Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press
The New York Rangers made the postseason and were eliminated before the playoffs.
If that makes sense.
With the 2019-20 season cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Hockey League decided to implement a system of qualifying-round series to make the traditional 16-team playoffs. The Nos. 5-12 seeds in each conference were slated to play each other in best-of-five series for the right to advance to the playoffs while the top four seeds squared off in round-robin play for seeding purposes.
New York was the first team to be eliminated when the Carolina Hurricanes finished their quick sweep of Artemi Panarin and Co.