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NHL Season 2019-20

#21
Picton said:
Smoked bacon poutine...

Mmmmm.

When I used to go see the Gretzky-era Kings at the Forum, the biggest difference I always noticed from TV was the fact that you couldn’t really see the line changes on TV. I was fascinated by the players swapping in and out.
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Yeah. My biggest beef with TV coverage is the lack of a wider angle view. Many's the goal scored you don't see how 'til they show the replay from the end as you see how the play developed from a line change or a steal or whatever.
 
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#23
Ostie said:
Some people say the NHL season is too long. The 4 out of 7 playoff format doesn’t help, but it’s tradition. Not so bad when there were only 6 teams, but now that there are 30 plus teams, it does get a little tedious....
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I tend to agree with you about the playoff series all being best of 7. When I first got into the sport (1975) first round was best of three, and second round was best of 5. Although I think best of three is too brief, having at least the first round (if not first & second) as best of 5 might be OK. Wouldn't be playing into mid-June anymore!

Oddly enough, there's an interview with Taylor Hall on ESPN today and he mentions that dropping one game per month would cut the season to about 76 games. He said he'd certainly appreciate having another day off every month. Doesn't sound like much but these guys practice every day and have meetings most days, so that would be welcomed by him, and I'm sure others.
 
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#28
dwm74 said:
I tend to agree with you about the playoff series all being best of 7. When I first got into the sport (1975) first round was best of three, and second round was best of 5. Although I think best of three is too brief, having at least the first round (if not first & second) as best of 5 might be OK. Wouldn't be playing into mid-June anymore!

Oddly enough, there's an interview with Taylor Hall on ESPN today and he mentions that dropping one game per month would cut the season to about 76 games. He said he'd certainly appreciate having another day off every month. Doesn't sound like much but these guys practice every day and have meetings most days, so that would be welcomed by him, and I'm sure others.
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But remember, back then the playoff pairings didn't require you to fight your way out of your own Division/Conference. The top 16 teams in the entire NHL standings made the playoffs. Then the seeds were #1 vs. #16; 2 vs. 15; etc. So the shorter-than-7 games formula seemed a little more fair. It was rare for a #16 to upset a #1. But of course when you got deeper into the seedings (ie, 8 vs. 9, etc.) the teams were more evenly matched. Nevertheless, I always liked that 1 vs. 16, etc. format.

These teams already play their Division rivals so often in the regular season. And the old way, if the final two teams left standing happen to be from the same Division or Conference, so be it. I liked it.

I have no problem with Taylor Hall's suggestion though. That would shorten the regular season a bit. The NHL regular season combined with the playoffs has to be the most grueling of any sport, IMO.
 
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#32
Fishheadjoe said:
Yah, dumb move by Austin. I'm pretty sure that I did some dumb things when I was his age, but I was smart enough to not get caught! This is probably the death knell for any aspirations Austin had of becoming Captain of the Leafs.
Fishheadjoe
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True, but you and I didn't grow up with surveillance cameras at each and every corner, nor did every person have a smartphone camera in their hands. Imagine if they did back then, how many things we would NOT have gotten away with! :D
 
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#33
Jeff K said:
But remember, back then the playoff pairings didn't require you to fight your way out of your own Division/Conference. The top 16 teams in the entire NHL standings made the playoffs. Then the seeds were #1 vs. #16; 2 vs. 15; etc. So the shorter-than-7 games formula seemed a little more fair. It was rare for a #16 to upset a #1. But of course when you got deeper into the seedings (ie, 8 vs. 9, etc.) the teams were more evenly matched. Nevertheless, I always liked that 1 vs. 16, etc. format.

These teams already play their Division rivals so often in the regular season. And the old way, if the final two teams left standing happen to be from the same Division or Conference, so be it. I liked it.

I have no problem with Taylor Hall's suggestion though. That would shorten the regular season a bit. The NHL regular season combined with the playoffs has to be the most grueling of any sport, IMO.
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Yep, some of those Finals between Montreal & Boston, Philly & NYI are still memorable 40 yrs later.
 
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#40
Jeff K said:
Not sure whether any of you ever watch "Survivor"; but if so, former NY Ranger and L.A. King Tom Laidlaw is one of the contestants. The rest of those dudes better hope they don't piss him off... :D
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I remember him, mostly with the Kings. (We got Prime Ticket here back then (pre-Coyotes era) so I became a Kings fan overnight. Having some guy wear #99 made it exciting! :D) Laidlaw was all business and no flash...you went into the corner with him you were coming out with a new bruise or two. Clean, but physical D-man.

Speaking of Survivor, I watched the first 7 or 8 seasons, but it became repetitious, especially with all the whiny millennials. Like Mike, I didn't even know it was still on. Good luck to Tom!
 
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