NHL expects 'fantastic' Stanley Cup Playoffs
Fans, home ice part of postseason again, travel restrictions among pandemic challenges
by
Nicholas J. Cotsonika
@cotsonika
/ NHL.com Columnist
Normal? No, the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs will not be normal. Not quite.
The coronavirus pandemic is not over.
But there are signs normalcy is returning, like green shoots in spring.
Sixteen teams. Four rounds of best-of-7 series. Teams playing at home or traveling to their opponents' cities. Fans in the stands, at least to varying degrees in the United States. COVID-19 protocols relaxed, at least for teams with 85 percent of the traveling party fully vaccinated.