2020 NHL postseason: Picks for qualification round, Stanley Cup

After months of a pandemic-induced pause, the NHL returns in earnest Saturday. Players will hit the ice again as the NHL's return-to-play plan hits Phase 4 and the postseason begins.

Unlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12 teams from each conference playing in fan-less arenas in Toronto (for the East) and Edmonton (for the West). The top four teams in each conference are in the round of 16, and seeds 5 through 12 will square off to see who will take the next step toward immortality.

We gathered our panel of NHL experts to make their picks on each qualification-round series, along with how they foresee the round-robin teams finishing.

More: Check out the full NHL postseason schedule here.

Jump to:br/>East round-robin | PIT-MTLbr/>CAR-NYR | NYI-FLA | TOR-CBJbr/>West round-robin | EDM-CHIbr/>NSH-ARI | VAN-MIN | CGY-WPG

Eastern Conference

Round-robin: No. 1 Boston Bruins, No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning, No. 3 Washington Capitals, No. 4 Philadelphia Flyers

Sean Allen: Lightning, Capitals, Bruins, Flyers

>Ben Arledge: Lightning, Bruins, Capitals, Flyers

Pierre Becquey:Bruins, Lightning, Capitals, Flyers

>John Buccigross:Lightning, Bruins, Capitals, Flyers

>Sach Chandan:Lightning, Bruins, Capitals, Flyers

>Linda Cohn:Lightning, Capitals, Bruins, Flyers

>Aimee Crawford:Lightning, Bruins, Capitals, Flyers

>Dimitri Filipovic:Bruins, Lightning, Capitals, Flyers

>Emily Kaplan:Bruins, Capitals, Lightning, Flyers

>Tim Kavanagh:Lightning, Flyers, Bruins, Capitals

>Don La Greca:Bruins, Capitals, Lightning, Flyers

>Vince Masi:Capitals, Flyers, Bruins, Lightning

>Victoria Matiash:Lightning, Bruins, Capitals, Flyers

>Arda Ocal:Bruins, Lightning, Capitals, Flyers

>Greg Wyshynski:Bruins, Lightning, Flyers, Capitals

No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 12 Montreal Canadiens

Sean Allen:Penguins in 4

>Ben Arledge:Penguins in 4

>Pierre Becquey:Penguins in 4

>John Buccigross:Penguins in 5

>Sach Chandan: Canadiens in 5

>Linda Cohn:Penguins in 4

>Aimee Crawford:Penguins in 3

>Dimitri Filipovic:Penguins in 4

>Emily Kaplan:Penguins in 4

>Tim Kavanagh:Penguins in 3

>Don La Greca:Penguins in 4

>Vince Masi:Penguins in 4

>Victoria Matiash:Penguins in 5

>Arda Ocal:Penguins in 3

>Greg Wyshynski:Penguins in 3

Top pick: Penguins (14).

No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 11 New York Rangers

Sean Allen:Rangers in 4

>Ben Arledge: Rangers in 5

Pierre Becquey: Hurricanes in 5

>John Buccigross: Rangers in 5

>Sach Chandan:Hurricanes in 4

>Linda Cohn:Rangers in 4

>Aimee Crawford:Rangers in 5

>Dimitri Filipovic:Hurricanes in 5

>Emily Kaplan:Rangers in 5

>Tim Kavanagh:Hurricanes in 4

>Don La Greca:Rangers in 5

>Vince Masi:Hurricanes in 5

>Victoria Matiash:Rangers in 4

>Arda Ocal:Rangers in 5

>Greg Wyshynski: Hurricanes in 4

Top pick: Rangers (9).

No. 7 New York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida Panthers

Sean Allen: Panthers in 4

>Ben Arledge: Islanders in 4

>Pierre Becquey: Panthers in 5

>John Buccigross: Islanders in 5

>Sach Chandan:Panthers in 4

Linda Cohn:Islanders in 5

>Aimee Crawford:Islanders in 5

>Dimitri Filipovic:Islanders in 4

>Emily Kaplan:Islanders in 5

>Tim Kavanagh:Islanders in 3

>Don La Greca:Islanders in 4

>Vince Masi:Islanders in 5

>Victoria Matiash:Panthers in 4

>Arda Ocal:Islanders in 4

>Greg Wyshynski: Islanders in 4

Top pick: Islanders (11).

No. 8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. No. 9 Columbus Blue Jackets

Sean Allen:Maple Leafs in 3

>Ben Arledge: Maple Leafs in 5

>Pierre Becquey: Maple Leafs in 4

>John Buccigross: Blue Jackets in 5

>Sach Chandan:Maple Leafs in 3

>Linda Cohn:Blue Jackets in 5

>Aimee Crawford:Maple Leafs in 4

>Dimitri Filipovic:Maple Leafs in 5

>Emily Kaplan:Maple Leafs in 5

>Tim Kavanagh:Maple Leafs in 4

>Don La Greca:Maple Leafs in 4

>Vince Masi:Blue Jackets in 5

>Victoria Matiash:Maple Leafs in 5

>Arda Ocal:Maple Leafs in 4

>Greg Wyshynski: Maple Leafs in 4

Top pick: Maple Leafs (12).

