As all of you probably know, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament ended earlier this week. With Kentucky's National Championship, the end to a March full of college basketball comes to end, and to many peoples sorrow, so does the madness that comes with it. Or does the madness end? While college basketball may be at its end, 16 NHL teams are preparing themselves for the playoffs. While last night, 8 teams from both conferences got etched into a playoff spot with only a game or two remaining, the seeds of these 16 teams can still change, which could have monumental effects on how teams do in the playoffs.
One interesting thing about seed shifting pertains to the 6th seed in each division. Since the NHL seeds the division winners as 1, 2, and 3 regardless of total points, it creates some interesting match ups that may actually favor the 6th seeds, and may cause them to not want to move up any further. For example, in the east, the Florida Panthers are atop their division with only 92 points. They would be going up against a 6th seeded New Jersey team who has (with still a game remaining) 100 points.
While it doesn't matter now with only a game remaining, the past week the Devils were in an interesting position. Do they continue to win and risk having to play a much tougher and division rival Pittsburgh Penguins team, or do they coast into the playoffs and play a d less offensively threatening Florida Panthers. Throughout the week, first year Devils head coach Peter Deboer was pried at by reporters asking whether or not this situation changed his strategy. He simply told the press that they were going to go out every night and try to win, and whatever happens, happens.
While it happened to work out in the Devils' favor, regardless of winning 6 of their last 10 games, my question for you guys is, would you do the same? With 7th seeded Ottawa a significant ways back, the Devils could have gone no lower than 6th and no higher than 5th. Would you choose to win and play a harder opponent, or coast into the playoffs securing an easier opponent?
-Kevin
One short point you make that I agree with is that now that March Madness is over, the madness still continues. I think many people that are not as familiar with hockey overlook the playoffs. Personally, I do not even follow hockey and barely even have a favorite team, yet I still look forward to and watch the playoffs every year. It might actually be one of the most exciting to watch because they really play every game like its their last. The bone-crushing hits and exhilarating competition hits a peak when the playoffs happen and really makes every game so exciting. Furthermore, I have to say that I would elect choosing to win and potentially playing a harder opponent. I believe that especially when heading into the playoffs, momentum is so key. While you may have an easier opponent if you lose, it kills your team's morale and let's face it, if it's the playoffs, any team you're gonna play is good and will be fighting for their lives.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post! One thing that I find particularly interesting is that the NHL is currently trying to change this system. There is a new standings system in place, where the league would be made up of 4 conferences, and they and wild card teams would make up the playoffs. This would theoretically eliminat this problem of a poor division winner playing a team with higher points, because the first round would be made of the conference winners playing the worst wild card from their conference. There are obviously many quirks to this system, but I am particularly not in favor of it. I understand that people complain about the current system, but not everything can work out perfectly every year. As in many games we play, there are "benchmarks" that we pass along the way, and winning one's division is one of these benchmarks. I personally believe teams should get credit for this.
ReplyDeleteAlex Jacobs