Perfect is not the goal in any decision made by the NHL right now. The return-to-play format under consideration doesn’t include a meaningless game. Under the circumstances, it’s hard to do much better than that. (by reporterchris)
Of note about the proposed format is that it would be bracketed similar to the NCAA tournament — somewhat lessening the sting if Boston or St. Louis weren’t to end up with the No. 1 seed after leading their respective conferences when the regular season was paused.
Any of the top-four teams in the East or West could actually end up facing the lowest remaining seed following the play-in round. For example, the No. 4 seed could face No. 12 Montreal while the No. 1 seed would be left with the winner of No. 8 Toronto vs. No. 9 Columbus. Sources say there was consideration given to taking the regular-season results and making that kind of upset more difficult — say putting Montreal down 1-0 to start its series or requiring it to sweep the Penguins to move on — but there was no formula that was deemed to make sense.
Perfect is not the goal in any decision made by the NHL right now. Gary Bettman has said there will be no fool proof solutions available as his league navigates this unusual landscape. The return-to-play format under consideration includes six Canadian teams, five Original Six teams and everyone who had any hope of winning a championship when the 2019-20 season was halted.Under the circumstances, it’s hard to do much better than that.
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