There is a common phrase throughout every NHL playoff broadcast about how this is the most “equal match” post-production of all time. Like these commenters get a bounty every time they talk about it. It’s nauseating and more importantly, it’s inaccurate.
This year’s NHL postseason has been the tightest controversy in a while, that’s correct. But just a lack of research leads to the conclusion that the margin between the teams is record thin. That is, so far. The bubble could burst permanently over the next 24 hours and is likely to burst on Saturday morning.
We are closing in on the first round of the 35th NHL, in which the first round matches were contested as the best of the seven, starting in 1987 and introduced every year except for the 2005 season being canceled due to the cancellation of the season. The tournament is locked. 15 incredible teams still fighting for the Stanley Cup head into Thursday night’s game, well done Nashville clean bed.
A quartet of Game 6 is next on the leaderboard, with another three penultimate games possible on Friday. Since moving to the first seven-game series, all seven teams currently leading 3-2 will have to win their next game to set the NHL record. The first six-round series went to Game 7 in 1992, which featured a game against eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh. All eight series featured a Game 6 during that season, which means this year’s record doesn’t break either. No team won the first series by a sweep or 4-1 margin the previous year, nor oddly finished with the same result, the Pittsburgh championship.
Since Mario Lemieux lifted the championship in a row 30 years ago, there has only been one other NHL postseason featuring the first seven games in game 6 2010. Only two of them managed to win the entire game. 7. Should a handful of handshakes processions not take place on Thursday night, the second most-game 7 from round one is four, occurring three times since 1987.
One reason the NHL has had a particularly balanced post-season is how uneven the regular season is. Each team that entered the Eastern Conference knockout round had 100 points or more. The The ninth best island resident has 84, which equates to eight wins missing three-digit points. Six Eastern Conference teams have 75 points or less. When the top eight have been away from the underdogs for most of the year, they’re less likely to suffer from depression. The Western Conference went even further, with 11 teams finishing the regular season with 89 points. The bottom five groups have 77 or less.
This season also has more widespread star power than the league has seen. How many playoff teams have a player considered one of the best in the NHL? By my count, there are 13, with many of them having a lot of playoff experience. The only holding pins? Dallas, Boston and Nashville were eliminated.
This year will likely not be the only year in terms of competitiveness. The 1994 and 1995 seasons were two of three four-game 7 seasons, just a few games after the oddest first round of 1992. Having nearly half the league win multiple playoffs shows that many teams are close. with the Stanley Cup more than it usually does Once. That gap separating the championship contenders is only getting smaller and smaller. Take Washington, D.C. as an example. If an empty net opportunity from Garnet Hathaway in Game 4 ends in the net or close to the post and the Game 5 effort from Nic Dowd stays right next to him instead of crossing the blue line by a small margin, then President’s -Cup- Cup-winning Florida Panthers will be eliminated, instead returning to DC with a 3-2 lead.
In the modern NHL, a playoffs like this one has so far not happened. But there’s a historical precedent, making this season’s hypeters dramatically different that is incorrect. The unpredictability of the post-season so far has been made for some bad games. It has also been balanced over the past few days with a lot of good items. Let’s just stop the facade of the anomaly.
How many series made it to Game 6? And game 7?
- 2022: Seven to six, TBD to seven
- 2021: Five to six, two to seven
- 2020: Three to six, not seven
- 2019: Five to six, three to seven
- 2018: Four to six, one to seven
- 2017: Four to six, not seven
- 2016: Five to six, two to seven
- 2015: Six to six, two to seven
- 2014: Six to six, three to seven
- 2013: Five to six, three to seven
- 2012: Five to six, three to seven
- 2011: Six to six, four to seven
- 2010: Seven to six, two to seven
- 2009: Five to six, two to seven
- 2008: Six to six, three to seven
- 2007: Three to six, one to seven
- 2006: Four to six, one to seven
- 2005: *** No knockout, locked ***
- 2004: Four to six, three to seven
- 2003: Five to six, three to seven
- 2002: Five to six, two to seven
- 2001: Six to six, not seven
- 2000: Two to six, one to seven
- 1999: Five to six, two to seven
- 1998: Six to six, one to seven
- 1997: Five to six, three to seven
- 1996: Six to six, not to seven
- 1995: Five to six, four to seven
- 1994: Six to six, four to seven
- 1993: Five to six, one to seven
- 1992: Eight to six, six to seven
- 1991: Eight to six, three to seven
- 1990: Six to six, three to seven
- 1989: Four to six, two to seven
- 1988: Five to six, one to seven
- 1987: Five to six, one to seven
