bauer
I MISS GHOST
- Nov 11, 2007
- 4,633
- 4,850
i swear i see this exact post every single season.
newsflash: playoff hockey is exciting.
newsflash: playoff hockey is exciting.
I respectfully disagree.
Vegas making the SCF in their 1st season as well as the Caps getting over the hump and beating Pittsburgh were buzz worthy last year.
But why? The 8th seeds are playing entertaining hockey. Theres star power on both teams, particularly Avs. If you're bored it's nothing to do with the quality of the game but rather the teams or narrative that you want isnt happening.Optics is part of it, yes, but I'm also ****ing bored.
@Machinehead
I think you raise some good points regarding the discrediting of the regular season. But I also think in many respects you're overstating it.
1) Other sports are not exactly immune to similiar problems...I know the NBA is more popular than ever right now, but seriously...what's the point of their regular season, if that's the metric we're using? You can predict the outcome of the regular season + essentially the entirety of the playoffs right now in October: it's the Warriors. As someone who used to absolutely love watching professional basketball...I just can't anymore. I'd be horrified if the NHL moved in the identical direction. I don't want to be able to predict with nearly 100% certainty who's going to be in the finals (again...) before the season has even begun, or anything close to that. The NBA regular season, in terms predicting 'who's going to be the best,' is pretty much pointless -- we already know before they set foot on the court. And yeah, I recognize the NBA is more popular than ever, but to me a plastic-ness has developed in it.
2) Doesn't a sport like the NFL have similiar problems regarding your arguments about the regular season? The playoffs have been all about the Pats for some time regardless of the regular season. They play in a rather pathetic division, had a not that impressive 11-5 record, looked like one of the weakest Pats teams in years, and then once again Brady and Belichick did their things come playoffs. They dummied the #1 seed in the superbowl and exposed the regular season's second highest scoring offense as something of a fraud that put up just 3 points. Kind of made the whole Rams regular season look pointless, if that's the metric we're using here, yeah?
3) I really think you're overstating the NHL's "problem" by looking too much at just this year, which is something of an anomally. Most cup winners do end up being the same, somewhat predictable winners. We had the Pens back to back and in 2009; we had the Hawks win 3 of 6; the Kings won two in the midst of the Hawks' run; and the Bruins and Caps, both very good clubs, won cups in the midst of that as well. The Bruins took down the back to back President's trophy winning Canucks in a 7 game series, and the Caps had historically been one of the best regular season teams before they finally put it together. Point being...the last full decade of cup winners have not been random, outlying teams....it's been the class of the NHL winning the cups, facing off against generally extremely good clubs in the final.
In other words...these playoffs so far are not the norm.
The last potentially anomalous win / final we saw was the Canes vs. Oilers in 2006...I think that era was something of a transition phase, between the era of the Red Wings, Avs, Devils, etc, to the rise of the new perennial contenders of the Pens / Kings / Hawks. The Wings won again in 2008, but before 2006, when the Canes won, 8 of the last 10 Stanley Cups had been won by the Devils, Wings, and Avs.
I think it might be fair to say we are just in another transition phase now. The Hawks / Pens / Kings have fallen, just like the Wings / Devils / Avs did, and I imagine we'll soon see the re-emergence of a perennial set of contenders after perhaps a few more 'random' cups. Just so happens it might not be a team like the Lightning...but a couple of great regular season teams who choke come playoffs isn't exactly an issue unique to the NHL either. As I see it, we're right now just seeing a changing of the old guard since the former class of the league have fallen (only one of them even made the playoffs, the Pens), and the set of new dominant clubs -- the new Hawks, Pens, and Kings -- hasn't quite been sorted out yet.
I hate that people assume the best regular season teams should be gift wrapped the finals.
We have a regular season so teams can jockey for positioning AND hone their skills and teamwork. This time is supposed to make teams better.
The reason the Flames and Lightning lost are because they are SOFT.
Why would we want soft, no effort, surface level teams further along in the playoffs? Watching Mack and Rantanen this last series has proven to me these two guys have balls. They dig deeper and play harder in big games.
Kucherov and Gaudreau are paper tigers. Why would we want to watch them bumble around in the finals?
