Flames defeated the Jets in four games. In game one, the Flames scored a power-play goal, then a short-handed goal, followed by another power-play goal in the second period to take a 4–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-calgary-flames-game-1-recap/c-317514054|title=Flames defeat Jets in Game 1 of Cup Qualifiers|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 2, 2020}} The Jets tied the series 1–1 on Connor Hellebuyck's 28-save performance in a 3–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-calgary-flames-game-2-recap/c-317514166|title=Ehlers helps Jets even Cup Qualifier with Game 2 victory against Flames|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 3, 2020}} In game three, Sean Monahan scored a goal and assisted twice in the Flames' 6–2 victory, giving his team a chance to advance in game four.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-winnipeg-jets-game-3-recap/c-317514798|title=Flames defeat Jets in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers, take series lead|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 5, 2020}} Cam Talbot led the Flames to the series victory in game four, shutting the Jets out by a score of 4–0, stopping all 31 shots in the process.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-winnipeg-jets-game-4-recap/c-317515318|title=Flames eliminate Jets in Game 4 of Cup Qualifiers, reach playoffs|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 6, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 6, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Calgary Flames

|team2=Winnipeg Jets

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 1

|score1 =1–4

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-calgary-flames-game-1-recap/c-317514054

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Andrew Copp (1) – 08:51

|1-2-1 =07:06 – pp – Johnny Gaudreau (1)
12:51 – sh – Tobias Rieder (1)
18:14 – pp – Mikael Backlund (1)

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =18:19 – en – Andrew Mangiapane (1)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Cam Talbot 17 saves / 18 shots

|goalie1-2 =Connor Hellebuyck 30 saves / 33 shots

|date2 =August 3

|score2 =3–2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-calgary-flames-game-2-recap/c-317514166

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =Jansen Harkins (1) – 07:18

|2-2-1 =11:29 – Elias Lindholm (1)
17:29 – Sam Bennett (1)

|2-2-2 =Adam Lowry (1) – 05:43

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Nikolaj Ehlers (1) – pp – 10:24

|goalie2-1 =Cam Talbot 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Connor Hellebuyck 28 saves / 30 shots

|date3 =August 4

|score3 =6–2

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-winnipeg-jets-game-3-recap/c-317514798

|3-1-1 =Elias Lindholm (2) – pp – 10:22

|3-1-2 =10:04 – Nikolaj Ehlers (2)

|3-2-1 =Mikael Backlund (2) – 05:37
Sean Monahan (1) – pp – 07:49
Matthew Tkachuk (1) – 12:48

|3-2-2 =08:09 – pp – Andrew Copp (2)

|3-3-1 =Milan Lucic (1) – pp – 08:28
Johnny Gaudreau (2) – en – 17:41

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Cam Talbot 33 saves / 35 shots

|goalie3-2 =Connor Hellebuyck 26 saves / 31 shots

|date4 =August 6

|score4 =4–0

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-winnipeg-jets-game-4-recap/c-317515318

|4-1-1 =Dillon Dube (1) – 03:21
Sam Bennett (2) – 19:59

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =Sean Monahan (2) – en – 16:59
Rasmus Andersson (1) – en – 17:18

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Cam Talbot 31 saves / 31 shots

|goalie4-2 =Connor Hellebuyck 30 saves / 32 shots

|series = Calgary won series 3–1

}}

:Note: Teams seeded 1–4 in each conference were based on their final standings from the round-robin. All teams advancing from the qualifying round were re-seeded 5–8 based on their regular season points percentage.

Philadelphia earned the first seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing 3–0 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 89 points in 69 games for a .645 points percentage. Montreal earned the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference as the lowest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Pittsburgh. This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams with both teams splitting the six previous series. They last met in the 2010 Eastern Conference Final, which Philadelphia won in five games. Philadelphia won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Flyers eliminated the Canadiens in six games. In game one, Carter Hart made 27 saves against the Canadiens, defeating Montreal 2–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-philadelphia-flyers-game-1-recap/c-318382972|title=Hart, Flyers edge Canadiens in Game 1 of Eastern First Round|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|date=August 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} Prior to game two, Canadiens head coach Claude Julien left the bubble due to an emergency stent being placed in his coronary artery. Kirk Muller was named interim head coach for the remainder of the series while Julien recovered in Montreal.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29660357/canadiens-coach-claude-julien-gets-stent-released-hospital|title=Canadiens coach Claude Julien gets stent, released from hospital|last=Kaplan|first=Emily|publisher=ESPN Enterprises, Inc.|date=August 14, 2020|website=ESPN.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} Montreal tied the series after game two on Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi two goals and Carey Price's 30-save 5–0 shut out victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-philadelphia-flyers-game-2-recap/c-318382992|title=Canadiens blank Flyers in Game 2, even Eastern First Round without Julien|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} In game three, Flyers forward Jakub Voracek scored the only goal of the game and Hart turned away all 23 shots in a 1–0 shutout.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-montreal-canadiens-game-3-recap/c-318384426|title=Flyers shut out Canadiens in Game 3, take lead in Eastern First Round|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 16, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 17, 2020}} Hart continued his shutout into game four, stopping all 29 shots in a 2–0 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-montreal-canadiens-game-4-recap/c-318554840|title=Hart, Flyers defeat Canadiens in Game 4 of Eastern First Round|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 18, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 19, 2020}} In game five, Joel Armia scored twice for the Canadiens forcing a sixth game after 5–3 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-philadelphia-flyers-game-5-recap/c-318555214|title=Canadiens top Flyers in Game 5, stay alive in Eastern First Round series|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 19, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 20, 2020}} Kevin Hayes had a goal and an assist in game six for the Flyers who defeated the Canadiens 3–2 and advanced to the second round.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-montreal-canadiens-game-6-recap/c-318654886|title=Flyers defeat Canadiens in Game 6, win Eastern First Round series|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 21, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 21, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Philadelphia Flyers

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 12

|score1 =1–2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-pittsburgh-penguins-game-1-recap/c-318382972

|1-1-1 =08:54 – pp – Jakub Voracek (1)

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =14:54 – Joel Farabee (2)

|1-2-2 =Shea Weber (3) – pp – 14:38

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Carter Hart 27 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Carey Price 29 saves / 31 shots

|date2 =August 14

|score2 =5–0

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-philadelphia-flyers-game-2-recap/c-318382992

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =Tomas Tatar (1) – 01:02
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3) – 12:36

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =Tomáš Tatar (2) – pp – 01:25
Joel Armia (1) – 17:57

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Jesperi Kotkaniemi (4) – pp – 10:35

|goalie2-1 =Carter Hart 22 saves / 26 shots
Brian Elliott 5 saves / 6 shots

|goalie2-2 =Carey Price 30 saves / 30 shots

|date3 =August 16

|score3 =1–0

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-montreal-canadiens-game-3-recap/c-318384426

|3-1-1 =Jakub Voracek (2) – 05:21

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Carter Hart 23 saves / 23 shots

|goalie3-2 =Carey Price 19 saves / 20 shots

|date4 =August 18

|score4 =2–0

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-montreal-canadiens-game-4-recap/c-318554840

|4-1-1 =Michael Raffl (2) – 06:32

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Philippe Myers (2) – 17:04

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Carter Hart 29 saves / 29 shots

|goalie4-2 =Carey Price 20 saves / 22 shots

|date5 =August 19

|score5 =5–3

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-philadelphia-flyers-game-5-recap/c-318555214

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =Joel Armia (2) – sh – 02:53

|5-2-1 =02:35 – pp – Jakub Voracek (3)
06:37 – pp – Jakub Voracek (4)

|5-2-2 =Joel Armia (3) – 10:12
Brendan Gallagher (1) – pp – 11:30

|5-3-1 =10:37 – pp – Joel Farabee (3)

|5-3-2 =Nick Suzuki (2) – 10:59
Phillip Danault (1) – en – 19:42

|goalie5-1 =Carter Hart 28 saves / 32 shots

|goalie5-2 =Carey Price 26 saves / 29 shots

|date6 =August 21

|score6 =3–2

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-montreal-canadiens-game-6-recap/c-318654886

|6-1-1 =Ivan Provorov (1) – 00:28
Kevin Hayes (1) – 05:23

|6-1-2 =10:03 – pp – Nick Suzuki (3)

|6-2-1 =Michael Raffl (3) – 04:26

|6-2-2 =06:05 – Nick Suzuki (4)

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Carter Hart 31 saves / 33 shots

|goalie6-2 =Carey Price 14 saves / 17 shots

|series = Philadelphia won series 4–2

}}

Tampa Bay earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing 2–1 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 92 points in 70 games for a .657 points percentage. Columbus earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference as the second lowest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Toronto. This was the second consecutive playoff meeting and second postseason match-up between these two teams. Columbus won last year's Eastern Conference first round playoff meeting in a four-game sweep. Tampa Bay won the only game in this year's regular season series.

The Lightning defeated the Blue Jackets in five games. In game one, with the match tied at two, the teams headed into overtime. At 10:27 of the fifth overtime, Lightning forward Brayden Point ended the 3–2 marathon nearly six hours after its start. It was the fourth-longest game in NHL history.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-318377646|title=Lightning defeat Blue Jackets in 5OT in Game 1 of Eastern First Round|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 11, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 85 saves during the affair, the most in a playoff overtime game since 1955–56 when league started keeping saves as a statistic.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhl-playoffs-brayden-point-lifts-lightning-past-blue-jackets-in-wild-five-overtime-game/|title=NHL Playoffs: Brayden Point lifts Lightning past Blue Jackets in wild five-overtime game|last=Bengel|first=Chris|publisher=CBS Broadcasting, Inc.|date=August 11, 2020|website=CBSSports.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} Normie Smith is considered to have the all-time record for saves in a playoff game when he made 92 saves in a sextuple overtime game in 1936.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/this-date-in-nhl-history-march-24/c-279805016|title=March 24: Red Wings win longest game in NHL history|last=Kreiser|first=John|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=March 23, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=April 3, 2023}} The Blue Jackets tied the series on Pierre-Luc Dubois's two assists and Korpisalo's 36 saves in game two, winning 3–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-318382974|title=Blue Jackets top Lightning in Game 2 of Eastern First Round, even series|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 13, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} In game three, Point continued his point streak scoring the second goal of a 3–2 Lightning victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-columbus-blue-jackets-game-3-recap/c-318384122|title=Lightning defeat Blue Jackets in Game 3, lead Eastern First Round series|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 15, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde both scored and provided an assist for the Lightning in game four, who defeated the Blue Jackets 2–1 and took a 3–1 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-columbus-blue-jackets-game-4-recap/c-318535900|title=Lightning defeat Blue Jackets in Game 4 of Eastern First Round|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 17, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} In game five, the Blue Jackets overcame a two-goal deficit to take the lead 4–2, however the Lightning were able to tie the score with 1:38 remaining in the game, which required overtime again. At 5:12 of the first overtime, Point's backhanded shot over Korpisalo ended the series, avenging last year's series for the Lightning, and sending them to the second round.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-tampa-bay-lightning-game-5-recap/c-318555658|title=Lightning top Blue Jackets in overtime in Game 5, win Eastern First Round|last=Farrell|first=Sean|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 19, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 19, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=Columbus Blue Jackets

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 11

|score1 =2–3

|ot1 =5

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-318377646

|1-1-1 =06:27 – Brayden Point (2)

|1-1-2 =Pierre-Luc Dubois (4) – pp – 02:39

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =Oliver Bjorkstrand (1) – 19:12

|1-3-1 =00:23 – Yanni Gourde (1)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|1-4-1 =10:27 – Brayden Point (3)

|1-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 61 saves / 63 shots

|goalie1-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 85 saves / 88 shots

|date2 =August 13

|score2 =3–1

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-318382974

|2-1-1 =05:24 – Nikita Kucherov (2)

|2-1-2 =Ryan Murray (1) – 12:52
Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) – pp – 18:35

