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After diving into the mini-tournament for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, we'll now look at the Western Conference.

The format

The teams that ranked first through fourth in their conference at the end of the abbreviated regular season will play each other in a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the 16-team playoff bracket. The clubs will all play each other once at a neutral venue, with the overall winner claiming the conference's top playoff seed.

St. Louis Blues (+180)

The defending Stanley Cup champions are the favorites to claim the top seed in the West, and while there's a case to be made for them as the best team in the conference, the Blues have to be avoided at such a short price. There is too much volatility that exists in a three-game round robin, especially one played on neutral ice following a lengthy layoff.

The Blues have very few holes and are a well-coached team, but they play with a certain tenacity that will be lacking as teams get their legs under them. There's just not enough evidence to suggest the Blues would flourish in low-intensity hockey to feel comfortable backing them at these short odds.

Vegas Golden Knights (+275)

As mentioned above, it's safe to say the start of this seeding tournament will lack the usual intensity and ferocity of playoff hockey due to the extended hiatus.

Less intensity means less hitting and fewer penalties. That doesn't bode well for a Knights team that often relies on a physical brand of hockey - Vegas was fourth in the NHL in hits per game - and benefited from a top-10 power play. At +275, the Knights wouldn't be my first choice.

Colorado Avalanche (+280)

Instead, my first choice would be the Avalanche. This round-robin tournament feels like the perfect storm for Colorado. The Avs have by far the youngest core of the four teams involved - with all of their top players aged 26 years old or younger - meaning they will likely be the least impacted by the long layoff.

They'll also benefit from the lack of intensity and dependence on special teams. This season, the Avalanche were tied for the most five-on-five goals in the NHL, had the least efficient power play of the four clubs involved, and were near the bottom of the NHL in hits per game. Give me all the Colorado stock I can buy at +280.

Dallas Stars (+500)

At first glance, there also appears to be some value with the Stars, a team that's suited for a dull, grind-it-out brand of hockey. Dallas relies heavily on defense and has allowed the second-fewest five-on-five goals in the NHL this season.

However, in that regard, the Avalanche and Blues are a very close third and fourth, respectively. Additionally, both teams score a ton more than the Stars, who have managed the second-fewest five-on-five goals scored, only ranking ahead of the Detroit Red Wings.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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With the NHL on track to resume its season, some of the league's older coaches are ready to return behind the bench, even though they're aware of the risks they'll have to assume.

"No doubt you're thinking of the different options you may have, whether it's wearing a mask, to what extent you are going to deal with your team and players," 60-year-old Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "I know it may be a challenge behind the bench more than anywhere else, but my thinking is that I need to be ready to adjust and have options when that time comes, depending on where we are at with COVID and our hockey circumstance."

Julien added: "That also means pulling myself out if I feel a real danger. My family and life are more important than my job at that point."

The NHL isn't planning to implement any age-based restrictions on its coaches. It will be up to each individual to determine if they are comfortable participating or not.

There are currently 12 active members on NHL coaching staffs who will be 60 or older by the end of June, LeBrun added.

Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness expressed his fear of contracting the virus, saying, "I've been giving it an awful lot of thought. Without a doubt. I'm 65." However, the oldest bench boss in the NHL is putting his trust in the league and is yearning to see what Phases 3 and 4 of its return-to-play plan will look like.

"We'll have to see how it all looks when we get there," Bowness said. "You've got to trust that the league and everyone is doing everything they can to protect us all. Until I get there and see how it's all laid out. If the safety and precautions are being met, then yeah, we'll go ahead with it."

The NHL is aiming to launch full training camps leaguewide July 10. Coaches and training personnel haven't been permitted to be on the ice with players during Phase 2.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-opened their facilities to players for voluntary Phase 2 workouts, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

The Bolts closed their facilities on June 19 after unnamed players and staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

Florida is considered a coronavirus hotbed. It reported 5,508 new cases overnight, bringing the total to 109,014, according to CNBC, citing data published by the state's health department.

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Vegas Golden Knights enforcer Ryan Reaves believes the 2020 postseason will be as intense as ever with the anticipation of hockey's return continuing to build throughout the NHL's lengthy hiatus.

“You’re sitting at home for four months, training, trying to stay ready for this,” Reaves said, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger. “Do you want to waste that four months for three games or five games? No. You’re going to battle your ass off.”

“There’s no time to act like this is an exhibition or a tuneup, because it’s not," he added. "I expect the very first game, very first puck drop, to be a playoff atmosphere, because you only get one shot. I expect it to be absolute wars out there.”

Reaves' Golden Knights, along with the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche, will compete in a round-robin tournament to decide the top four Western Conference seeds as part of the league's expanded 24-team playoff format.

Vegas won 11 of its final 13 contests before the season was suspended March 12, and Reaves believes the club can carry that momentum into the summer in hopes of capturing the franchise's first Stanley Cup.

“I’m anxious to get back on the ice, and I think everybody on this team is,” Reaves said. “We know we have a good team, and we have a good shot at winning the Stanley Cup. I know a lot of teams are going to say that, but we really believe that. We got the pieces. We were proving it down the stretch.”

The Golden Knights' tough guy, who led the club with 47 penalty minutes this season, is also excited to continue throwing his weight around.

“I’m getting the itch to put my fist through somebody’s face, or lay somebody out through the boards,” Reaves said.

Training camps are slated to begin July 10, but the league and players' association have yet to agree on an exact date for Phase 4 of the return-to-play plan, which is the official resumption of play.

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Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment resubmitted its bid for Toronto as an NHL hub city on the weekend and now proposes that players and personnel would live on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds just outside of the downtown core, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.

