Pre-Game Talk: Round Robin 1 - 8/2 3 PM - Flyers vs BRUINS in Toronto - NBC, 98.5 WBZ-FM

[HockeyMomx2]

*Ahem* and cookies

I thought that went without saying

 

[HockeyMomx2]

I'm still mad (we should automatically be the #1 seed)


and scared

Ditto. Still think its a farce but am so excited to just watch hockey i dont even care anymore. Unless they lose. Then I'll be all mad again lol

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Hockey in August!

What's not to like.

 

[caz16]

Ditto. Still think its a farce but am so excited to just watch hockey i dont even care anymore. Unless they lose. Then I'll be all mad again lol

Summed up perfectly!

 

[talkinaway]

I could easily see the Bruins going 1-2 however to no fault of their own.

I agree that it would be pretty easy for the Bruins to only win 1 game. But even then, it's pretty hard for them to fall all the way in the standings. If they won 1 game and the standings looked like 3-1-1-1, they're second seed. If it's 2-2-1-1 or 3-2-1-0, then they're third seed. Again, this is without loser points - as long as other teams don't pick up loser points, it's okay.

And even if the Bruins fall, it's not as big of a deal as it would have been had the season been played normally I think teams are on more equal footing, and any advantage they had before is decreased, so I'd agree. A 60-40 matchup before COVID is probably more like a 54-46 now. So, I think the difference between playing a top seed or a bottom seed in round 1 isn't that great....or, at least, it's not as great as it was last year.

I almost view these games as mini-exhibition games. They count, but not for much. Having them technically count, but not having them be elimination games, is a pretty good idea when you come down to it, even if it means we lose the first seed that we were guaranteed. If you don't do that, you either play completely meaningless games, or you play a team cold that's already been warmed up by the play-in round.

 

[Mione134]

I'm just happy its back.

 

[TD Charlie]

False.

Round robin standings only have one tie-breaker: regular season standings. So if we get 4 points, and another team gets 4 points, we beat them in the standings, no matter what - even if our 4 points include two OTLs while the other team got 2 wins and 1 regulation loss.

When you're only playing 3 games, it's a pretty big advantage. If you assume there are no OT games (yes, that's a big assumption), there's a good chance that there will be at least a pair of two-way ties (4-4-2-2) or a three-way tie (one sweeper plus 3 teams with 1 win for 6-2-2-2, or 1 sweepee plus 3 teams with 2 wins for 4-4-4-0).

If we win at least one game, we're almost guaranteed to avoid bottom seed. If we win two, we're almost guaranteed top seed, and if not, almost guaranteed second. If we win 3, we're guaranteed top seed no matter what.

Something. I suppose.

 

[TD Charlie]

I could easily see the Bruins going 1-2 however to no fault of their own.

I’m semi expecting a 1-2 start tbh. As long as they work the kinks out in those three games and stay healthy, it should be ok though.

still wish the regular season advantage was more meaningful

 

[Smitty93]

False.

Round robin standings only have one tie-breaker: regular season standings. So if we get 4 points, and another team gets 4 points, we beat them in the standings, no matter what - even if our 4 points include two OTLs while the other team got 2 wins and 1 regulation loss.

When you're only playing 3 games, it's a pretty big advantage. If you assume there are no OT games (yes, that's a big assumption), there's a good chance that there will be at least a pair of two-way ties (4-4-2-2) or a three-way tie (one sweeper plus 3 teams with 1 win for 6-2-2-2, or 1 sweepee plus 3 teams with 2 wins for 4-4-4-0).

If we win at least one game, we're almost guaranteed to avoid bottom seed. If we win two, we're almost guaranteed top seed, and if not, almost guaranteed second. If we win 3, we're guaranteed top seed no matter what.

I know you've been a major proponent that the odds are in their favor in avoiding the bottom seed, and that's true, but what were the odds of them finishing 1st in a normal season? Maybe 80%, if not higher.

Do they get a slight benefit from finishing with a better regular season record? Yes, but it only comes into play if they're in a tie for points. After 70 games, they were 8 points clear of the 2nd place team, and literally all it got them was a trophy no one cares about and the tiebreaker in a round robin.

I took a look at the past three seasons to see how these four teams performed against each other. It's a 30 game sample size for each team (minus a game for TB/PHI, who still had another game to play against each other). Based on those results, you'd expect them to finish 3rd, and that doesn't even consider the fact that they had the worst record this season in games against the other three teams.

Past 3 Seasons	Record	Points	Points Available	Point %	Proj.
BOS	11-12-7	29	60	48.33%	2.9
PHI	12-13-4	28	58	48.28%	2.9
TB	18-10-1	37	58	63.79%	3.8
WSH	18-9-3	39	60	65.00%	3.9

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Even if you go by The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn's projections, their odds of finishing 1st are only 40%.