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Alexander Wennberg (2) – 11:27

|goalie2-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 19 saves / 22 shots

|goalie2-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 36 saves / 37 shots

|date3 =August 15

|score3 =3–2

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-columbus-blue-jackets-game-3-recap/c-318384122

|3-1-1 =Alex Killorn (2) – 15:48

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Brayden Point (4) – 14:16
Victor Hedman (1) – 18:53

|3-2-2 =01:49 – Riley Nash (1)

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =01:37 – Eric Robinson (1)

|goalie3-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 15 saves / 17 shots

|goalie3-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 31 saves / 34 shots

|date4 =August 17

|score4 =2–1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-columbus-blue-jackets-game-4-recap/c-318535900

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Barclay Goodrow (1) – 00:16
Yanni Gourde (2) – 04:09

|4-2-2 =05:48 – Cam Atkinson (3)

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 28 saves / 29 shots

|goalie4-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 20 saves / 22 shots

|date5 =August 19

|score5 =4–5

|ot5 =1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-tampa-bay-lightning-game-5-recap/c-318555658

|5-1-1 =05:38 – Tyler Johnson (3)
06:39 – Blake Coleman (1)

|5-1-2 =Nick Foligno (2) – 11:51

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =Kevin Stenlund (1) – pp – 09:35
Alexander Wennberg (3) – 19:44

|5-3-1 =12:01 – Kevin Shattenkirk (1)
18:22 – Anthony Cirelli (1)

|5-3-2 =Oliver Bjorkstrand (3) – 09:33

|5-4-1 =05:12 – Brayden Point (5)

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 37 saves / 41 shots

|goalie5-2 =Joonas Korpisalo 20 saves / 25 shots

|series = Tampa Bay won series 4–1

}}

Washington earned the third seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing 1–2 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 90 points in 69 games for a .652 points percentage. New York earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference as the second highest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Florida. This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with New York winning five of the seven previous series. They last met in the 2015 Eastern Conference first round, which Washington won in seven games. These teams split the four games in this year's regular season series.

The Islanders defeated the Capitals in five games. In game one, Josh Bailey's short-handed goal at 6:52 of the third period put the Islanders ahead 3–2 and with Anthony Beauvillier's goal to make it 4–2 New York held onto their lead to take the victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-washington-capitals-game-1-recap/c-318383108|title=Islanders surge past Capitals in Game 1 of Eastern First Round|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} Jean-Gabriel Pageau's two assists helped the Islanders take game two 5–2 taking a 2–0 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-washington-capitals-game-2-recap/c-318382996|title=Islanders defeat Capitals in Game 2 of Eastern First Round, extend lead|last=Compton|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} The Islanders took a 3–0 series lead after game three ended in overtime on Mathew Barzal's goal, giving New York a 2–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-new-york-islanders-game-3-recap/c-318384420|title=Islanders defeat Capitals in overtime in Game 3 of Eastern First Round|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 16, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} In game four, Alexander Ovechkin's two goals extended the series for the Capitals in a 3–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-new-york-islanders-game-4-recap/c-318555140|title=Capitals rally past Islanders in Game 4, stay alive in East First Round|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 18, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 20, 2020}} Beauvillier's two goals helped shut the door against the Capitals, defeating them 4–0 and advancing to second round.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-washington-capitals-game-5-recap/c-318569962|title=Islanders shut out Capitals in Game 5, win Eastern First Round series|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 20, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 20, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Washington Capitals

|team2=New York Islanders

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 12

|score1 =4–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-washington-capitals-game-1-recap/c-318383108

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =05:27 – pp – T. J. Oshie (2)
11:18 – pp – T. J. Oshie (3)

|1-2-2 =Jordan Eberle (3) – 18:57

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Anders Lee (1) – 00:51
Josh Bailey (1) – sh – 06:52
Anthony Beauvillier (4) – 11:55

|goalie1-1 =Braden Holtby 23 saves / 27 shots

|goalie1-2 =Semyon Varlamov 24 saves / 26 shots

|date2 =August 14

|score2 =5–2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-washington-capitals-game-2-recap/c-318382996

|2-1-1 =00:56 – Alexander Ovechkin (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =06:39 – Alexander Ovechkin (2)

|2-2-2 =Nick Leddy (1) – pp – 02:56
Matt Martin (2) – 05:01
Brock Nelson (3) – 06:54

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Cal Clutterbuck (1) – 17:14
Anders Lee (2) – en – 18:21

|goalie2-1 =Braden Holtby 27 saves / 31 shots

|goalie2-2 =Semyon Varlamov 23 saves / 25 shots

|date3 =August 16

|score3 =1–2

|ot3 =1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-new-york-islanders-game-3-recap/c-318384420

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =14:50 – Anders Lee (3)

|3-2-1 =Evgeny Kuznetsov (2) – pp – 05:50

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|3-4-1 =No scoring

|3-4-2 =04:28 – Mathew Barzal (2)

|goalie3-1 =Braden Holtby 32 saves / 34 shots

|goalie3-2 =Semyon Varlamov 22 saves / 23 shots

|date4 =August 18

|score4 =3–2

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-new-york-islanders-game-4-recap/c-318555140

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =03:50 – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4)
09:16 – Mathew Barzal (3)

|4-2-1 =Evgeny Kuznetsov (3) – 03:35
Alexander Ovechkin (3) – pp – 05:29

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =Alexander Ovechkin (4) – 03:40

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Braden Holtby 24 saves / 26 shots

|goalie4-2 =Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 29 shots

|date5 =August 20

|score5 =4–0

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-washington-capitals-game-5-recap/c-318569962

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =Anthony Beauvillier (5) – pp – 10:19

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =Anthony Beauvillier (6) – 09:33

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =Nick Leddy (2) – en – 17:47
Josh Bailey (2) – en – 18:31

|goalie5-1 =Braden Holtby 13 saves / 15 shots

|goalie5-2 =Semyon Varlamov 21 saves / 21 shots

|series = New York won series 4–1

}}

Boston earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing 0–3 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 100 points in 70 games for a .714 points percentage. Carolina earned the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference as the highest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating the New York Rangers. This was the second consecutive postseason match-up and sixth playoff meeting overall between these two teams; with Boston winning four of the five previous series. Boston won last year's Eastern Conference Final series in a four-game sweep. Boston won the only game in this year's regular season series.

The Bruins defeated the Hurricanes in five games. Due to game one of the Blue Jackets–Lightning series extending to the fifth overtime, game one of this series was postponed to the next day.{{cite web|url=https://bostonhockeynow.com/2020/08/11/boston-bruins-carolina-hurricanes-game-1-postponed/|title=Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes Game 1 Postponed|last=Thomas|first=Alex|publisher=National Hockey Now and Boston Hockey Now|date=August 11, 2020|website=BostonHockeyNow.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} The Bruins and Hurricanes had their own overtime marathon in game one with the game tied at three, but the game ended at 1:13 of the second overtime with Patrice Bergeron's goal.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-boston-bruins-game-1-recap/c-318378740|title=Bruins defeat Hurricanes in 2OT in Game 1 of Eastern First Round|last=Lane|first=Jon|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} In game two, Martin Necas assisted twice for the Hurricanes who defeated the Bruins 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-boston-bruins-game-2-recap/c-318383384|title=Hurricanes defeat Bruins in Game 2 of Eastern First Round, even series|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 13, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} With Tuukka Rask opting to leave the bubble, Jaroslav Halak started game three for the Bruins during which he made 29 saves, defeating the Hurricanes for a 3–1 victory.{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/15/sports/bruins-are-sympathetic-know-its-time-move-tuukka-rask/|title=Bruins are sympathetic, but know it's time to move on from Tuukka Rask|last=Dupont|first=Kevin Paul|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=August 15, 2020|access-date=August 16, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-carolina-hurricanes-game-3-recap/c-318384118|title=Bruins defeat Hurricanes in Game 3 of Eastern First Round, lead series|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 15, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} In game four, the Bruins came back from a 2–0 deficit, scoring four goals in the third period to overtake the Hurricanes by a final score of 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-carolina-hurricanes-game-4-recap/c-318536516|title=Bruins rally past Hurricanes in Game 4, extend Eastern First Round lead|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 17, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} In game five, David Pastrnak assisted twice in a defensive match defeating the Hurricanes 2–1 and advancing to the second round.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-boston-bruins-game-5-recap/c-318555580|title=Bruins defeat Hurricanes in Game 5, win Eastern First Round series|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 19, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 19, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Carolina Hurricanes

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 12

|score1 =3–4

|ot1 =2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-boston-bruins-game-1-recap/c-318378740

|1-1-1 =17:45 – David Pastrnak (1)

|1-1-2 =Joel Edmundson (1) – 13:02

|1-2-1 =04:38 – Charlie Coyle (1)

|1-2-2 =Brock McGinn (1) – sh – 04:59

|1-3-1 =00:59 – David Krejci (1)

|1-3-2 =Haydn Fleury (1) – 09:49

|1-4-1 =01:13 – Patrice Bergeron (1)

|1-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Tuukka Rask 25 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Petr Mrazek 36 saves / 40 shots

|date2 =August 13

|score2 =3–2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-boston-bruins-game-2-recap/c-318383384

|2-1-1 =15:41 – pp – David Krejci (2)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =19:55 – pp – Brad Marchand (1)

|2-2-2 =Teuvo Teravainen (2) – pp – 15:13
Andrei Svechnikov (4) – 16:41

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Dougie Hamilton (1) – 08:30

|goalie2-1 =Tuukka Rask 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =James Reimer 33 saves / 35 shots

|date3 =August 15

|score3 =3–1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-carolina-hurricanes-game-3-recap/c-318384118

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Charlie Coyle (2) – pp – 00:14

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =Sean Kuraly (1) – sh – 01:16
Brad Marchand (2) – en – 19:29

|3-3-2 =06:30 – pp – Nino Niederreiter (1)

|goalie3-1 =Jaroslav Halak 29 saves / 30 shots

|goalie3-2 =Petr Mrazek 36 saves / 38 shots

|date4 =August 17

|score4 =4–3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-carolina-hurricanes-game-4-recap/c-318536516

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =09:17 – Justin Williams (1)

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =12:08 – Jordan Martinook (2)

|4-3-1 =Jake DeBrusk (2) – 07:26
Connor Clifton (1) – 10:10
Brad Marchand (3) – 11:40
Jake DeBrusk (3) – 14:17

|4-3-2 =18:33 – Teuvo Teravainen (3)

|goalie4-1 =Jaroslav Halak 16 saves / 19 shots

|goalie4-2 =James Reimer 29 saves / 33 shots

|date5 =August 19

|score5 =1–2

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-boston-bruins-game-5-recap/c-318555580

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =Haydn Fleury (2) – 09:35

|5-2-1 =15:20 – pp – David Krejci (3)
19:56 – pp – Patrice Bergeron (2)

