Is it just me or this a very exciting postseason?

[End on a Hinote]

On one hand, the playoffs are boring because only 5 teams have won the cup in the last 10 years.

On the other hand, the playoffs are exciting because 10 teams have lost the Stanley Cup in the last 10 years.

Sometimes it's how you look at it.

 

[Faterson]

Honestly, who came up with the idea of play-offs as a way to determine the supposedly best hockey team in an excruciatingly long season? Are 4 games supposed to negate a season's (82 games'!) worth of great play?

Up until the 1980s or so, there were no play-offs in European hockey, or in hockey world championships, for that matter. The best team in the "regular" season was crowned the champion at season's end, and that was it. Round-robin play was used in world championships and Olympics as well, and that was it.

Play-offs seem like an American invention/infection. There are still no play-offs in European football leagues to this day, and no one's complaining.

 

[flyingkiwi]

Merits of playoffs vs regular season aside, I'm definitely enjoying this year's playoffs. Looks like my Jets are getting bounced tonight which really hurts, but I'm more motivated to keep watching other teams this year than I have ever been. Can the sweepers hang on in the next round? Also great to see some new teams (back) in the show. Gonna be really interesting to see who wins it all this year.

 

[Faterson]

I'm enjoying all the upsets, too (Kings fan here, so what else is there for me to do?), but I think there's no denying that the play-offs are a circus-like arrangement seriously devaluing the meaning of the "regular" season.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

f***ing love it
I aosolutely don't want to be like NBA where everyone's grandma knows the champion in the pre season

 

[Cupless44]

****ing love it
I aosolutely don't want to be like NBA where everyone's grandma knows the champion in the pre season

All these upsets are making me more interested for sure

 

[Grifter3511]

Honestly, who came up with the idea of play-offs as a way to determine the supposedly best hockey team in an excruciatingly long season? Are 4 games supposed to negate a season's (82 games'!) worth of great play?

Up until the 1980s or so, there were no play-offs in European hockey, or in hockey world championships, for that matter. The best team in the "regular" season was crowned the champion at season's end, and that was it. Round-robin play was used in world championships and Olympics as well, and that was it.

Play-offs seem like an American invention/infection. There are still no play-offs in European football leagues to this day, and no one's complaining.

This sounds terrible. Playing a different team in a different city every other night for 7 months is a great way to determine whose good and who isnt. But playing the same team game in and game out, planning and strategizing for your opponent, making adjustments for the next game, truly determines a champion.

Look at a team like St. Louis. At Xmas time they were one of the worst teams in the league. Since then, they're the best team in the league but not enough time or games to even win their division let alone the President's Trophy. What motivation would there be for the run they've been on if there wasnt the prospect of playoffs and getting a chance to compete with the structure/goaltending/team that they now have? There wouldn't be any. And their season would have been over at Xmas.

 

[Avs44]

Play-offs seem like an American invention/infection. There are still no play-offs in European football leagues to this day, and no one's complaining.

All major North American sports leagues have playoffs. And I have literally never heard a single North American complain about their existence in my life. I’m well aware of the model of European football — just because Europe has it doesn’t mean it’s superior. Big no thank you on my end to the season championship model.

 

[Diatomic]

Things dont feel as stale. It seems like there’s a new generation of up and coming teams. A few upsets, great series like Toronto and Boston. I feel like this season has been really progressive for the NHL!!

Bruins fans think the the leafs Bruins series is a sloppy snoozefest

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

These playoffs have been great and I'm not just saying it because my team performed well in it to date.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

It’s just you.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Honestly, who came up with the idea of play-offs as a way to determine the supposedly best hockey team in an excruciatingly long season? Are 4 games supposed to negate a season's (82 games'!) worth of great play?

Up until the 1980s or so, there were no play-offs in European hockey, or in hockey world championships, for that matter. The best team in the "regular" season was crowned the champion at season's end, and that was it. Round-robin play was used in world championships and Olympics as well, and that was it.

Play-offs seem like an American invention/infection. There are still no play-offs in European football leagues to this day, and no one's complaining.

European football is far from the ideal sporting format, so I’m glad we’re not doing that over here .

 

[BMOK33]

Not enough OT. Only 6 games so far which is one of the lowest totals ever

 

[Coinneach]

Last year's postseason was better

 

[PattyLafontaine]

Many top-sports are ruined by a few GREAT teams. Look at Football or soccer in USA, It's all the big teams winning year after year. Very rarely we see Leicester win, instead of Manchesters or Chelsea. Parity is great for this sport long-term.

Formula 1 sucks today because Hamilton wins every race. No one wants to watch a sport where you know the winner before the series. It's boring as ****.

1. NHL has a hard salary cap PL soccer does not.

2. If everyone is tte same there are no dynasties. Everyone should get a trophy...

3. Hockey already has parity built into the sport as it has the most luck built into the outcome. The skill gap between the 1st forward and 12th forward continues to shrink.

 

[kthomasf]

I think, as a few people have pointed out, these playoffs are just a reminder of the parity in the league.

When we look at advanced statistics, like Corsi, 55% seems amazing, but we all, at times, need to be reminded that that is still only a rate of 5.5 to 4.5. This is the spread of the best to worst team in the entire league, so when you get to the playoffs it can be a crapshoot.
TB 51.56
CBJ 50.09

When you have that level of parity, anything can happen in a 4 games series.
I do not think it makes the season meaningless, but rather an important step to cutting half the teams out, and then a true battle to win.

I say all this as someone who thought Tampa would win comfortably, but you never know.

 

[glucker]

This is ****ing boring.

I'm beginning to dislike the NHL playoffs for the same reason everyone dislikes the shootout. It's a random crapshoot.

I think that’s a bad comparison. With the shootout, you can win a game in 3 shots.

With the playoffs you need 4 wins in 7 games. Its a tall order for any team. You need to maintain- at minimum- a 94 point pace over the course of 28 games against increasingly difficult opponents. If you dip off that pace and don’t quickly recover, that’s it.

That’s not something that can be achieved through a crapshoot. The closest we got in recent history was Ottawa fluking it through two rounds.