If anyone cares....I barely do. Not sure how one of the playoff matchups (TB v FLA) won't even start until Tuesday when two others will have already played two games by then but what the hell do I know?
The NHL playoffs seeding/brackets are ridiculous. For fairness they should seed 1-8 in each conference just like basketball does. My final 4 teams: Carolina and Tampa in the East; Colorado and Vegas in the West.
I don't really like Carolina much this season, and as always, they are very questionable in goal with soft Andersen, but they are in a great spot. They'll beat the Devs for sure, and I think they'll beat the Caps also. If they don't make the ECF, Carolina never will. It is setup on a platter for them this season.
It's unfair, and to your point, totally diminishes the regular season. If the NHL seeded 1-8 as they so obviously should, it would have looked like this: 1. Caps vs. 8. Habs, 2. Leafs vs. 7. Devs, 3. Lightning vs. 6. Sens, 4. Canes vs. 5. Panthers 1. Jets vs. 8. Blues, 2. VGK vs. 7. Wild, 3. Stars vs. 6 Oilers, 4. Kings vs. 5. Avs Those matchups seem much fairer and make a lot more sense than Panthers/Lightning, Avs/Stars, and Oilers/Kings.
What I don't like about the current format (which the league has given every indication it has no interest in changing) is that it seems to end up with repetitive matchups...its only when there is a real shake up in the participants do you get new matchups. With Boston and NY not making the playoffs this year there are a couple fresh matchups in the East. But for the Kings and Oilers to play each other for 4th straight year in the West is just boring.
Agreed, it the same year after year, and it is boring as heck in addition to being unfair/minimizing the regular season IMO. TB and Florida play often as well, Dallas and Colorado playing again, etc. And no shot the league will change anytime soon, that's not what Bettman does, when asked they double down on the current format, which is ridiculous. They are obsessed with brackets and their bracket challenge, which they can still use if they seed 1-8 and don't reseed after round 1 - meaning 1-8 winner plays the 4-5 winner AND 2-7 winner plays the 3-6 winner regardless. Go with that format and use your stupid bracket challenge.
The NHL had record attendance this year, over 23 million, since Bettman took over the NHL is in a better place.
He’s still a fucking moron. The only reason attendance has increased is because a ton of people in this country are sick of minorities acting like assholes in sports trying to draw attention to themselves.
I think Bettman has been a good businessman for the league, but that doesn't mean every decision he makes is right. The NHL playoff format is not good and totally minimizes the regular season. I would almost guarantee you that if you polled the fans, the vast majority would feel the same way.
Caps lucky to get a win. They should win that series in 5, maybe 6, but I don't trust the Caps against the better teams. Edmonton clearly can beat LA once again, but for the first time in all their recent playoff matchups, I think the Kings actually can win the series, I thought they had almost no shot to win the past few seasons. Compared to the past few seasons, the Kings are much better in goal, they are a much better team overall, and the Oilers are not as good of a team as last season. For the first time this year, either team can win, I think.
Colin Blackwell with the OT game winner for Dallas. Good for him...I was a little surprised he is still in the league. Really strong effort on the play....hard-working goal.
The Colorado/Dallas and the Florida/Tampa matchups are both CF worthy being played in round 1. Hopefully they are both close long battles.
There is a chance Landeskog returns to the Avs tonight for the first time in THREE YEARS...wow. Didn't realize he had been out that long. What a situation to find yourself in after 3 years of recovery from major knee issues! Game 3 at home in a tied playoff series...doesn't get much more intense than that!
He's back, and looks pretty good, crowd went crazy. I love this series. I also say go Kings go. I really want to see them beat the Oilers finally, and as I wrote during game 1, the Kings finally have a realistic chance to do so. Looking good so far in game 2.