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Jaroslav Halak 23 saves / 24 shots

|goalie5-2 =Petr Mrazek 25 saves / 27 shots

|series = Boston won series 4–1

}}

Vegas earned the first seed in the Western Conference after finishing 3–0 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 86 points in 71 games for a .606 points percentage. Chicago earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference as the lowest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Edmonton. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Vegas won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Golden Knights defeated the Blackhawks in five games. In game one, Reilly Smith scored twice and provided an assist for the Golden Knights' 4–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-vegas-golden-knights-game-1-recap/c-318378858|title=Golden Knights defeat Blackhawks in Game 1 of Western First Round|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 11, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} Smith then ended game two at 7:13 of the first overtime; his team was victorious by a score of 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-vegas-golden-knights-game-2-recap/c-318383380|title=Golden Knights defeat Blackhawks in OT in Game 2 of Western First Round|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 13, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} In game three, the Golden Knights continued their win streak, defeating the Blackhawks 2–1 on Marc-Andre Fleury's 26 saves.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-chicago-blackhawks-game-3-recap/c-318383918|title=Fleury, Golden Knights defeat Blackhawks in Game 3 of Western First Round|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 15, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} Chicago ended Vegas' win streak in game four, riding on Corey Crawford's 48 saves performance to defeat the Golden Knights 3–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-chicago-blackhawks-game-4-recap/c-318384540|title=Blackhawks top Golden Knights in Game 4, avoid sweep in West First Round|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 16, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} In game five, Alex Tuch scored the go-ahead goal to put Vegas ahead in the third period. From there, they played defensively, turning away seven shots to win 4–3 and advance to the second round of the playoffs.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-vegas-golden-knights-game-5-recap/c-318554842|title=Golden Knights top Blackhawks in Game 5, win Western First Round series|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 18, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vegas Golden Knights

|team2=Chicago Blackhawks

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 11

|score1 =1–4

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-vegas-golden-knights-game-1-recap/c-318378858

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =07:22 – Shea Theodore (3)
09:39 – William Carrier (2)

|1-2-2 =David Kampf (1) – sh – 10:51

|1-3-1 =03:32 – Reilly Smith (1)
08:14 – Reilly Smith (2)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Robin Lehner 19 saves / 20 shots

|goalie1-2 =Corey Crawford 30 saves / 34 shots

|date2 =August 13

|score2 =3–4

|ot2 =1

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-vegas-golden-knights-game-2-recap/c-318383380

|2-1-1 =10:44 – Paul Stastny (1)
15:35 – Tomas Nosek (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =17:20 – Mark Stone (3)

|2-2-2 =Kirby Dach (1) – 03:17
Dominik Kubalik (4) – pp – 12:07
Dylan Strome (2) – 19:46

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|2-4-1 =07:13 – Reilly Smith (3)

|2-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Robin Lehner 22 saves / 25 shots

|goalie2-2 =Corey Crawford 35 saves / 39 shots

|date3 =August 15

|score3 =2–1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-chicago-blackhawks-game-3-recap/c-318383918

|3-1-1 =William Karlsson (2) – sh – 04:12

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Patrick Brown (1) – 15:23

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =06:21 – Olli Maatta (3)

|goalie3-1 =Marc-Andre Fleury 26 saves / 27 shots

|goalie3-2 =Corey Crawford 24 saves / 26 shots

|date4 =August 16

|score4 =1–3

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-chicago-blackhawks-game-4-recap/c-318384540

|4-1-1 =Shea Theodore (4) – 13:58

|4-1-2 =04:08 – Drake Caggiula (1)
13:40 – Matthew Highmore (3)

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =19:49 – en – Alex DeBrincat (1)

|goalie4-1 =Robin Lehner 22 saves / 24 shots

|goalie4-2 =Corey Crawford 48 saves / 49 shots

|date5 =August 18

|score5 =3–4

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-vegas-golden-knights-game-5-recap/c-318554842

|5-1-1 =19:29 – Max Pacioretty (1)

|5-1-2 =Jonathan Toews (5) – 10:32
Alex DeBrincat (2) – 18:19

|5-2-1 =00:57 – Mark Stone (4)
07:28 – pp – Alec Martinez (1)

|5-2-2 =Patrick Kane (2) – 04:02

|5-3-1 =01:34 – Alex Tuch (4)

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Robin Lehner 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie5-2 =Corey Crawford 35 saves / 39 shots

|series = Vegas won series 4–1

}}

Colorado earned the second seed in the Western Conference after finishing 2–1 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 92 points in 70 games for a .657 points percentage. Arizona earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference as the second lowest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Nashville. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 2000 Western Conference quarterfinals, which Colorado won in five games. These teams split their two-game regular season series.

The Avalanche defeated the Coyotes in five games. The Avalanche limited the Coyotes to fourteen shots in game one and Philipp Grubauer stopped all of them in their 3–0 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-colorado-avalanche-game-1-recap/c-318383076|title=Avalanche shut out Coyotes in Game 1 of Western First Round|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} In game two, Avalanche right wing Andre Burakovsky scored the game-winning goal with 2:53 remaining in the third period to defeat the Coyotes 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-colorado-avalanche-game-2-recap/c-318383276|title=Avalanche defeat Coyotes in Game 2, extend lead in Western First Round|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} Darcy Kuemper made 49 saves in game three, giving the Coyotes a 4–2 victory and their first win of the series.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-arizona-coyotes-game-3-recap/c-318383914|title=Coyotes defeat Avalanche in Game 3, get first win in Western First Round|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 15, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 17, 2020}} The Avalanche provided a defensive and offensive approach to game four routing out the Coyotes 7–1 and limiting their shots to 15 giving them a chance to clinch in game five.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-arizona-coyotes-game-4-recap/c-318536604|title=Avalanche score seven, top Coyotes in Game 4, pad West First Round lead|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 17, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} In game five, the Avalanche continued their dominance in a 7–1 victory, advancing to the second round on Nathan MacKinnon's two goals and two assists.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-colorado-avalanche-game-5-recap/c-318554858|title=Avalanche defeat Coyotes in Game 5, win Western First Round series|last=Sadowski|first=Rick|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 19, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 19, 2020}} This would later become the Arizona Coyotes' final playoff appearance during the franchise's existence, as by the end of the 2023–24 NHL season, the Coyotes would initially be considered a suspended operations team, with many of the franchise's assets (but not the team name and its history itself) going to what's considered a newly formed Utah Hockey Club. However, the suspension status would only last for a couple of months before team owner Alex Meruelo gave up the team's rights to the NHL after failing to acquire land from a planned auction in June 2024.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Colorado Avalanche

|team2=Arizona Coyotes

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 12

|score1 =0–3

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-colorado-avalanche-game-1-recap/c-318383076

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =13:05 – pp – Nazem Kadri (2)
13:15 – J. T. Compher (2)
14:28 – Mikko Rantanen (1)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Philipp Grubauer 14 saves / 14 shots

|goalie1-2 =Darcy Kuemper 37 saves / 40 shots

|date2 =August 14

|score2 =2–3

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-colorado-avalanche-game-2-recap/c-318383276

|2-1-1 =03:40 – Nathan MacKinnon (2)

|2-1-2 =Clayton Keller (3) – 16:49

|2-2-1 =03:37 – Tyson Jost (1)

|2-2-2 =Michael Grabner (3) – 05:06

|2-3-1 =17:07 – Andre Burakovsky (2)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Philipp Grubauer 30 saves / 32 shots

|goalie2-2 =Darcy Kuemper 25 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =August 15

|score3 =2–4

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-arizona-coyotes-game-3-recap/c-318383914

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =06:29 – Derek Stepan (1)

|3-2-1 =Andre Burakovsky (3) – 13:12

|3-2-2 =19:26 – Brad Richardson (2)

|3-3-1 =Mikko Rantanen (2) – 19:03

|3-3-2 =18:40 – en – Taylor Hall (2)
19:55 – en – Lawson Crouse (2)

|goalie3-1 =Pavel Francouz 19 saves / 21 shots

|goalie3-2 =Darcy Kuemper 49 saves / 51 shots

|date4 =August 17

|score4 =7–1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-arizona-coyotes-game-4-recap/c-318536604

|4-1-1 =Matt Nieto (1) – 14:07
Nazem Kadri (3) – pp – 16:07
Nazem Kadri (4) – pp – 19:39

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Joonas Donskoi (3) – 11:37

|4-2-2 =13:31 – pp – Jakob Chychrun (1)

|4-3-1 =Cale Makar (2) – 00:19
Matt Calvert (1) – 02:57
Mikko Rantanen (3) – pp – 16:24

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Philipp Grubauer 14 saves / 15 shots

|goalie4-2 =Darcy Kuemper 18 saves / 22 shots
Antti Raanta 5 saves / 8 shots

|date5 =August 19

|score5 =1–7

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-colorado-avalanche-game-5-recap/c-318554858

|5-1-1 =04:39 – pp – Nazem Kadri (5)
08:29 – pp – Sam Girard (1)
18:32 – Nazem Kadri (6)

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =09:51 – Nathan MacKinnon (3)
10:49 – pp – Nathan MacKinnon (4)
18:16 – Nikita Zadorov (1)

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =15:19 – J. T. Compher (3)

|5-3-2 =Clayton Keller (4) – 06:51

|goalie5-1 =Philipp Grubauer 23 saves / 24 shots

|goalie5-2 =Darcy Kuemper 24 saves / 30 shots
Antti Raanta 5 saves / 6 shots

|series = Colorado won series 4–1

}}

Dallas earned the third seed in the Western Conference after finishing 1–2 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 82 points in 69 games for a .594 points percentage. Calgary earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference as the second highest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Winnipeg. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 1981 Stanley Cup Semifinals, which the then-Minnesota North Stars won in six games. Calgary won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Stars eliminated the Flames in six games. Dillon Dube scored twice for Calgary in game one as the Flames took the victory 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-dallas-stars-game-1-recap/c-318378610|title=Dube, Flames edge Stars in Game 1 of Western First Round|last=Vickeres|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 11, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} In game two, with forty seconds remaining, Jamie Oleksiak scored the game-winning goal for Dallas defeating Calgary 5–4.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-dallas-stars-game-2-recap/c-318383386|title=Stars defeat Flames in Game 2 of Western First Round, even series|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} Cam Talbot stopped all 35 shots he faced in game three defeating the Stars 2–0 and taking a 2–1 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-calgary-flames-game-3-recap/c-318383724|title=Flames shut out Stars in Game 3, take lead in Western First Round|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} In game four, Stars forward Joe Pavelski scored a hat trick and Alexander Radulov's overtime-game winner tied the series 2–2, defeating the Flames 5–4.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-calgary-flames-game-4-recap/c-318384128|title=Stars defeat Flames in OT in Game 4, even Western First Round series|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 16, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} Anton Khudobin made 28 saves for the Stars in game five, defeating the Flames 2–1 and taking a 3–2 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-dallas-stars-game-5-recap/c-318554416|title=Stars defeat Flames in Game 5, lead Western First Round|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 18, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 20, 2020}} In game six, the Stars recovered from a 3–0 deficit led by Denis Gurianov's four goals, completing the series with a 7–3 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-calgary-flames-game-6-recap/c-318569758|title=Stars use big rally to eliminate Flames in Game 6 of Western First Round|last=Vickers|first=Aaron|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 20, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 20, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Dallas Stars

|team2=Calgary Flames

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 11

|score1 =3–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-dallas-stars-game-1-recap/c-318378610

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Dillon Dube (2) – pp – 10:54
Dillon Dube (3) – 18:02

|1-2-1 =10:52 – Denis Gurianov (1)
11:01 – Jamie Benn (1)

|1-2-2 =Rasmus Andersson (2) – 16:01

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Anton Khudobin 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie1-2 =Cam Talbot 24 saves / 26 shots

|date2 =August 13

|score2 =4–5

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-dallas-stars-game-2-recap/c-318383386

|2-1-1 =02:42 – Alexander Radulov (1)
11:14 – Miro Heiskanen (1)

|2-1-2 =Dillon Dube (4) – 00:19

|2-2-1 =04:50 – Miro Heiskanen (2)
15:05 – pp – Corey Perry (2)

|2-2-2 =Derek Forbort (1) – 13:00

|2-3-1 =19:20 – Jamie Oleksiak (2)

|2-3-2 =Tobias Rieder (2) – sh – 12:24
Sam Bennett (3) – pp – 17:11

|goalie2-1 =Ben Bishop 22 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Cam Talbot 31 saves / 36 shots

|date3 =August 14

|score3 =0–2

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-calgary-flames-game-3-recap/c-318383724

