As of this writing, the NHL Player's Association is voting on the playoffs to restart hockey again, but with a post season to kick it off. According to Michael Gallagher of The Nashville Post hockey would return like this: the top 4 seeds in the East and Western Conferences would get an automatic bid in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The remaining eight teams in each conference would play their way in with a best of 5 game series. (based on points percentage)
If voted into existence (and a plan to play safely in just a few cities) works out, The Nashville Predators (6th seed) would play the (11th seed) Arizona Coyotes for a chance to make it into the playoffs.
If they were to beat the Coyotes, they would then play the Vegas Golden Knights. Preds center Ryan Johansen told Gallagher, “It sounds a lot easier [said] than done, but at the end of the day, you just want everyone to say, 'OK, you know it's not perfect, but we're happy with it. Let's go.'”
A vote could come as early as today (Friday). Johansen went on to say: “We had an opportunity there down the stretch to finish strong and set ourselves up in a playoff spot, so I think our group will still be really hungry to start something and not focusing on anything other than how we finished off and then our coming together. We all feel good about ourselves."
When they start is still totally up in the air. The NHL is looking at playing all games at just a few neutral sites. Nashville and the Predators have been lobbying to be one of those host cities for the playoffs if they happen.