The 2013 NHL Season Thread

[Sodboy13]

So, second time this season we're going to have to talk sense into people about a clean, hard hit by Andrew Desjardins, then.

[ninersdd]

Dirty hit by Desjardins on Frasier. Then again, what did I expect from those San Jose scumbags.

Even Jim Fox didn't say it was that bad. I'm in Vegas so I get the LA feed.

Like what Still Mighty has said, just shut up dude.

[Corvus]

So, I dumped the standings as of yesterday into a spreadsheet and moved the teams around into the new divisions. I tried to make sense of the new playoff format (highest seeded division winner plays lowest wild card team, and you could have some interesting travel still out west, like Anaheim-Winnipeg in a first round series, for example. I guess this isn't much, if any, different than the current system though.

[zpqmaowl]

Yeah, it's only 68 more air miles than LA to Saint Louis, and that travel really bogged the Kings down last year.

[ninersdd]

Phew. Sharks put up 4 for the first since the 5th game and survive the LA comeback. Let's complete the home at home sweep on Saturday.

[BLUELANDbeliever]

Went to the Lightning game tonight. Isles did a great job of taking advantage of Lecavalier being injured by keying in on Stamkos and St. Louis. Stuck to them like glue. Also got sticks in lanes and executed defensive hockey plan well. Going back on Saturday vs. Carolina.

[Funky Bunky]

Yeah, it's only 68 more air miles than LA to Saint Louis, and that travel really bogged the Kings down last year.

St. Louis.

[Sport]

Dear Chicago Blackhawks,

You weren't the worst divisional rival (Nashville). In fact, you may have been the best. Your fans were always the easiest to get along with, even recently when the bandwagon blew up. For most of our time in the Central you were our brothers in the basement, but I never thought ill towards your rise to prominence. Good luck in the west.

Love,

the Columbus Blue Jackets

[zpqmaowl]

Dear Dallas Stars,

We liked your 5:00 games as much as you liked our 9:00 games.

Love,

the rest of the old Pacific

[The_Admiral]

To Wong Foo,

Thanks for everything.

--Julie Newmar

[DaytonBlue]

Has anyone heard who will be considered division champions in the new playoff format? Will it be regular season or the four teams that get past the first two rounds? If it's the latter, we could have crossover wild card teams winning division titles of divisions they're not in. While this has never happened with the CFL, I bet it would happen in the NHL since lower seeded teams get hot in the playoffs more often relative to other sports.

[HedleyLamarr]

Has anyone heard who will be considered division champions in the new playoff format? Will it be regular season or the four teams that get past the first two rounds? If it's the latter, we could have crossover wild card teams winning division titles of divisions they're not in. While this has never happened with the CFL, I bet it would happen in the NHL since lower seeded teams get hot in the playoffs more often relative to other sports.

As I understand it, the top two seeds for each conference will be reserved for the division champions during the regular season, and spots #3-8 are determined by points order. It's only that the top-3 finishers in each division are guaranteed spots. And those 3rd-place finishers in any division could be the 4-seed through the 8-seed, depending on their points total.

[The_Admiral]

Seems like we're making the Stanley Cup harder than it needs to be. It's like reading the realignment thread. Okay guys, 29 teams, 4 and a half divisions, first round if you finish in 9th better than the other conference finishes 8th you cross over into their bracket but you have to walk on your hands for a minute without falling down.

[Maz]

If we have two divisions per conference why not just the top four teams in each division play each other 1v4 and 2v3, then those two division champions play for the conference championship? You know, plain and simple like it used to be.

[The_Admiral]

Because that could result in some terrible teams making the playoffs and decent teams missing. Also, it's bad for pretty good teams in divisions with dynastic teams. Ask Hawerchuk or the Stastnys.

[Maz]

And that doesn't already happen with the winner of the NASCAR division getting a 3 seed while every team below them has more points? Ask whoever is 9th if they think that's fair, or whoever is 4th and gets the 4/5 death draw.

If the regular season is just a means to determine playoff seeding, and the majority of your schedule is against your division, and you can't beat those other teams enough times to be in the top four, then they deserve and won the right to that spot. If a "weaker" team in another division made it, too bad. They won the games that needed to be won, which is, if anything, more important in the crapshoot that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs than who can win more points, which is not a good way to determine who is better as long as the loser point is available, IMO.

[Lee.]

The new NHL playff format makes Calvinball look like hopscotch.

[Kramerica Industries]

Because that could result in some terrible teams making the playoffs and decent teams missing. Also, it's bad for pretty good teams in divisions with dynastic teams. Ask Hawerchuk or the Stastnys.

To wit, the previous format once yielded:

A 63 point LA Kings team that actually beat a 111 point Oilers team in a best-of-5 series

A 21-49 Maple Leafs team reaching the playoffs

The 27-39 Minnesota North Stars reaching the Stanley Cup Finals

We'll mock the 2012 Kings all we want, but 40-42 pales in comparison to what happened during the '80s and early '90s.

[Sport]

Because that could result in some terrible teams making the playoffs and decent teams missing. Also, it's bad for pretty good teams in divisions with dynastic teams. Ask Hawerchuk or the Stastnys.

To wit, the previous format once yielded:

A 63 point LA Kings team that actually beat a 111 point Oilers team in a best-of-5 series

A 21-49 Maple Leafs team reaching the playoffs

The 27-39 Minnesota North Stars reaching the Stanley Cup Finals

We'll mock the 2012 Kings all we want, but 40-42 pales in comparison to what happened during the '80s and early '90s.

I've watched parts of that series on youtube and it was ridiculous. Game 1 was 10-8 and game 4 had Edmonton blowing a 5-0 third period lead.

edit: found a good video of game 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8dZUyOA1RE

[Kramerica Industries]

Los Angeles won five road games all season, but somehow took two of the three games at the Northlands Coliseum, including the winner-take-all Game 5.

And that was Gretzky's finest season, goals-wise (92) and second-best points-wise (212).