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =05:58 – sh – Mikael Backlund (3)

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =10:36 – T. J. Brodie (1)

|goalie3-1 =Anton Khudobin 21 saves / 23 shots

|goalie3-2 =Cam Talbot 35 saves / 35 shots

|date4 =August 16

|score4 =5–4

|ot4 =1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-calgary-flames-game-4-recap/c-318384128

|4-1-1 =Joe Pavelski (3) – pp – 18:11

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Joe Pavelski (4) – 03:14
Denis Gurianov (2) – pp – 19:23

|4-2-2 =01:54 – pp – Johnny Gaudreau (3)
03:57 – pp – Sam Bennett (4)
14:50 – Sam Bennett (5)

|4-3-1 =Joe Pavelski (5) – 19:48

|4-3-2 =03:11 – sh – Tobias Rieder (3)

|4-4-1 =Alexander Radulov (2) – 16:05

|4-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Anton Khudobin 36 saves / 40 shots

|goalie4-2 =Cam Talbot 57 saves / 62 shots

|date5 =August 18

|score5 =1–2

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-dallas-stars-game-5-recap/c-318554416

|5-1-1 =10:13 – sh – Jamie Benn (2)

|5-1-2 =Mikael Backlund (4) – 19:14

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =01:12 – John Klingberg (1)

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Anton Khudobin 28 saves / 29 shots

|goalie5-2 =Cam Talbot 30 saves / 32 shots

|date6 =August 20

|score6 =7–3

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-calgary-flames-game-6-recap/c-318569758

|6-1-1 =Miro Heiskanen (3) – pp – 09:36

|6-1-2 =03:42 – Andrew Mangiapane (2)
05:38 – pp – Johnny Gaudreau (4)
06:34 – Rasmus Andersson (3)

|6-2-1 =Denis Gurianov (3) – 00:59
Denis Gurianov (4) – 03:25
Radek Faksa (1) – pp – 05:47
Joe Pavelski (6) – 07:22
Denis Gurianov (5) – 15:30

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =Denis Gurianov (6) – 09:02

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Anton Khudobin 38 saves / 41 shots

|goalie6-2 =Cam Talbot 11 saves / 15 shots
David Rittich 6 saves / 9 shots

|series = Dallas won series 4–2

}}

St. Louis earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference after finishing 0–3 in the round-robin; during the regular season they finished with 94 points in 71 games for a .662 points percentage. Vancouver earned the fifth seed in the Western Conference as the highest advancing seed from the qualifying round by defeating Minnesota. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Vancouver winning all three previous series. They last met in the 2009 Western Conference quarterfinals, which Vancouver won in a four-game sweep. Vancouver won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Canucks defeated the Blues in six games. Canucks captain Bo Horvat scored twice in game one, defeating the Blues 5–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-st-louis-blues-game-1-recap/c-318383274|title=Horvat, Canucks defeat Blues in Game 1 of Western First Round|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 15, 2020}} Although Blues forward Samuel Blais tied game two with seven seconds remaining, Horvat's second goal of the game at 5:55 of overtime gave the Canucks a 4–3 victory and a 2–0 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-st-louis-blues-game-2-recap/c-318383722|title=Canucks defeat Blues in OT in Game 2 of Western First Round, extend lead|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 16, 2020}} In game three, Jake Allen made 39 saves and Brayden Schenn scored the overtime-game winning goal, defeating the Canucks 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-vancouver-canucks-game-3-recap/c-318384542|title=Blues defeat Canucks in OT in Game 3, first win of Western First Round|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 17, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} The Blues evened up the series in game four, with Ryan O'Reilly scoring twice in a 3–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-vancouver-canucks-game-4-recap/c-318536446|title=Blues win Game 4 against Canucks, even Western First Round series|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 17, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 18, 2020}} Vancouver came back from a two-goal deficit in game five to defeat St. Louis 4–3 and take a 3–2 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-st-louis-blues-game-5-recap/c-318555210|title=Canucks put Blues on brink with Game 5 win in Western First Round|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 19, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 20, 2020}} Tyler Motte scored twice in game six, sending the Canucks to the second round and handily defeating the Blues 6–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-vancouver-canucks-game-6-recap/c-318656148|title=Canucks knock out Blues in Game 6, win Western First Round series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 21, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 21, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Vancouver Canucks

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 12

|score1 =5–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-st-louis-blues-game-1-recap/c-318383274

|1-1-1 =16:37 – pp – David Perron (3)

|1-1-2 =Bo Horvat (3) – pp – 04:29

|1-2-1 =09:49 – Jaden Schwartz (1)

|1-2-2 =Elias Pettersson (2) – pp – 08:37

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Troy Stecher (1) – 05:37
Bo Horvat (4) – 08:01
J. T. Miller (2) – pp – 19:21

|goalie1-1 =Jordan Binnington 17 saves / 22 shots

|goalie1-2 =Jacob Markstrom 29 saves / 31 shots

|date2 =August 14

|score2 =4–3

|ot2 =1

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-st-louis-blues-game-2-recap/c-318383722

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =Bo Horvat (5) – sh – 07:23

|2-2-1 =18:56 – pp – Ryan O'Reilly (1)

|2-2-2 =Tanner Pearson (3) – pp – 13:01

|2-3-1 =09:02 – Samuel Blais (1)
19:53 – Jaden Schwartz (2)

|2-3-2 =Elias Pettersson (3) – pp – 05:36

|2-4-1 =No scoring

|2-4-2 =Bo Horvat (6) – 05:55

|goalie2-1 =Jordan Binnington 21 saves / 25 shots

|goalie2-2 =Jacob Markstrom 34 saves / 37 shots

|date3 =August 16

|score3 =3–2

|ot3 =1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-vancouver-canucks-game-3-recap/c-318384542

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Justin Faulk (1) – 08:16
David Perron (4) – 18:02

|3-2-2 =01:19 – pp – J. T. Miller (3)
18:39 – Elias Pettersson (4)

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|3-4-1 =Brayden Schenn (1) – 15:06

|3-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Jake Allen 39 saves / 41 shots

|goalie3-2 =Jacob Markstrom 46 saves / 49 shots

|date4 =August 17

|score4 =3–1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-vancouver-canucks-game-4-recap/c-318536446

|4-1-1 =Ryan O'Reilly (2) – pp – 16:43

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Ryan O'Reilly (3) – 06:52
Alex Pietrangelo (1) – pp – 15:47

|4-2-2 =00:40 – J. T. Miller (4)

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Jake Allen 22 saves / 23 shots

|goalie4-2 =Jacob Markstrom 34 saves / 37 shots

|date5 =August 19

|score5 =4–3

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-st-louis-blues-game-5-recap/c-318555210

|5-1-1 =15:41 – Brayden Schenn (2)
19:31 – Ryan O'Reilly (4)

|5-1-2 =Tyler Motte (1) – sh – 13:15

|5-2-1 =05:51 – pp – Zach Sanford (1)

|5-2-2 =J. T. Miller (5) – 11:54
Jake Virtanen (1) – 16:08
Tyler Motte (2) – 18:17

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Jake Allen 26 saves / 30 shots

|goalie5-2 =Jacob Markstrom 36 saves / 39 shots

|date6 =August 21

|score6 =2–6

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/st-louis-blues-vancouver-canucks-game-6-recap/c-318656148

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =03:45 – Jay Beagle (1)

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =02:09 – Antoine Roussel (2)
06:49 – Troy Stecher (2)
08:06 – pp – Brock Boeser (3)

|6-3-1 =Jaden Schwartz (3) – 06:32
Jaden Schwartz (4) – 18:38

|6-3-2 =13:19 – Tyler Motte (3)
19:10 – en – Tyler Motte (4)

|goalie6-1 =Jordan Binnington 14 saves / 18 shots
Jake Allen 5 saves / 6 shots

|goalie6-2 =Jacob Markstrom 34 saves / 36 shots

|series = Vancouver won series 4–2

}}

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Philadelphia winning three of the four previous series. They last met in the 1987 Patrick Division finals, which Philadelphia won in seven games. New York won all three games in this year's regular season series.

The Islanders upset the Flyers in seven games after giving up a 3–1 series lead. Semyon Varlamov posted his second consecutive shutout in game one, stopping all 29 shots for 4–0 Islanders victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-1-recap/c-318689106|title=Islanders shut out Flyers in Game 1 of Eastern Second Round|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 24, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} The Flyers prevented a three-goal comeback from the Islanders in game two with Philippe Myers' goal at 2:41 of overtime to defeat New York 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-2-recap/c-318687894|title=Flyers use OT to defeat Islanders in Game 2, even Eastern Second Round|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 26, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} Varlamov made 26 saves for the Islanders in game three, emerging victorious 3–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-new-york-islanders-game-3-recap/c-318712902|title=Islanders top Flyers in Game 3 of Eastern Second Round, take series lead|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 29, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} In game four, Brock Nelson scored twice and Thomas Greiss made 36 saves for the Islanders in a 3–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-new-york-islanders-game-4-recap/c-318713116|title=Islanders defeat Flyers in Game 4 of Eastern Second Round, extend lead|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 30, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} Although the Flyers dropped a 3–1 lead in the third period of game five, they forced a sixth game on Scott Laughton's overtime goal to win 4–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-5-recap/c-318793368|title=Flyers use OT to defeat Islanders in Game 5, extend Eastern Second Round|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 2, 2020}} In game six, the Flyers held a back-and-forth affair reaching the second overtime where Ivan Provorov's goal at 15:03 kept Philadelphia's season alive, defeating New York 5–4.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-new-york-islanders-game-6-recap/c-318858468|title=Flyers top Islanders in 2OT in Game 6 of Eastern Second Round, tie series|last=Compton|first=Brian|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 3, 2020}} In game seven, Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists and Greiss stopped all sixteen shots he faced in a 4–0 shutout to send the Islanders to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 27 years.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-7-recap/c-318859214|title=Islanders shut out Flyers in Game 7, advance to Eastern Conference Final|last=Kimelman|first=Adam|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 5, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 5, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Philadelphia Flyers

|team2=New York Islanders

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 24

|score1 =4–0

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-1-recap/c-318689106

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Andy Greene (1) – 06:06

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5) – 02:54
Anders Lee (4) – 08:50
Devon Toews (1) – en – 12:21

|goalie1-1 =Carter Hart 25 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Semyon Varlamov 29 saves / 29 shots

|date2 =August 26

|score2 =3–4

|ot2 =1

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-2-recap/c-318687894

|2-1-1 =01:57 – Kevin Hayes (2)
09:43 – Kevin Hayes (3)
15:09 – Sean Couturier (1)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =Anders Lee (5) – pp – 11:45

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Anthony Beauvillier (7) – 11:11
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6) – 17:51

|2-4-1 =02:41 – Philippe Myers (3)

|2-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Carter Hart 31 saves / 34 shots

|goalie2-2 =Semyon Varlamov 7 saves / 10 shots
Thomas Greiss 20 saves / 21 shots

|date3 =August 29

|score3 =1–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-new-york-islanders-game-3-recap/c-318712902

|3-1-1 =Tyler Pitlick (2) – 14:18

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =07:12 – Matt Martin (3)
19:54 – Leo Komarov (1)

