In what feels like a lifetime ago at this point, we broke down the eight qualifying round matchups and assigned them a rating based on their watchability for the average NHL fan. Some series were rated as must watch television for all fans while other left much to be desired and may be best reserved for fans of the participating squads.
When that piece published, there was still a mountain of uncertainty as to whether or not the NHL was actually going to be able to pull this plan off successfully. With the pandemic still raging across the globe, their proposed idea seemed good on paper but in reality perhaps less so.