The bid presents the idea of a "40-acre campus-like bubble" that would grant players access to facilities including Toronto FC's BMO Field, Coca-Cola Coliseum (home of the AHL's Toronto Marlies), the Toronto Raptors' practice facility, and Hotel X, which has 400 rooms, according to LeBrun. He added that MLSE would be willing to add other features such as food trucks and an outdoor movie theatre.

Toronto's initial bid apparently focused on creating a bubble in the downtown core closer to Scotiabank Arena.

The league recently cut its shortlist of hub cities from 10 to six. Columbus and Pittsburgh were officially eliminated from contention, while Minneapolis/St. Paul and Dallas are reportedly out of the mix as well.

Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto are apparently the six remaining contenders to host the NHL's 24-team playoff format.

The NHL reportedly expanded Phase 2 group sizes from six players to 12 on Tuesday and apparently isn't considering pushing back its July 10 start date for training camps despite 11 players testing positive for COVID-19 since Phase 2 began June 8.

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Jason Spezza is rooting for former teammate Daniel Alfredsson to make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"I would love to see Alfie get in. I hope he gets the respect that he deserves in terms of voting," the Toronto Maple Leafs forward said Tuesday, according to The Canadian Press' Joshua Clipperton. "He's a guy that didn't win the NHL, but won a lot internationally. He was a guy that was a huge role model for me. Foundationally in Ottawa, he's the guy that really helped bring that club to respectability, and did so much for the community on and off the ice."

Alfredsson's Hall of Fame case has been highly debated since he became eligible in 2017. The 47-year-old - who retired from the NHL in 2014 - has missed the cut the past three years.

While he never won a Stanley Cup, Alfredsson - who spent 17 seasons with the Ottawa Senators before spending his final campaign with the Detroit Red Wings - was one of the most prominent players of his generation.

He racked up 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 career NHL games and took home the Calder Trophy in 1996. Alfredsson also represented Sweden 14 times internationally and helped lead the team to an Olympic gold medal in 2006, an Olympic silver medal in 2014, and numerous other medals at the World Championships.

Spezza - who spent 10 seasons playing alongside Alfredsson in Ottawa - looks back fondly on their time together and said he hopes that the former winger finally gets the respect he deserves when the Hall announces its 2020 inductees Wednesday.

"We had great chemistry on the ice, we had great chemistry off the ice. I can't say I'm not rooting for him," Spezza said. "I'm patiently waiting to see what happens tomorrow. He's been eligible for a couple years, and it feels like this year he might have a little more of a chance. I hope he gets the respect because he's a guy that, in my opinion, deserves to be in the Hall."

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Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.

As the NHL prepares for its 24-team postseason, sportsbooks are releasing more and more odds for the uniquely formatted event.

After breaking down odds for each of the highly anticipated play-in series, let's dive into the four-team battles for each conference's top seed. We begin with the Eastern Conference:

The format

The teams that ranked first through fourth in their conference at the end of the abbreviated regular season will play each other in a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the 16-team playoff bracket. The clubs will all play each other once at a neutral venue, with the overall winner claiming the conference's top playoff seed.

Boston Bruins (+130)

This format can't be pleasing to Bruce Cassidy and the Bruins, who were eight points ahead of the Lightning, 10 points above the Capitals, and 11 points up on the Flyers when the league halted play. Their impressive 70-game performance could now be undone in the span of three contests. It might feel a cruel fate for Boston, but does it really matter?

The top seed won't get home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, which are expected to take place at neutral venues. The top-ranked team will get some advantages, such as last change, but the usual benefits are significantly mitigated. The top four teams' respective opponents will also be determined by the results of the play-in series, so the first seed isn't even guaranteed the easiest draw.

Given all of those factors - not to mention the lengthy layoff - expect these round-robin games to lack intensity; they'll be glorified exhibition contests, which certainly doesn't play to the strengths of a Bruins team that prefers an in-your-face approach. In a three-game sample following roughly five months of inaction, I can't possibly justify taking the Bruins at such a short price.

Tampa Bay Lightning (+250)

After recovering from a miserable start to the season, the Lightning were on a warpath over the second half of the campaign, climbing their way up the conference standings. They were even pushing the Bruins for the top seed, though they would have had a tough time closing the distance with just 12 games remaining.

This is a second chance for the Bolts, who have a real point to prove after last year's humiliating playoff exit. Tampa's versatile roster can adapt to any style of hockey, which should be a boon in an unfamiliar round-robin format.

The Lightning entered the pause ranked first in the NHL in five-on-five goals and seventh in the league in hits per game - ahead of the Bruins. They also boasted a top-five power play, and they'll return to the ice armed with one of the world's best goaltenders in Andrei Vasilevskiy. In a format rife with uncertainty, the Lightning might be the safest bet to claim the Eastern Conference's top seed.

Washington Capitals (+500)

The Capitals could be the biggest beneficiaries of low-intensity hockey, though that isn't to say they're incapable of playing a physical game. Should these round-robin games lack intensity, penalties should be unusually infrequent. That would play perfectly into the hands of a Capitals team that had the least efficient power play among these four clubs in 2019-20 and owned a middle-of-the-pack penalty kill.

Fewer man advantages would also be another reason to fade the Bruins, who had the NHL's third-best penalty kill and second-best power play this season, yet were 18th league-wide in five-on-five goals. I'd feel much better taking the Capitals at 5-1.

Philadelphia Flyers (+500)

No team was hotter than the Flyers when the NHL announced its shutdown. It will be interesting to see how the long layoff impacts Philadelphia's momentum, but the team has the firepower and the goaltending to match any of these clubs in a brief round-robin affair. Carter Hart is the youngest of the four starting goalies and could thus be the netminder least impacted by the break. If the 21-year-old can be the quickest to find his rhythm between the pipes, the Flyers are a terrific value bet to claim the top seed.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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