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =03:41 – pp – Anders Lee (6)

|goalie3-1 =Carter Hart 26 saves / 29 shots

|goalie3-2 =Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 27 shots

|date4 =August 30

|score4 =2–3

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-new-york-islanders-game-4-recap/c-318713116

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Sean Couturier (2) – 15:19

|4-2-2 =06:52 – Brock Nelson (4)

|4-3-1 =Ivan Provorov (2) – 18:55

|4-3-2 =07:18 – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (7)
11:12 – Brock Nelson (5)

|goalie4-1 =Brian Elliott 30 saves / 33 shots

|goalie4-2 =Thomas Greiss 36 saves / 38 shots

|date5 =September 1

|score5 =3–4

|ot5 =1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-5-recap/c-318793368

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =15:45 – Claude Giroux (1)
18:18 – James van Riemsdyk (1)

|5-2-2 =Mathew Barzal (4) – pp – 01:20

|5-3-1 =04:32 – Matt Niskanen (1)

|5-3-2 =Brock Nelson (6) – 15:46
Derick Brassard (1) – 17:19

|5-4-1 =12:20 – Scott Laughton (4)

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Carter Hart 29 saves / 32 shots

|goalie5-2 =Semyon Varlamov 28 saves / 32 shots

|date6 =September 3

|score6 =5–4

|ot6 =2

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-new-york-islanders-game-6-recap/c-318858468

|6-1-1 =Kevin Hayes (4) – 10:16
James van Riemsdyk (2) – 11:52

|6-1-2 =16:33 – Derick Brassard (2)

|6-2-1 =Michael Raffl (4) – 13:21

|6-2-2 =01:24 – Matt Martin (4)
03:06 – pp – Anders Lee (7)
19:30 – Mathew Barzal (5)

|6-3-1 =Scott Laughton (5) – 09:53

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|6-4-1 =Ivan Provorov (3) – 15:03

|6-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Carter Hart 49 saves / 53 shots

|goalie6-2 =Semyon Varlamov 26 saves / 31 shots

|date7 =September 5

|score7 =4–0

|won7 =2

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-philadelphia-flyers-game-7-recap/c-318859214

|7-1-1 =No scoring

|7-1-2 =Scott Mayfield (1) – 09:27
Andy Greene (2) – 13:12

|7-2-1 =No scoring

|7-2-2 =Brock Nelson (7) – 11:26

|7-3-1 =No scoring

|7-3-2 =Anthony Beauvillier (8) – en – 13:42

|goalie7-1 =Carter Hart 22 saves / 25 shots

|goalie7-2 =Thomas Greiss 16 saves / 16 shots

|series = New York won series 4–3

}}

This was the third playoff series between these two teams with both teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 2018 Eastern Conference second round, which Tampa Bay won in five games. Tampa Bay won the round-robin game between these two teams earlier in this year's playoffs 3–2. Tampa Bay won three of four games in this year's regular season series.

The Lightning defeated the Bruins in five games. Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves for the Bruins in game one who defeated the Lightning 3–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-318688626|title=Bruins hold off Lightning in Game 1 of Eastern Second Round|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 23, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} In game two, Ondrej Palat scored the overtime-winning goal for Tampa Bay, tying the series 1–1 in a 4–3. victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-318689108|title=Lightning top Bruins in OT in Game 2 of Eastern Second Round, even series|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 25, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} The Lightning had an offensive outburst in game three, scoring seven goals against Boston in a 7–1 rout.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins-game-3-recap/c-318688636|title=Lightning score seven, top Bruins in Game 3 for Eastern Second Round lead|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 28, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} Palat scored twice for the Lightning in game four, defeating the Bruins 3–1 and taking a 3–1 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins-game-4-recap/c-318713112|title=Lightning defeat Bruins in Game 4 of Eastern Second Round, extend lead|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 29, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} In game five, Victor Hedman ended the series 14:10 into double-overtime for the Lightning, defeating the Bruins 3–2 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-tampa-bay-lightning-game-5-recap/c-318713388|title=Lightning eliminate Bruins in 2OT of Game 5, advance to Eastern Final|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 31, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=Boston Bruins

|stadium1=Scotiabank Arena

|stadium2=Scotiabank Arena

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 23

|score1 =3–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-318688626

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =Charlie Coyle (3) – 18:52

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =David Pastrnak (2) – pp – 04:34

|1-3-1 =08:50 – Victor Hedman (2)
18:46 – Victor Hedman (3)

|1-3-2 =Brad Marchand (4) – 01:17

|goalie1-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 28 saves / 31 shots

|goalie1-2 =Jaroslav Halak 35 saves / 37 shots

|date2 =August 25

|score2 =3–4

|ot2 =1

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-318689108

|2-1-1 =12:42 – Blake Coleman (2)

|2-1-2 =Nick Ritchie (1) – 03:14

|2-2-1 =15:28 – Nikita Kucherov (3)

|2-2-2 =Brad Marchand (5) – pp – 14:33

|2-3-1 =10:40 – Blake Coleman (3)

|2-3-2 =Brad Marchand (6) – 16:02

|2-4-1 =04:40 – Ondrej Palat (1)

|2-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 25 shots

|goalie2-2 =Jaroslav Halak 36 saves / 40 shots

|date3 =August 26

|score3 =7–1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins-game-3-recap/c-318688636

|3-1-1 =Ondrej Palat (2) – pp – 12:46
Yanni Gourde (3) – 13:01

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =Mikhail Sergachev (1) – pp – 02:14
Alex Killorn (3) – pp – 08:35
Brayden Point (6) – 15:23
Alex Killorn (4) – 18:01

|3-2-2 =04:56 – pp – Brad Marchand (7)

|3-3-1 =Nikita Kucherov (4) – 03:58

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 23 saves / 24 shots

|goalie3-2 =Jaroslav Halak 12 saves / 16 shots
Dan Vladar 12 saves / 15 shots

|date4 =August 29

|score4 =3–1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins-game-4-recap/c-318713112

|4-1-1 =Ondrej Palat (3) – 08:59

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Ondrej Palat (4) – 12:29
Victor Hedman (4) – pp – 18:04

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =07:04 – pp – Jake DeBrusk (4)

|goalie4-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 29 saves / 30 shots

|goalie4-2 =Jaroslav Halak 23 saves / 26 shots

|date5 =August 31

|score5 =2–3

|ot5 =2

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-tampa-bay-lightning-game-5-recap/c-318713388

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =04:21 – Ondrej Palat (5)

|5-2-2 =David Pastrnak (3) – pp – 12:38

|5-3-1 =12:03 – Anthony Cirelli (2)

|5-3-2 =David Krejci (4) – 17:27

|5-4-1 =14:10 – Victor Hedman (5)

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 45 saves / 47 shots

|goalie5-2 =Jaroslav Halak 32 saves / 35 shots

|series = Tampa Bay won series 4–1

}}

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. These two teams split their two-game regular season series.

The Golden Knights defeated the Canucks in seven games after giving up a 3–1 series lead. In game one, Robin Lehner stopped all 26 shots he faced as the Golden Knights defeated the Canucks 5–0.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-1-recap/c-318689706|title=Golden Knights score five, blank Canucks in Game 1 of West Second Round|last=Morreale|first=Mike|date=August 23, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} Jacob Markstrom made 38 saves for the Canucks in game two, tying the series 1–1 and defeating the Golden Knights 5–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-2-recap/c-318688632|title=Canucks top Golden Knights in Game 2 of Western Second Round, even series|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 25, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} Lehner posted his second shutout of the series, stopping all 31 shots in game three, defeating the Canucks 3–0.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-vancouver-canucks-game-3-recap/c-318712908|title=Golden Knights shut out Canucks in Game 3, take series lead|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 29, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} Max Pacioretty scored twice and provided an assist for the Golden Knights in game four, who defeated the Canucks 5–3 to take a 3–1 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-vancouver-canucks-game-4-recap/c-318713044|title=Golden Knights rally past Canucks in Game 4, extend series lead|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 30, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} In game five, rookie goaltender Thatcher Demko made 42 saves for the Canucks, defeating the Golden Knights 2–1 to force a sixth game.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-5-recap/c-318793750|title=Canucks top Golden Knights in Game 5 of West Second Round, extend series|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 1, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 2, 2020}} Demko shut out the Golden Knights in game six, stopping all 48 shots he faced in a 4–0 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-vancouver-canucks-game-6-recap/c-318858290|title=Canucks blank Golden Knights in Game 6 of West Second Round, even series|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 3, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 3, 2020}} In game seven, the Golden Knights limited the Canucks' shots to fourteen throughout three periods, shutting out Vancouver 3–0 and advancing to the Western Conference Final.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-7-recap/c-318858484|title=Golden Knights shut out Canucks in Game 7, advance to West Final|last=Morreale|first=Mike|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 4, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vegas Golden Knights

|team2=Vancouver Canucks

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 23

|score1 =0–5

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-1-recap/c-318689706

|1-1-1 =11:37 – Jonathan Marchessault (3)

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =02:13 – pp – Reilly Smith (4)
11:35 – Mark Stone (5)
16:34 – Alex Tuch (5)

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =10:47 – Max Pacioretty (2)

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Robin Lehner 26 saves / 26 shots

|goalie1-2 =Jacob Markstrom 29 saves / 34 shots
Thatcher Demko 5 saves / 5 shots

|date2 =August 25

|score2 =5–2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-2-recap/c-318688632

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =Tyler Toffoli (1) – 01:29
Bo Horvat (7) – pp – 10:59

|2-2-1 =06:34 – Alex Tuch (6)

|2-2-2 =Elias Pettersson (5) – 18:35

|2-3-1 =18:34 – pp – Max Pacioretty (3)

|2-3-2 =Bo Horvat (8) – 00:18
Tanner Pearson (4) – en – 19:30

|goalie2-1 =Robin Lehner 22 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Jacob Markstrom 38 saves / 40 shots

|date3 =August 29

|score3 =3–0

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-vancouver-canucks-game-3-recap/c-318712908

|3-1-1 =Alex Tuch (7) – 04:05
Zach Whitecloud (2) – 05:28

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =Mark Stone (6) – pp – 02:19

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Robin Lehner 31 saves / 31 shots

|goalie3-2 =Jacob Markstrom 31 saves / 34 shots

|date4 =August 30

|score4 =5–3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-vancouver-canucks-game-4-recap/c-318713044

|4-1-1 =Max Pacioretty (4) – pp – 09:28
Chandler Stephenson (2) – 13:19

|4-1-2 =11:15 – pp – Elias Pettersson (6)

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =04:07 – Bo Horvat (9)
11:26 – pp – Tyler Toffoli (2)

|4-3-1 =Nate Schmidt (2) – 02:52
Max Pacioretty (5) – 07:02
William Karlsson (3) – 08:29

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Marc-Andre Fleury 28 saves / 31 shots

|goalie4-2 =Jacob Markstrom 28 saves / 33 shots

|date5 =September 1

|score5 =2–1

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-5-recap/c-318793750

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =15:12 – Shea Theodore (5)

|5-2-2 =Brock Boeser (4) – 15:36

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =Elias Pettersson (7) – 03:19

|goalie5-1 =Robin Lehner 15 saves / 17 shots

|goalie5-2 =Thatcher Demko 42 saves / 43 shots

|date6 =September 3

|score6 =0–4

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-vancouver-canucks-game-6-recap/c-318858290

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =02:50 – Jake Virtanen (2)

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =01:03 – J. T. Miller (6)
08:16 – Quinn Hughes (2)
15:22 – en – Bo Horvat (10)

|goalie6-1 =Robin Lehner 19 saves / 22 shots

|goalie6-2 =Thatcher Demko 48 saves / 48 shots

|date7 =September 4

|score7 =0–3

|won7 =1

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vegas-golden-knights-game-7-recap/c-318858484

|7-1-1 =No scoring

|7-1-2 =No scoring

|7-2-1 =No scoring

|7-2-2 =No scoring

|7-3-1 =13:52 – pp – Shea Theodore (6)
17:54 – en – Alex Tuch (8)
19:54 – en – Paul Stastny (2)

|7-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie7-1 =Robin Lehner 14 saves / 14 shots

|goalie7-2 =Thatcher Demko 33 saves / 34 shots

|series = Vegas won series 4–3

}}

This was the fifth playoff series between these two teams, with both teams splitting the four previous series. They last met in the 2006 Western Conference quarterfinals, which Colorado won in five games. Colorado won the round-robin game between these two teams earlier in this year's playoffs 4–0. Dallas won all four games in this year's regular season series.

