Hockey is back, and soon the Boston Bruins will resume their quest to win the Stanley Cup.
The NHL and NHLPA have officially ratified the Return to Play Plan and a new CBA deal, the two sides announced last Friday.
The league also released the schedule for the round robin and the qualifying round.
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The top four teams in each conference will play a round-robin format to determine their seeds for the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The No. 5 through No. 12 teams are taking part in a qualifying round that will use a Best-of-5 series format. The winners of the qualifying series will be matched up (based on seeding) with the top four teams in their respective conferences for the first round of the playoffs.
The Bruins finished the regular season as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the league's best record. They will enter the Eastern Conference's round robin along with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals.
Prior to beginning their round robin schedule, the Bruins will play one exhibition game in the host city of Toronto:
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-- Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. ET: vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (exhibition)
Here is the Bruins' round robin schedule:
-- Sunday, Aug. 2, at 3 p.m. ET: vs. Philadelphia Flyers
-- Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 4 p.m. ET: vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
-- Sunday, Aug. 9, TBA: vs. Washington Capitals
The Bruins will begin their formal training camp Monday at Warrior Ice Arena.
Here are the other key dates for the league's return:
The Bruins have been on a mission all season to avenge last year's heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and finish the job in 2020. Their opportunity to accomplish that goal begins in just a few weeks.