Have you ever thought about how fun it is to watch the out of town hockey scoreboard? During the WHL season, Prince George fans were constantly monitoring results from the Kamloops Blazers games as the two teams battled for a final playoff spot. In the NHL, it’s even more intriguing, with so many teams contending for a post-season spot.
Canuck fans were not just interested in how Vancouver played on a particular night, but had their ears and eyes tuned into games involving Edmonton, San Jose, Colorado, Anaheim and Calgary.
This playoff race has demonstrated that there’s no need to change the playoff format. The speculation is the NHL may add two teams, in each conference, which could result in 10 teams that qualify for the playoffs, instead of 8. This is a mistake, with less drama, resulting in less fan interest. In the Eastern Conference, for example, the Toronto Maple Leafs might have snuck into the playoffs had 10 teams qualified. However, The Leafs certainly didn’t deserve a post-season spot. (By the way, the nice thing with them out of the running is that we don’t have to be subjected to all the Toronto TV nausea).