The Stars defeated the Avalanche in seven games after giving up a 3–1 series lead. In game one, Alexander Radulov scored twice, also providing an assist, in a 5–3 victory for the Stars.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-1-recap/c-318679588|title=Radulov, Stars defeat Avalanche in Game 1 of Western Second Round|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 22, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} After falling behind 2–0 in game two, the Stars rallied past the Avalanche, scoring four goals in the second period and defeating Colorado 5–2.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-2-recap/c-318687890|title=Stars rally past Avalanche in Game 2 of Western Second Round, extend lead|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 24, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 26, 2020}} In game three, the Avalanche spoiled a two-goal comeback by the Stars, scoring three straight in the third period with 7:58 remaining to defeat Dallas 6–4.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-3-recap/c-318687898|title=Avalanche top Stars in Game 3 of West Second Round, first win of series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 26, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} The Stars held off a late rally by the Avalanche in game four, keeping the score at 5–4 and taking a 3–1 series lead with the victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-4-recap/c-318713114|title=Stars defeat Avalanche in Game 4 of Western Second Round, extend lead|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 30, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 31, 2020}} In game five, the Avalanche had a first period offensive outburst, scoring five goals, including four within a span of 2:36 (one second from equalling the league record for the fastest four goals by one team in a game in playoff history) to win 6–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-5-recap/c-318713148|title=Avalanche defeat Stars in Game 5 of Western Second Round, extend series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=August 31, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 2, 2020}} Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to fourteen games, scoring a goal and recording an assist in game six to defeat the Stars 4–1 and force a seventh game.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-6-recap/c-318793370|title=Avalanche defeat Stars in Game 6 of Western Second Round, even series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 2, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 2, 2020}} In game seven, the two teams battled it throughout three periods scoring four against each other, but 7:24 into overtime Joel Kiviranta's hat trick goal gave the Stars the victory, advancing to the Western Conference Final with a 5–4 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-7-recap/c-318859210|title=Stars top Avalanche in Game 7, advance to Western Conference Final|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 4, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 4, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Colorado Avalanche

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =August 22

|score1 =5–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-1-recap/c-318679588

|1-1-1 =05:04 – Nathan MacKinnon (5)

|1-1-2 =Tyler Seguin (1) – 04:00
Blake Comeau (1) – 09:51
Alexander Radulov (3) – 16:28

|1-2-1 =04:36 – Gabriel Landeskog (1)
18:29 – Nathan MacKinnon (6)

|1-2-2 =Alexander Radulov (4) – 09:09

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Roope Hintz (1) – 08:47

|goalie1-1 =Philipp Grubauer 7 saves / 10 shots
Pavel Francouz 18 saves / 20 shots

|goalie1-2 =Anton Khudobin 28 saves / 31 shots

|date2 =August 24

|score2 =5–2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-2-recap/c-318687890

|2-1-1 =06:08 – pp – Nathan MacKinnon (7)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =08:44 – pp – Mikko Rantanen (4)

|2-2-2 =Joe Pavelski (7) – pp – 09:54
Radek Faksa (2) – pp – 10:37
Alexander Radulov (5) – 15:34
Esa Lindell (1) – 19:14

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Jamie Oleksiak (3) – en – 19:50

|goalie2-1 =Pavel Francouz 22 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Anton Khudobin 38 saves / 40 shots

|date3 =August 26

|score3 =6–4

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-3-recap/c-318687898

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =11:12 – Tyler Seguin (2)

|3-2-1 =Nikita Zadorov (2) – 01:00
Andre Burakovsky (4) – 04:41
Gabriel Landeskog (2) – 11:00

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =Mikko Rantanen (5) – 12:02
Nazem Kadri (7) – 13:54
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (1) – en – 18:26

|3-3-2 =04:42 – Denis Gurianov (7)
09:02 – Blake Comeau (2)
10:47 – Jamie Benn (3)

|goalie3-1 =Pavel Francouz 33 saves / 37 shots

|goalie3-2 =Anton Khudobin 26 saves / 31 shots

|date4 =August 30

|score4 =4–5

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-4-recap/c-318713114

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =06:18 – John Klingberg (2)
08:33 – pp – Radek Faksa (3)
10:45 – pp – Jamie Benn (4)

|4-2-1 =Valeri Nichushkin (1) – 13:24
Cale Makar (3) – pp – 19:34

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =Valeri Nichushkin (2) – 11:24
Vladislav Namestnikov (2) – 19:56

|4-3-2 =07:30 – pp – Roope Hintz (2)
08:02 – Denis Gurianov (8)

|goalie4-1 =Pavel Francouz 21 saves / 26 shots
Michael Hutchinson 3 saves / 3 shots

|goalie4-2 =Anton Khudobin 33 saves / 37 shots

|date5 =August 31

|score5 =3–6

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-5-recap/c-318713148

|5-1-1 =04:37 – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (2)
11:51 – Andre Burakovsky (5)
12:32 – Nathan MacKinnon (8)
13:43 – Nazem Kadri (8)
14:27 – Mikko Rantanen (6)

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =18:04 – Andre Burakovsky (6)

|5-2-2 =Joe Pavelski (8) – 07:50
Miro Heiskanen (4) – pp – 17:31

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =Jamie Benn (5) – pp – 14:12

|goalie5-1 =Michael Hutchinson 31 saves / 34 shots

|goalie5-2 =Ben Bishop 15 saves / 19 shots
Anton Khudobin 20 saves / 22 shots

|date6 =September 2

|score6 =4–1

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-dallas-stars-game-6-recap/c-318793370

|6-1-1 =Nikita Zadorov (3) – 19:28

|6-1-2 =17:35 – Miro Heiskanen (5)

|6-2-1 =Cale Makar (4) – 07:48

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =Mikko Rantanen (7) – 03:21
Nathan MacKinnon (9) – en – 17:14

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Michael Hutchinson 27 saves / 28 shots

|goalie6-2 =Anton Khudobin 20 saves / 23 shots

|date7 =September 4

|score7 =5–4

|ot7 =1

|won7 =2

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-colorado-avalanche-game-7-recap/c-318859210

|7-1-1 =03:48 – Vladislav Namestnikov (3)
09:43 – Andre Burakovsky (7)

|7-1-2 =Alexander Radulov (6) – pp – 02:39

|7-2-1 =05:45 – pp – Nazem Kadri (9)

|7-2-2 =Joel Kiviranta (1) – 03:06

|7-3-1 =16:20 – Vladislav Namestnikov (4)

|7-3-2 =Alexander Radulov (7) – pp – 11:28
Joel Kiviranta (2) – 16:30

|7-4-1 =No scoring

|7-4-2 =Joel Kiviranta (3) – 07:24

|goalie7-1 =Michael Hutchinson 30 saves / 35 shots

|goalie7-2 =Anton Khudobin 40 saves / 44 shots

|series = Dallas won series 4–3

}}

{{Main|NHL conference finals}}

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with Tampa Bay winning both previous series. They last met in the 2016 Eastern Conference second round, which Tampa Bay won in five games. This was Tampa Bay's sixth conference finals appearance. They last went to the conference finals in 2018, which they lost to the Washington Capitals in seven games. This was New York's fifth appearance in the conference finals. They last went to the conference finals in 1993, which they lost against the Montreal Canadiens in five games. New York won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

The Lightning defeated the Islanders in six games. In game one, Lightning forwards Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov both had five points in an 8–2 rout: Point had two goals and three assists and Kucherov scored a goal and assisted four times.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-318914942|title=Lightning score eight, defeat Islanders in Game 1 of Eastern Final|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 7, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 11, 2020}} Kucherov scored the game-winning goal with nine seconds remaining in game two to give the Lightning a 2–1 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-318925110|title=Kucherov, Lightning defeat Islanders in Game 2 of East Final, extend lead|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 9, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 11, 2020}} After giving up a 3–1 lead in game three, Brock Nelson's goal with 3:25 left put the Islanders ahead, emerging victorious 5–3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-3-recap/c-318958590|title=Islanders recover, top Lightning in Game 3 for first win of Eastern Final|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 11, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 13, 2020}} In game four, three Lightning players had two points and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy provided an assist in Tampa Bay's 4–1 victory to take a 3–1 series lead.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-4-recap/c-318994552|title=Lightning defeat Islanders in Game 4, move one win from Cup Final|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 13, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 14, 2020}} In game five, Islanders forward Jordan Eberle scored at 12:30 of double overtime to win the game 2–1 and extend the series to a sixth game.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-5-recap/c-318993542|title=Islanders top Lightning in 2OT in Game 5 of East Final, avoid elimination|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 15, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 17, 2020}} Anthony Cirelli's goal at 13:18 of the first overtime period in game six gave the Lightning a 2–1 victory sending Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-6-recap/c-318993980|title=Lightning defeat Islanders in OT in Game 6, advance to Cup Final|last=Crosby|first=Wes|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 17, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 17, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=New York Islanders

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =September 7

|score1 =2–8

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-318914942

|1-1-1 =01:14 – Brayden Point (7)
08:12 – pp – Victor Hedman (6)
10:46 – Ryan McDonagh (1)

|1-1-2 =Jordan Eberle (4) – pp – 04:33

|1-2-1 =04:03 – Yanni Gourde (4)
13:18 – pp – Brayden Point (8)

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =05:51 – Nikita Kucherov (5)
09:31 – Ondrej Palat (6)
13:15 – pp – Yanni Gourde (5)

|1-3-2 =Nick Leddy (3) – 08:46

|goalie1-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 24 shots

|goalie1-2 =Thomas Greiss 6 saves / 9 shots
Semyon Varlamov 20 saves / 25 shots

|date2 =September 9

|score2 =1–2

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-318925110

|2-1-1 =18:25 – Victor Hedman (7)

|2-1-2 =Matt Martin (5) – 01:24

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =19:51 – Nikita Kucherov (6)

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 27 saves / 28 shots

|goalie2-2 =Semyon Varlamov 19 saves / 21 shots

|date3 =September 11

|score3 =3–5

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-3-recap/c-318958590

|3-1-1 =Mikhail Sergachev (2) – 16:31

|3-1-2 =12:58 – Cal Clutterbuck (2)

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =11:50 – Adam Pelech (1)
13:50 – Anthony Beauvillier (9)

|3-3-1 =Ondrej Palat (7) – pp – 02:32
Tyler Johnson (4) – 12:04

|3-3-2 =16:35 – Brock Nelson (8)
19:24 – en – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (8)

|goalie3-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 31 saves / 35 shots

|goalie3-2 =Semyon Varlamov 34 saves / 37 shots

|date4 =September 13

|score4 =4–1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-4-recap/c-318994552

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Blake Coleman (4) – 11:42
Ondrej Palat (8) – 11:54

|4-2-2 =11:27 – Brock Nelson (9)

|4-3-1 =Brayden Point (9) – 03:33
Patrick Maroon (1) – en – 17:36

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 26 saves / 27 shots

|goalie4-2 =Semyon Varlamov 32 saves / 35 shots

|date5 =September 15

|score5 =2–1

|ot5 =2

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-5-recap/c-318993542

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =Ryan Pulock (2) – pp – 15:41

|5-2-1 =04:00 – Victor Hedman (8)

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|5-4-1 =No scoring

|5-4-2 =Jordan Eberle (5) – 12:30

|goalie5-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 24 shots

|goalie5-2 =Semyon Varlamov 36 saves / 37 shots

|date6 =September 17

|score6 =2–1

|ot6 =1

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-new-york-islanders-game-6-recap/c-318993980

|6-1-1 =Victor Hedman (9) – 06:28

|6-1-2 =04:15 – Devon Toews (2)

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|6-4-1 =Anthony Cirelli (3) – 13:18

|6-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 26 saves / 27 shots

|goalie6-2 =Semyon Varlamov 46 saves / 48 shots

|series = Tampa Bay won series 4–2

}}

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Vegas won their round-robin game between these two teams earlier in this year's playoffs 5–3. This was Vegas' second appearance in the conference finals. Their only previous conference finals was in 2018, which they won against the Winnipeg Jets in five games. This was Dallas's seventh conference finals appearance. They last went to the conference finals in 2008, which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. These teams split their two games in this year's regular season series.