Sure, you could say that the round robin doesn't really matter, considering we have no idea how teams will perform after 4.5 months off, but it's critical that they not finish last (and likely have to play the Penguins), and with re-seeding every round, the 1st seed will get an extra advantage. An advantage that should have automatically been theirs based on the regular season.

 

[Spooner st]

I like that the last game we played before shutdown was the Flyers and the first game back will be the Flyers

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I agree that it would be pretty easy for the Bruins to only win 1 game. But even then, it's pretty hard for them to fall all the way in the standings. If they won 1 game and the standings looked like 3-1-1-1, they're second seed. If it's 2-2-1-1 or 3-2-1-0, then they're third seed. Again, this is without loser points - as long as other teams don't pick up loser points, it's okay.

And even if the Bruins fall, it's not as big of a deal as it would have been had the season been played normally I think teams are on more equal footing, and any advantage they had before is decreased, so I'd agree. A 60-40 matchup before COVID is probably more like a 54-46 now. So, I think the difference between playing a top seed or a bottom seed in round 1 isn't that great....or, at least, it's not as great as it was last year.

I almost view these games as mini-exhibition games. They count, but not for much. Having them technically count, but not having them be elimination games, is a pretty good idea when you come down to it, even if it means we lose the first seed that we were guaranteed. If you don't do that, you either play completely meaningless games, or you play a team cold that's already been warmed up by the play-in round.

My biggest fear is still the injuries Washington and Tampa will gladly inflict on our skill players even more than losing the 1st seed.

 

[BMC]

Is the format ideal? - of course not

But after what we have all endured the past 4 months at least we now have something to look forward to.

The Bruins ARE being rewarded for their season as the round-robin is a freebie and they know they will be in Field of 16. If they go 2-1 they will almost certainly keep the #1 seed because of the tiebreaker as I doubt any team will go 3-0.

I will miss working at the venue but I will be at NBC in Stamford, CT running a camera by remote. I did that in 2018 for the Winter Olympics in South Korea and with high-speed fiber it is doable and with Stamford only 500 miles from Toronto there will no issues.
With apologies to @BMC

DROP THE f***ING PUCK

No apologies necessary!!!!!

 

[BMC]

Oh pre game thread how I have missed thee!
Excited isn't the word.

Let's go ******* Bruins, let's go!!!!!

Oooo now you can introduce Baby Irish to the greatest sport ever!!!

 

[VanIsle]

Great hockey is back only one problem.

If it was one day later on the 3rd it would be on my birthday, was hoping to have a game on this day as it would be the only time ever.

Oh well I guess the schedule makers didn't get my memo.

 

[sooshii]

It’s a sign!

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

After all this covid unexpected crazy time since March, so glad to have hockey back.

especially in my vacations and with the Bruins with a great shot for a 4th SCF and 2nd Cup in 10y!

Can’t wait for August! Now my favorite month of 2020!

 

[RI.B FAN]

For those whining the President trophy is a curse, wouldn’t it be a good thing if the Bruins are not #1?



Any way, Bruins got this. Bergy won’t be two months away from his family for nothing.

2nd Cup and 4th SCF in 10y incoming.

Wouldn't that be awesome after all that has gone on this year!!

 

[BAD BOY]

Happy hockey is coming back . Couldn’t say Let’s Go in a while. Let’s Go!!

 

[Gee Wally]

Wtf....



Oilers & Leafs forced to cancel today's events under direction from NHL.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Yep. Being ahead by 4 wins or whatever it was means nothing. NHL logic. If a dumb decision can be made, the NHL will do it.

The system put in place isn't perfect but what's the alternative? There has to be a play-in round because there were multiple teams beyond the top 16 that had a legitimate chance to make the playoffs when play was suspended. To just cap it at 16 would have been grossly unfair and the club owners wouldn't have worn it.

So the top teams like the Bruins need to have some game time otherwise they'd be coming in cold against the teams that contested the play-in round, which would be a disaster waiting to happen. So what do they do? If they just play practice games with nothing at stake, that's simply not the same as meaningful hockey and they'd still enter the playoffs at a disadvantage. If they weigh the round robin too much in favor of the top-ranked Bruins and Blues to improve their chances of claiming the top seed, then their is less incentive for the other teams to play hard and strive for a result on the scoreboard, and more for them to just goon around and try to physically punish their opponents, which Boston certainly doesn't want. So I'm really not sure that works either.

I get where some of the criticisms of the format are coming from, and for sure it's really not fair that the Bruins could easily lose the no. 1 seed that they were well on track to obtain. But this is a highly irregular, unprecedented situation and, given the circumstances, I've yet to hear anybody propose a better alternative.

 

[Boston Bandit]

 

[DKH]

Wait a minute ?

Zboril
DeBrusk
Sensyshyn
Carlo
Lauzon

all part of 29 position players reporting

 

[Ladyfan]

Wtf....



Oilers & Leafs forced to cancel today's events under direction from NHL.

...and so it begins.

 

[Fenway]

 

[sooshii]

If this was there, it’s gone now.