NHL 24-team playoff format

Western Conference

Play-in round

■ No. 5 Edmonton vs. No. 12 Chicago

■ No. 6 Nashville vs. No. 11 Arizona

■ No. 7 Vancouver vs. No. 10 Minnesota

■ No. 8 Calgary vs. No. 9 Winnipeg

■ Byes: St. Louis, Colorado, Golden Knights, Dallas games?

And what would it take for the Knights to jump from the third seed to No. 1, or is that not possible?

3. When will the NHL resume playing?

The league has yet to announce when Phase Two of its restart plan, which would unlock team practice facilities and allow for small, group skates, begins. That’s the first step.

In the meantime, there’s issues to sort through with the U.S.-Canadian border, which is closed to nonessential travel through June 21.

But a best-case scenario could see training camps in July with the first set of games two to three weeks after that if everything with the coronavirus continues to trend in a positive direction.

4. Where will all this take place?

The NHL is in no rush to announce its hub sites, as it closely monitors the pandemic and spread of the coronavirus.

The NBA released a statement Saturday confirming discussions to use Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, as the location for its restart in late July. That seemingly clears the way for Las Vegas to be used as one of the NHL’s hubs.

Columbus (Ohio), Edmonton (Alberta), Dallas, Nashville (Tennessee), St. Paul (Minnesota), Toronto, Vancouver (British Columbia) are all reportedly in the mix, as the league continues to weigh whether it needs two hubs or four.

5. What’s happening with the draft?

There was a push from the league office to hold a virtual draft in June, but that lost steam.

Now it appears the event, which was originally scheduled for June 26-27 in Montreal, will take place after the season is completed.

The seven teams not in the postseason will participate in some form of lottery to determine the No. 1 pick, which is expected to be used on Canadian winger Alexis Lafreniere.

The league must determine the rules for the lottery, and it remains to be seen how the outcome of the 24-team tournament will affect the selection order.

Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto William Karlsson, from left, Max Pacioretty and Nicolas Roy are division champs for the second time in three seasons.