The Stars defeated the Golden Knights in five games. Anton Khudobin made 25 saves and John Klingberg scored the only goal of game one for the Stars, shutting out Vegas 1–0.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-1-recap/c-318903920|title=Stars shut out Golden Knights in Game 1 of Western Final|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 6, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 13, 2020}} Robin Lehner posted his own shutout in game two, stopping all 24 shots in the Golden Knights' 3–0 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-2-recap/c-318924200|title=Golden Knights shut out Stars in Game 2 of Western Final, even series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 8, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 13, 2020}} In game three, Alexander Radulov gave the Stars a 2–1 series lead after his goal 31 seconds into overtime ensured Dallas a 3–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-dallas-stars-game-3-recap/c-318958588|title=Stars defeat Golden Knights in OT in Game 3 of Western Final, lead series|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 10, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 13, 2020}} Khudobin made 32 saves in game four, leading the Stars to a 2–1 win.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-dallas-stars-game-4-recap/c-318958592|title=Stars hold off Golden Knights in Game 4 of Western Final|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 12, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 13, 2020}} In game five, the Stars came back from a 2–0 deficit in the third period to force overtime and at 3:36 of the first overtime, Denis Gurianov scored to send the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years with a 3–2 victory.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-5-recap/c-318994290|title=Stars defeat Golden Knights in OT in Game 5, reach Stanley Cup Final|last=Satriano|first=David|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 14, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 14, 2020}}

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Vegas Golden Knights

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =September 6

|score1 =1–0

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-1-recap/c-318903920

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =John Klingberg (3) – 02:36

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Marc-Andre Fleury 24 saves / 25 shots

|goalie1-2 =Anton Khudobin 25 saves / 25 shots

|date2 =September 8

|score2 =0–3

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-2-recap/c-318924200

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =04:53 – Paul Stastny (3)
08:24 – pp – William Karlsson (4)
14:32 – Tomas Nosek (2)

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Robin Lehner 24 saves / 24 shots

|goalie2-2 =Anton Khudobin 24 saves / 27 shots
Jake Oettinger 5 saves / 5 shots

|date3 =September 10

|score3 =2–3

|ot3 =1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-dallas-stars-game-3-recap/c-318958588

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =19:43 – Jamie Oleksiak (4)

|3-3-1 =Shea Theodore (7) – pp – 03:49
Mark Stone (7) – 12:46

|3-3-2 =07:35 – Jamie Benn (6)

|3-4-1 =No scoring

|3-4-2 =00:31 – Alexander Radulov (8)

|goalie3-1 =Robin Lehner 20 saves / 23 shots

|goalie3-2 =Anton Khudobin 38 saves / 40 shots

|date4 =September 12

|score4 =1–2

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-dallas-stars-game-4-recap/c-318958592

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =Alec Martinez (2) – pp – 07:44

|4-2-2 =11:34 – Joe Pavelski (9)
19:01 – pp – Jamie Benn (7)

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Robin Lehner 18 saves / 20 shots

|goalie4-2 =Anton Khudobin 32 saves / 33 shots

|date5 =September 14

|score5 =3–2

|ot5 =1

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-vegas-golden-knights-game-5-recap/c-318994290

|5-1-1 =08:14 – Chandler Stephenson (3)

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =00:15 – Reilly Smith (5)

|5-3-2 =Jamie Benn (8) – 09:54
Joel Kiviranta (4) – pp – 16:13

|5-4-1 =No scoring

|5-4-2 =Denis Gurianov (9) – pp – 03:36

|goalie5-1 =Robin Lehner 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie5-2 =Anton Khudobin 34 saves / 36 shots

|series = Dallas won series 4–1

}}

{{Main|2020 Stanley Cup Finals}}

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Tampa Bay made their third Finals appearance. They last went to the Finals in 2015, which they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Dallas made their fifth appearance in the Finals. They last went to the Finals in 2000, which they lost to the New Jersey Devils in six games. Dallas won both games in this year's regular season series.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Tampa Bay Lightning

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium1=Rogers Place

|stadium2=Rogers Place

|homeright=yes

|date1 =September 19

|score1 =4–1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-tampa-bay-lightning-game-1-recap/c-319086578

|1-1-1 =12:32 – Yanni Gourde (6)

|1-1-2 =Joel Hanley (1) – 05:40

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =Jamie Oleksiak (5) – 12:30
Joel Kiviranta (5) – 19:32

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =Jason Dickinson (1) – en – 18:42

|goalie1-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 16 saves / 19 shots

|goalie1-2 =Anton Khudobin 35 saves / 36 shots

|date2 =September 21

|score2 =2–3

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-recap/c-319085378

|2-1-1 =11:23 – pp – Brayden Point (10)
14:22 – pp – Ondrej Palat (9)
15:16 – Kevin Shattenkirk (2)

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =Joe Pavelski (10) – pp – 14:43

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Mattias Janmark (1) – 05:27

|goalie2-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 27 saves / 29 shots

|goalie2-2 =Anton Khudobin 28 saves / 31 shots

|date3 =September 23

|score3 =5–2

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-dallas-stars-game-3-recap/c-319086074

|3-1-1 =Nikita Kucherov (7) – 05:33
Steven Stamkos (1) – 06:58

|3-1-2 =11:19 – sh – Jason Dickinson (2)

|3-2-1 =Victor Hedman (10) – pp – 00:54
Brayden Point (11) – 12:02
Ondrej Palat (10) – 18:55

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =06:49 – Miro Heiskanen (6)

|goalie3-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 24 shots

|goalie3-2 =Anton Khudobin 24 saves / 29 shots
Jake Oettinger 3 saves / 3 shots

|date4 =September 25

|score4 =5–4

|ot4 =1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-dallas-stars-game-4-recap/c-319086076

|4-1-1 =Brayden Point (12) – 19:27

|4-1-2 =07:17 – John Klingberg (4)
18:28 – Joe Pavelski (11)

|4-2-1 =Brayden Point (13) – pp – 02:08
Yanni Gourde (7) – pp – 18:54

|4-2-2 =08:26 – Corey Perry (3)

|4-3-1 =Alex Killorn (5) – 06:41

|4-3-2 =11:35 – Joe Pavelski (12)

|4-4-1 =Kevin Shattenkirk (3) – pp – 06:34

|4-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 26 saves / 30 shots

|goalie4-2 =Anton Khudobin 30 saves / 35 shots

|date5 =September 26

|score5 =3–2

|ot5 =2

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-tampa-bay-lightning-game-5-recap/c-319086196

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =Corey Perry (4) – 17:52

|5-2-1 =04:37 – Ondrej Palat (11)

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =03:38 – Mikhail Sergachev (3)

|5-3-2 =Joe Pavelski (13) – 13:15

|5-4-1 =No scoring

|5-4-2 =Corey Perry (5) – 09:23

|goalie5-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 30 saves / 33 shots

|goalie5-2 =Anton Khudobin 39 saves / 41 shots

|date6 =September 28

|score6 =2–0

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-dallas-stars-game-6-recap/c-319086198

|6-1-1 =Brayden Point (14) – pp – 12:23

|6-1-2 =No scoring

|6-2-1 =Blake Coleman (5) – 07:01

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 22 shots

|goalie6-2 =Anton Khudobin 27 saves / 29 shots

|series = Tampa Bay won series 4–2

}}

These are the top ten skaters based on points, following the conclusion of the playoffs.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20192020&seasonTo=20192020&gameType=3&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals&page=0&pageSize=50 |title=NHL.com Stats |publisher=NHL Enterprises, L.P. |website=NHL.com}}

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/stats/goalies?reportType=season&sort=a_goalsAgainstAverage&seasonFrom=20192020&seasonTo=20192020&gameType=3&filter=timeOnIce,gte,420 |title=NHL.com - Stats |website=NHL.com |publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.}}

{{main|2020 American athlete strikes}}

On August 26, 2020, various professional athletes in the U.S began to go on strike from their respective sports contests in response to the August 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the protests which followed. These strikes began with the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).{{cite web

|last1=Bontemps|first1=Tim|last2=Andrews|first2=Malika|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29747523/bucks-not-taking-court-game-5-vs-magic|title=Bucks boycotting Game 5 vs. Magic, source says|publisher=ESPN|date=August 26, 2020|access-date=September 5, 2020}} Other players in the NBA, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and Women's National Basketball Association soon followed suit and also decided not to play their August 26 games.{{cite magazine|last1=Gregory|first1=Sean|title=Why Jacob Blake's Shooting Sparked an Unprecedented Sports Boycott|url=https://time.com/5883892/boycott-nba-mlb-wnba-jacob-blake/|access-date=September 5, 2020|magazine=Time|publisher=Time U.S.A. LLC |date=August 27, 2020}}

When these cancellations south of the border began, NHL players were still isolated in the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles, with game two of the Islanders–Flyers series already in progress when the Bucks first announced their decision to not play. The NHL then continued to play the remaining August 26 games, as NHL players did not take a strong stand for the rest of the day. After pressure brought by the postponement of games by the other leagues, and discussions by players of the Hockey Diversity Alliance such as Evander Kane and Mathew Dumba, the NHLPA announced that they would not play their games on August 27 and August 28. The affected games involved all eight teams remaining: game three between the Flyers and Islanders, game three between the Golden Knights and Canucks, game four between the Lightning and Bruins, and game four between the Avalanche and Stars. The NHL fully supported their decision to postpone the games.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhlpa-announces-they-will-not-play-in-thursday-or-fridays-stanley-cup-playoff-games/|title=NHLPA announces they will not play in Thursday or Friday's Stanley Cup Playoff games|last=Bengel|first=Chris|publisher=CBS Interactive|date=August 27, 2020|website=CBSSports.com|access-date=August 27, 2020}} On September 1, Dallas Stars president Brad Alberts reported that his team had lost some corporate and personal season ticket holders as a result of the protest.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/amp/3456201001|title=Dallas Stars president says team lost season ticket holders over Black Lives Matter support|last=Reyes|first=Lorenzo|publisher=USA Today|date=September 1, 2020|website=USAToday.com|access-date=September 12, 2020}}

