The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[DrJones]

The fate of everything hangs in the balance. The Bruins must be stopped.

[Majingir]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Bet big on TB, or TB in 7, you're welcome.

[bhurst99]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

The fate of everything hangs in the balance. The Bruins must be stopped.

I think the Oilers are going to win the Cup. They've been dynamite the second half of the season.

But I'm also crazy enough to think the Leafs are going to beat Tampa. Seems like Tampa haven't played well the last few months.

[Brucie]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I watched the Maple Leafs win the Cup in 1967. I was 12 years old at the time and I watched it on TV, on Hockey Night In Canada of course, with my grandmother and my uncle.

I'm telling you this to let you all know that I am not a troll. I'm not a hate'r. I grew up playing hockey both in the rink and on the street. Everything hockey was my world up until the age of 19 when, during a game, I took two slapshots to my knee in the exact same spot. I had to be carried off the ice and that was the end of my hockey days.

I stopped watching the NHL playoffs years ago. I follow the season, but when the playoffs come round, I shut off the hockey news. I'll peek at box scores every few days, maybe, but that's it. And that's because the NHL playoff format doesn't just suck, it's the worst playoff format in all of sports, by light years. And it PO's me so bad that I can't stomach it.

Ideally, conference and division considerations should be placed aside once the season comes to an end. All 16 teams should be paired up in the playoffs according to season PTS, GF, GA, etc. That said, no other sports league does that, so one can't really expect the Bettman brain trust -- especially them -- to be that progressive.

At the very least though, matchups should be all-conference. That wouldn't be my choice but it would make some sense when compared to other sports leagues.

But all-division matchups? Are you kidding me? How does an all-division/all-conference/conference vs conference format make any sense if the goal is to treat the fans to a championship final that showcases the two best teams in the league? It doesn't take a math genius to see that the odds of the best teams meeting in the Stanley Cup finals are reduced by half as a result of the conference format, and then reduced by half again because of the division matchup format.

But for me it's more than just math. It's history. Yes I'm a Boomer, and yes TO is my team even though I grew up in Edmonton and watched Gretzky live and think he's the greatest ever. But TO is my team, and I watched many games in the absolute shrine that was Maple Leaf Gardens. I own home and away jerseys of all Original Six teams. And not the chintzy Fanatics rip-offs, I mean the NHL-authentic versions. (Sport Chek post-season sales... watch for them.)

I don't have a lot of time left on this planet (thank god I sometimes think, ha!), and so for the love of everything Johnny Bower, could we PLEASE have the opportunity to watch Toronto and Montreal face off against each other in the Stanley Cup finals, one more time? Or how about either team vs the NY Rangers? Or classic Habs vs Bruins, oh man! Or a Detroit and Chicago final? I'd even welcome Edmonton vs Vancouver even though Canucks is maybe the dumbest mascot name ever. And yes, Oilers ain't the best either I'll admit, but their history and success at least makes up for that. Sort of.

There was a time in hockey when the best two teams would meet at the end of the long, long season. And we Canadians would rejoice: Stanley Cup time had arrived! We were sad as well of course given winter was over, and six months of lousy hockey weather lay ahead (not my joke so can't take credit). Still, we'd excitedly gather around our TVs to watch the best of the best of the best skate for glory. And that's not possible anymore if those teams are, A: in the same division, and B: in the same conference.

Bonus trivia question as a reward for reading this rant: What does Charlton Heston have in common with the NHL's playoff format?

Answer:
It's a madhouse!! A MADDD-house!!!

[ImTellinTim]

The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I’m just here for the annual pain.

The Wild are under-the-radar playoffs bad. 9/10 making the playoffs. 7 1st round exits. 2 2nd round exits. 6 consecutive bounced in the 1st.

We just don’t do it in spectacular fashion, like the Maple Leafs of the world. We just lose in 5 or 6 games and Irish goodbye out the back.

[southernmetalhead]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

The Bruins must be stopped.

I don't think the Panthers will be the one but yeah hopefully someone takes them down.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I stopped watching the NHL playoffs years ago. I follow the season, but when the playoffs come round, I shut off the hockey news. I'll peek at box scores every few days, maybe, but that's it. And that's because the NHL playoff format doesn't just suck, it's the worst playoff format in all of sports, by light years. And it PO's me so bad that I can't stomach it.

Ideally, conference and division considerations should be placed aside once the season comes to an end. All 16 teams should be paired up in the playoffs according to season PTS, GF, GA, etc. That said, no other sports league does that, so one can't really expect the Bettman brain trust -- especially them -- to be that progressive.

So you stopped watching the playoffs after 1981?

