Letang thinks playoffs will be wide-open: 'Momentum won't carry for anyone'

If the NHL eventually returns to conclude it's 2019-20 campaign, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang believes the playoffs will be open as ever.

"Momentum won't carry for anyone," Letang told Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "Everyone will start back at square one."

Letang's Penguins sat third in the Metropolitan Division after 69 games when the NHL went on pause March 12 and were slated for a first-round matchup with the rival Philadelphia Flyers.

All 31 teams were close to the 70-game mark on their respective schedules, but the playoff bracket was far from determined. Three teams in the Eastern Conference were within three points of the final wild-card spot, while four squads were within four points of the postseason in the West.

In the 2019 playoffs, seeding hardly mattered, as all four wild-card teams advanced past the first round. To ensure the parity has a chance to continue, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said the league will have to come up with something fair for the bubble teams if the current season returns.

The league recently extended its self-quarantine period for players and employees until April 30, and will likely have to stage games deep into the summer if a return is deemed viable.

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