This marked the sixth postseason under Rogers Media's 12-year contract for Canadian television rights to the NHL. All games were exclusively broadcast by Sportsnet and CBC under the Hockey Night in Canada brand, and streamed on Sportsnet Now, CBCSports.ca (for games televised by CBC), or the subscription service Rogers NHL Live.{{cite press release|url=https://media.sportsnet.ca/2020/07/three-leagues-one-network-game-on-sportsnet-is-canadas-home-to-the-return-of-live-nhl-mlb-and-nba-action-this-summer/|title=Three Leagues. One Network. Game On! Sportsnet is Canada's Home to the Return of Live NHL, MLB and NBA Action This Summer|work=Sportsnet|publisher=Rogers Sports & Media|date=July 20, 2020|access-date=July 20, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnet-announces-stanley-cup-qualifiers-broadcasting-schedule/|title=Sportsnet announces Stanley Cup Qualifiers broadcasting schedule|work=Sportsnet|publisher=Rogers Sports & Media|date=July 20, 2020|access-date=July 20, 2020}}

This also marked the ninth postseason under NBC Sports' current 10-year contract for American rights. All national coverage of games were aired on either NBCSN, the NBC broadcast network, CNBC, NHL Network, or USA Network. During the round-robins, qualifying round, and first round, excluding games exclusively broadcast on NBC, the regional rightsholders of each participating U.S. team produced local telecasts of their respective games.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41095824-4|title=The NHL is still working on U.S. broadcast plans for its 24-team postseason restart|last=Wyshynski|first=Greg|website=ESPN.com|date=July 7, 2020|access-date=July 20, 2020}}{{cite press release|url=https://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2020/07/21/nbc-sports-to-present-up-to-120-hours-of-2020-stanley-cup-qualifiers-coverage-on-nbc-nbcsn-and-usa-network-beginning-august-1/|title=NBC Sports to Present Up To 120 Hours of 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers Coverage|work=NBC Sports|date=July 21, 2020|access-date=July 21, 2020}}

Only technical staff such as cameramen and producers were present inside the "bubble". A clean host feed was then sent to media partners to add commentary and surrounding coverage, and interviews with players had to be conducted via videoconferencing.{{cite web |title=NHL media remain in flux while awaiting finalized coverage plans ahead of restart|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-playoffs-media-coverage-1.5627840|last=Morris|first=Jim|website=CBC.ca|date=June 26, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada}} Commentators called the games remotely off of monitors from either their respective studios or from their home arena press boxes. This same arrangement was also done for the radio networks of every team.{{cite news|url=https://wgnradio.com/bob-sirott/troy-murray-on-broadcasting-games-while-not-in-the-stadium-it-had-a-winter-classic-feel-to-it/|title=Troy Murray on broadcasting games while not in the stadium: It had a Winter Classic feel to it|last=Sirott|first=Bob|date=July 30, 2020|work=WGN Radio|publisher=Nexstar Media Group|access-date=August 2, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/nhl-adds-to-bubble-atmosphere-with-gameday-television-changes/c-317744128|title=NHL adds atmosphere to postseason games during unique time|last=Svoboda|first=Jeff|date=August 1, 2020|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|access-date=August 2, 2020}}

While it was initially stated that all commentators would broadcast remotely, the league eventually allowed a handful of both Sportsnet and NBC commentators and reporters into the hubs to call select games. Chris Cuthbert, who jumped from TSN to Sportsnet during the break in June, and Louie DeBrusk were on-site in Edmonton;{{Cite news|url=https://edmontonsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/edmonton-oilers/jones-chris-cuthbert-ready-to-bring-edmontons-hub-city-to-hockey-fans|title=Chris Cuthbert ready to bring Edmonton's Hub City to hockey fans|first=Terry|last=Jones|newspaper=Edmonton Sun|date=July 21, 2020|access-date=July 30, 2020}} and Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson were on-site in Toronto during the qualifying, first, and second rounds; they later moved to the Edmonton hub.{{Cite web|last=Sadler|first=Emily|title=Hockey's back, and here's how you can expect broadcasts to change|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hockeys-back-heres-can-expect-broadcasts-change/|website=Sportsnet.ca|publisher=Rogers Sports & Media|date=July 28, 2020|access-date=July 30, 2020}} For NBC, John Forslund, Mike Milbury, and Brian Boucher were initially sent to Toronto; and Pierre McGuire to Edmonton. Milbury was later removed from commentary for the remainder of NBC Sports' coverage after making insensitive comments following the fifth game of the Islanders–Capitals first round series.{{Cite news|last1=Bonesteel|first1=Matt|last2=Russell|first2=Jake|title=NBC Sports announces Mike Milbury has stepped away from his role as NHL analyst for rest of playoffs|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/08/21/mike-milbury-nhl-analyst-nba-sports-apologizes-comments-about-women/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 23, 2020|access-date=September 11, 2020}} Gord Miller later joined Forslund, Milbury, and Boucher at the Toronto bubble and alternated with Forslund on a handful of broadcasts.{{Cite tweet|user=GMillerTSN|author=Gord Miller|number=1289648238287609857|date=August 2, 2020|title=Getting ready for puck drop in Toronto, game one of the Qualifying Round series between the Panthers and Islanders. I’ll be with ⁦@AJMleczko at 4pm et on ⁦@NBCSN}} Most of NBC's other commentators began working games remotely from NBC Sports' studios in Stamford, Connecticut, with NBC planning for "the majority of calls" to eventually be conducted on-site, including the last two rounds of the playoffs in Edmonton.{{Cite news|date=July 28, 2020|last=Schwartz|first=Jared|title=NBC reveals its plan for covering the NHL playoffs|url=https://www.nypost.com/2020/07/28/nbc-reveals-its-plan-for-covering-the-nhl-playoffs/|newspaper=New York Post|access-date=July 29, 2020}}{{Cite web|date=July 28, 2020|title=NBC Sports Announces Commentary and Production Details Ahead of NHL'S 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers|url=https://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2020/07/27/nbc-sports-announces-commentary-and-production-details-ahead-of-nhls-2020-stanley-cup-qualifiers/|publisher=NBC Universal|access-date=July 29, 2020}} Kenny Albert, who worked for both NBC and the New York Rangers radio broadcasts, traveled to the Edmonton bubble after the Rangers were eliminated in the qualifying round. Albert called play-by-play of every game of the Western Conference second round and the first three games of the Western Conference finals before leaving the Edmonton bubble to join the NFL on Fox broadcast team. Forslund, Boucher, and Eddie Olczyk later flew to the Edmonton bubble to call the conference finals.{{Cite web|date=August 17, 2020|title=Isles and NHL playoff schedule a wild ride for broadcasters Brendan Burke and A.J. Mleczko|url=https://www.newsday.com/sports/media/islanders-msg-nbc-brendan-burke-aj-mleczko-1.48226800|last=Best|first=Neil|publisher=Newsday|website=Newsday.com|access-date=August 17, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Doc Emrick will call Islanders-Lightning series starting in Game 4|url=https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/neil-best/doc-emrick-islanders-1.49132489|last=Best|first=Neil|website=Newsday|date=September 9, 2020|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913094124/https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/neil-best/doc-emrick-islanders-1.49132489|url-status=dead}} In the case of NBC lead play-by-play commentator Mike "Doc" Emrick, he was working games from his home studio in Metro Detroit because he is a cancer survivor over the age of 70, and therefore at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.{{Cite web|date=July 31, 2020|title=NHL Returns: League, NBC Sports, Rogers SportsNet Ready Made-for-TV Product as Quest for Stanley Cup Resumes|url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/07/31/nhl-returns-league-nbc-sports-rogers-sportsnet-ready-made-for-tv-product-as-quest-for-stanley-cup-resumes/|last=Costa|first=Brandon|publisher=Sports Video Group|access-date=August 14, 2020}}

Additional cameras were used to provide new angles not usually possible when a crowd is present, and de-emphasize views of the arenas' stands. The telecasts used simulated crowd noise provided by Electronic Arts, combined with recordings of team-specific chants by season ticketholders of participating teams (the latter of which were also be played in-arena). All games carried a five second broadcast delay in order to censor offensive language.{{Cite news|last=Thomas|first=Jim|title=Blues notebook: Fans asked to participate in virtual cheering for playoffs|language=en|work=St. Louis Post Dispatch|url=https://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/blues-notebook-fans-asked-to-participate-in-virtual-cheering-for-playoffs/article_e014e18a-3cc8-52db-bc7d-f26e146a410f.html|date=July 21, 2020|access-date=July 21, 2020}}{{Cite web|last=Francis|first=Eric|date=July 21, 2020|title=NHL teams seek 'somewhat normal' atmosphere in home away from home|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-teams-seek-somewhat-normal-atmosphere-home-away-home/|access-date=July 21, 2020|website=Sportsnet.ca|publisher=Rogers Media}}

NBC staff were working on the Toronto broadcasts, while Sportsnet staff did the same with the Edmonton broadcasts.{{cite news|last=Simmons|first=Steve|date=July 13, 2020|title=SIMMONS: 'NHL sold us out,' Canadian broadcast worker says. 'Government sold us out'|newspaper=Toronto Sun|url=https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/simmons-nhl-sold-us-out-canadian-broadcast-worker-says-government-sold-us-out|access-date=July 29, 2020}} Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reported that Canadian freelance broadcast workers were upset that NBC personnel were being allowed into Canada to work in Toronto instead of them. The NHL's EVP of communications Gary Meagher stated that splitting production in this manner had been intended "from the onset". Premier of Ontario Doug Ford admitted that plans of NBC's involvement were not part of the early negotiations with the league.{{cite news |title=NHL defends decision to have NBC broadcast restart from Toronto hub|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-broadcast-nbc-ontario-government-1.5649894|website=CBC.ca|publisher=Canadian Press|date=July 14, 2020|access-date=July 29, 2020}}

Average U.S. viewership of the playoff rounds were down by 28% compared to 2019, the lowest to-date over the course of NBC's current broadcast rights contract. Amid expanded competition due to the difference in scheduling, game one of the Stanley Cup Finals was seen by only 2.12 million viewers;{{Cite web|title=In challenging year, NHL enters Cup Final at low|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/09/stanley-cup-ratings-nbc-nbcsn-viewership-entering-final/|date=September 18, 2020|access-date=September 23, 2020|publisher=Sports Media Watch|website=SportsMediaWatch.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Facing unprecedented competition, NHL playoff ratings are in the tank|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/ratings/facing-unprecedented-competition-nhl-playoff-ratings-are-in-the-tank.html|last=Lucia|first=Joe|publisher=www.AwfulAnnouncing.com|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=September 23, 2020|website=AwfulAnnouncing.com|language=en-US}} with an average of 2.15 million across the entire series, it was the least-watched Stanley Cup Finals since 2007, and down 61% over 2019. Airing opposite a Monday Night Football contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, Game six was seen by 2.88 million viewers, the least-watched series-clinching game since at least 2000.{{Cite web|date=September 30, 2020|title=Stanley Cup ends with series-highs, but historic lows|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/09/stanley-cup-final-ratings-down-lightning-stars-playoffs/|access-date=October 12, 2020|website=Sports Media Watch|language=en-US}}

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• [https://www.nhl.com/stanley-cup-playoffs/2020 Stanley Cup playoffs]

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{{succession box | before = 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs | title = Stanley Cup playoffs | years = 2020 | after = 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs}}

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{{2019–20 NHL season by team}}

{{Stanley Cup playoffs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs}}

Category:Stanley Cup playoffs

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