[Majingir]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Rangers over Devils in 7
Lightning over Leafs in 7
Bruins over Panthers in 4
Canes over Islanders in 5
.
Oilers over Kings in 7
Avs over Kraken in 6
Stars over Wild in 7
Knights over Jets in 5
.
Bruins over Lightning in 5
Rangers over Canes in 6
.
Oilers over Knights in 6
Avs over Stars in 6
.
Bruins over Rangers in 5
Oilers over Avs in 6
.
Bruins over Oilers in 5

[Kobalt]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I believe the loser of the Seattle/Colorado series gets Russell Wilson

[Brucie]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

So you stopped watching the playoffs after 1981?

The current playoff format only came into being recently. There was never two rounds of all-division playoffs, leading to conference finals.

And I quit watching hockey around the time Edmonton traded Gretzky to the Kings. I lived in and around Edmonton all during those Stanley Cup years. Once the dynasty was kaput, that was kinda it for me. Hard to go back to eating hamburger after dining on filet mignon for several years. The last playoffs I watched was 1993 because Gretzky was playing. Now I just watch the highlights on NHL YouTube the next day.

EDIT: Actually it was 1994 when Messier (ex-Oiler) won with the Rangers. That was the last year I watched the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[mercalnd]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

There was never two rounds of all-division playoffs, leading to conference finals.

Actually it was precisely that from 1982 to 1993, with the only change being a switch to best of seven for the first round starting in 1987...

https://records.nhl.com/history/playoff-formats

1981-82: The first four teams in each division earn playoff berths. In each division, the first-place team opposes the fourth-place team and the second-place team opposes the third-place team in a best-of-five Division Semifinal (DSF) series. In each division, the two winners of the DSF meet in a best-of-seven Division Final (DF). The two DF winners in each conference meet in a best-of-seven Conference Final (CF). In the Prince of Wales Conference, the Adams Division winner opposes the Patrick Division winner; in the Clarence Campbell Conference, the Smythe Division winner opposes the Norris Division winner. The two CF winners meet in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final.

1986-87: The Division Semifinals changes from best-of-five to best-of-seven.

1993-94: The NHL’s playoff draw is conference-based rather than division-based. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences qualifies for the playoffs. The teams that finish in first place in each of the League’s divisions are seeded first and second in each conference’s playoff draw and assured of home-ice advantage in the first two playoff rounds. The remaining teams are seeded based on their regular-season point totals. In each conference, the team seeded #1 plays #8; #2 vs. #7; #3 vs. #6; and #4 vs. #5. All series are best-of-seven with home ice rotating on a 2-2-1-1-1 basis, with the exception of matchups between Central and Pacific Division teams. These matchups are played on a 2-3-2 basis to reduce travel. In a 2-3-2 series, the team with the most points can choose to start the series at home or on the road. The Eastern Conference champion faces the Western Conference champion in the Stanley Cup Final.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I can appreciate when someone is so confidently wrong

[DrJones]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Actually it was precisely that from 1982 to 1993, with the only change being a switch to best of seven for the first round starting in 1987...

Tthe first few years after expansion were like that as well, except worse:

1968-1970: 2 rounds of divisional playoffs, with all the O6 teams in one division and expansion teams in the other, thus leading to mediocre Blues teams getting swept in 3 straight Finals

1971-1974: An improvement, as Chicago was sent to sit at the kids' table, and the division brackets crossed over after the 1st round, (ie, the winner of East 1 vs East 4 faced the winner of West 2 vs West 3 in the 2nd round)

1975: Now 12 teams (out of 18) made the playoffs, and they were seeded 1-12, but it wasn't quite fair, as the top 3 teams from each of the 4 divisions made the postseason, regardless of points. Also, division winners got an automatic 1st round bye, meaning the 9th seeded Canucks received a bye, while 5 teams with better records had to play an extra round.

Now here's where things got weird: the 1st round was best-of-3! So you had scenarios like this:

April 8: Leafs 2, Kings 3 (OT) in Los Angeles
April 10: Kings 3, Leafs 2 (OT) in Toronto
April 11: Leafs 2, Kings 1 in Los Angeles

1976-1979: Same as '75, except teams were directly seeded by point totals (except division winners still received a bye)

1980-1981: With WHA expansion, there were now 16 playoff teams that were seeded by point totals, regardless of division, so these 2 postseasons are the ones Brucie is referring to (though 71-79 are close). This is where I entered the picture, as I have vague memories of a Vancouver/Buffalo series (Tiger Williams tried to kill Scotty Bowman, natch) while getting HNIC updates of Gretzky's Oilers stunning sweep of Montreal!

For the record, I have no problem with a return to a pure 1 vs 16 - using this year's standings, Stars vs Rangers would probably be the marquee matchup, while Toronto would still be playing Tampa - not happening, though.

[bhurst99]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I'm so perplexed that someone would think the playoff format was better when 16 of the 21 teams made the playoffs, or during the post-1967 expansion era when the St. Louis Blues made the Stanley Cup final in three consecutive years and lost every game.

[jeebs9]

Re: The Official NHL 2022-2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

This is so wrong. https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/statu...vqAuoVjeQ&s=19