The NHL formally announced its 24-team return-to-play plan late last month, with the projected start date to come around the end of July. And it looks like the league's right on track with its latest announcement.

The league has set a July 10 start date for training camps for the 24 teams that will be participating in the league's restart. That is Phase 3 of the plan with the fourth and final step being the true restart of the season.

Both the Rangers and Islanders are part of this new format. They will be playing in a best-of-five Qualifying Round to see who will move into the First Round of the playoffs.

The Rangers (11th seed) are set to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Islanders (seventh seed) will be playing the Florida Panthers. The Blueshirts got a good draw here, as they've won the regular-season battle against the Canes with four wins and outscoring them 17-9.

Where these games will be played has not been decided yet. The NHL announced that two hub cities will be used, one for each conference. The last time that was brought up by commissoner Gary Bettman, the 10 cities being discussed included Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Toronto.

With players and coaches slowly returning to their team facilities, Phase 2 has already been underway around the league. More players will begin showing up in the coming weeks to gear up for July 10.

Video: NHL announces return to play and playoff format

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