Western Conference

Round-robin: No. 1 St. Louis Blues, No. 2 Colorado Avalanche, No. 3 Vegas Golden Knights, No. 4 Dallas Stars

Sean Allen:Blues, Golden Knights, Avs, Stars

>Ben Arledge:Golden Knights, Blues, Avs, Stars

Pierre Becquey:Avs, Blues, Golden Knights, Stars

>John Buccigross:Blues, Avs, Stars, Golden Knights

>Sach Chandan:Golden Knights, Blues, Avs, Stars

>Linda Cohn:Golden Knights, Avs, Blues, Stars

>Aimee Crawford:Blues, Avs, Golden Knights, Stars

>Dimitri Filipovic:Avs, Blues, Golden Knights, Stars

>Emily Kaplan:Avs, Blues, Golden Knights, Stars

>Tim Kavanagh:Avs, Blues, Stars, Golden Knights

>Don La Greca:Blues, Avs, Stars, Golden Knights

>Vince Masi:Golden Knights, Avs, Blues, Stars

>Victoria Matiash:Avs, Golden Knights, Blues, Stars

>Arda Ocal:Avs, Blues, Golden Knights, Stars

>Greg Wyshynski:Avs, Blues, Stars, Golden Knights

No. 5 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. 12 Chicago Blackhawks

Sean Allen:Blackhawks in 5

>Ben Arledge:Blackhawks in 5

>Pierre Becquey:Oilers in 5

>John Buccigross:Oilers in 4

>Sach Chandan:Oilers in 3

>Linda Cohn:Oilers in 4

>Aimee Crawford:Oilers in 4

>Dimitri Filipovic:Oilers in 4

>Emily Kaplan:Oilers in 5

>Tim Kavanagh:Blackhawks in 4

>Don La Greca:Oilers in 5

>Vince Masi:Oilers in 4

>Victoria Matiash:Oilers in 4

>Arda Ocal:Oilers in 5

>Greg Wyshynski:Oilers in 4

Top pick: Oilers (12).

No. 6 Nashville Predators vs. No. 11 Arizona Coyotes

Sean Allen:Coyotes in 4

>Ben Arledge: Predators in 4

Pierre Becquey: Predators in 4

>John Buccigross: Predators in 4

>Sach Chandan:Predators in 5

>Linda Cohn:Predators in 5

>Aimee Crawford:Predators in 3

>Dimitri Filipovic:Coyotes in 5

>Emily Kaplan:Predators in 5

>Tim Kavanagh:Predators in 4

>Don La Greca:Predators in 3

>Vince Masi:Predators in 4

>Victoria Matiash:Predators in 3

>Arda Ocal:Coyotes in 5

>Greg Wyshynski: Coyotes in 5

Top pick: Predators (11).

No. 7 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 10 Minnesota Wild

Sean Allen: Wild in 3

>Ben Arledge:Canucks in 3

>Pierre Becquey: Canucks in 4

>John Buccigross: Canucks in 5

>Sach Chandan:Canucks in 3

>Linda Cohn:Canucks in 4

>Aimee Crawford:Canucks in 5

>Dimitri Filipovic:Canucks in 5

>Emily Kaplan:Canucks in 4

>Tim Kavanagh:Wild in 5

>Don La Greca:Canucks in 4

>Vince Masi:Canucks in 5

>Victoria Matiash:Wild in 4

>Arda Ocal:Canucks in 5

>Greg Wyshynski: Canucks in 5

Top pick: Canucks (12).

No. 8 Calgary Flames vs. No. 9 Winnipeg Jets

Sean Allen: Jefs in 4

>Ben Arledge: Jefs in 4

>Pierre Becquey: Jets in 5

>John Buccigross: Flames in 5

>Sach Chandan:Jets in 5

>Linda Cohn:Flames in 5

>Aimee Crawford:Jets in 5

>Dimitri Filipovic:Jets in 4

>Emily Kaplan:Jets in 4

>Tim Kavanagh:Flames in 4

>Don La Greca:Jets in 5

>Vince Masi:Jets in 5

>Victoria Matiash:Jets in 4

>Arda Ocal:Flames in 4

>Greg Wyshynski: Flames in 4

Top pick: Jets (10).

Way-too-early Stanley Cup Final picks

Sean Allen:Lightning over Golden Knights

>Ben Arledge:Lightning over Avs

>Pierre Becquey:Penguins over Avs

>John Buccigross:Lightning over Blues

>Sach Chandan:Lightning over Stars

>Linda Cohn:Lightning over Golden Knights

>Aimee Crawford:Lightning over Avs

>Dimitri Filipovic:Lightning over Golden Knights

>Emily Kaplan:Penguins over Avalanche

>Tim Kavanagh:Blues over Capitals

>Don La Greca:Lightning over Blues

>Vince Masi:Golden Knights over Flyers

>Victoria Matiash:Lightning over Golden Knights

>Arda Ocal:Avalanche over Bruins

>Greg Wyshynski:Lightning over Golden Knights

Top pick: Lightning (10).