TAMPA – That was fun.
When the NHL announced the format for the playoffs, there were many concerned about the qualifying round. It would create too much randomness and put some teams - who were a lock for the postseason - at risk of missing out, while rewarding other teams - like Montreal and Chicago - with a playoff spot despite almost no chance of getting in at the time of the pause.
They were absolutely spot-on. Both 12 seeds toppled the 5 seeds, in the end with relative ease. We saw an 11 seed advance in the Western Conference and, most importantly, lost Connor McDavid far too soon. But yo...
NHL Qualification round superlatives
TAMPA – That was fun.
When the NHL announced the format for the playoffs, there were many concerned about the qualifying round. It would create too much randomness and put some teams - who were a lock for the postseason - at risk of missing out, while rewarding other teams - like Montreal and Chicago - with a playoff spot despite almost no chance of getting in at the time of the pause.
They were absolutely spot-on. Both 12 seeds toppled the 5 seeds, in the end with relative ease. We saw an 11 seed advance in the Western Conference and, most importantly, lost Connor McDavid far too soon. But yo...