I hate that people assume the best regular season teams should be gift wrapped the finals.
We have a regular season so teams can jockey for positioning AND hone their skills and teamwork. This time is supposed to make teams better.
The reason the Flames and Lightning lost are because they are SOFT.
Why would we want soft, no effort, surface level teams further along in the playoffs? Watching Mack and Rantanen this last series has proven to me these two guys have balls. They dig deeper and play harder in big games.
Kucherov and Gaudreau are paper tigers. Why would we want to watch them bumble around in the finals?
First time in 11 years my team won a playoff round. It's very exciting for me.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!!
Colorado was seemingly a paper tiger because they couldn't stop a beach ball until March and Columbus' playoff track record was cause for some to panic (At one point, I thought Bobrovsky was a modern day Dan Cloutier).
There needs to be a trend for this to be true. Last year no WC team won and the only “upset” was the ducks getting swept. The cup finals were two teams top of their divisions. More likely this is just a fluke then teams are all equal now.Yes.
This a problem.
When any team can be great, nobody is great.
There needs to be a trend for this to be true. Last year no WC team won and the only “upset” was the ducks getting swept. The cup finals were two teams top of their divisions. More likely this is just a fluke then teams are all equal now.
Exactly. These are not even upsets.The main gripe I have about the NBA was getting rid of the first round 5 game series for more television dollars. Two more games isn't the end of the world and upsets probably happen at the same rate. But I just felt there was more intensity and didn't drag on.
Upsets are great. Those Sharks teams in '94 and even '95 were true upsets. Nowadays the shock value and novelty, much like the Winter Classic, have worn off. Mainly because the product is weak.
Exactly. These are not even upsets.
People have said of Colorado and Calgary that the better team won. Sure, it definitely looked that way.
But the better team lost six more games than they won. There's something unhealthy about that.
Want me to tell you what you don't see every single post season?i swear i see this exact post every single season.
newsflash: playoff hockey is exciting.
I'd argue that it's the opposite. It's quite healthy. It means we have a league where advantages are minimal and a good number of teams can beat any other team if they are firing on all cylinders.
To me, there is no more exciting aspect to the playoffs (and the first round specifically where almost all the upsets happen) than knowing that any team has the chance to win. Otherwise, why even have a 16 game playoffs. If you want to see the top two teams play each other for the Cup then get rid of the playoffs and just make it a battle between Conference Champions.
The more teams that can realistically win, the healthier the league is. After all, I think what all of us want is more Columbus (teams going all in at the deadline) and less Rangers (purposeful tanking for a better draft pick). And just to be clear, NYR is my team. I'm not singling then out because you're a fan of them.
Also, theres something to be said about the stretch drive. Bottom seeds have been playing playoff hockey for weeks just to get in. Top teams have been coasting and resting. If these playoffs have taught us anything, it's that you cant just flip a switch.
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 hate that people assume the best regular season teams should be gift wrapped the finals.
We have a regular season so teams can jockey for positioning AND hone their skills and teamwork. This time is supposed to make teams better.
The reason the Flames and Lightning lost are because they are SOFT.
Why would we want soft, no effort, surface level teams further along in the playoffs? Watching Mack and Rantanen this last series has proven to me these two guys have balls. They dig deeper and play harder in big games.
Kucherov and Gaudreau are paper tigers. Why would we want to watch them bumble around in the finals?
I was absolutely elated that Tampa Bay lost on a personal level, so there's no bias here.I absolutely love how things are going this year, it's like watching old skool tournament battle movie like 'bloodsports' etc., there is so much randomness and unpredictability its fun.
I don't get people who puts fanaticism over sports, if your team didn't show up get over it.
I was absolutely elated that Tampa Bay lost on a personal level, so there's no bias here.
If you think anything you've said here is a good thing, then we just fundamentally disagree.
The whole point of a championship is that not everyone has a chance at it. Otherwise, we should just shake hands and go home after 82 games and nobody wins anything.
The better team does not always win in this years playoffs
The team that wants it most has been getting it done.
Regular season records dont mean anything when the playoffs start. So when you say ‘better team doesnt always win”, do you mean the better regular season team?