Round 1 of the playoffs is drawing to a close, and Gary Bettman couldn’t be happier. The NHL’s commissioner constantly champions the competitiveness of the opening eight series whenever he’s asked about changing the playoff format, and the parity so far this spring plays into his hands.
But is he right? Is Round 1 truly the pinnacle of playoff excitement?
Let’s put it to the test, Roundtable: Rank the four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs by entertainment factor.
MATT LARKIN: I’ll go Round 1, Round 3, Round 4, Round 2. It’s not that I love Round 1 because of the format, sorry Gary – it’s simply the excitement of eight series, the occasional four-game slates, the thrill of seeing playoff hockey return to markets emerging from droughts, the upsets, the all-out chaos. I like the Conference Final round as well, as it combines high stakes and teams fairly familiar with each other. The Stanley Cup Final often features the worst hockey of the four rounds as its participants are so broken down after two months of battling, and Round 2 gets last place for me as it lacks a defining quality and feels like a comedown from Round 1.
PAUL PIDUTTI: It’s two months of diminishing returns for me from a fan perspective: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4. I’m here for the volume. Round 1 absolutely slaps. Tune in any time for two weeks straight and be all but guaranteed to see high-intensity hockey stacked in every time slot? Yes, please. Overtime almost nightly? Yes, please. The NHL product is mostly awesome right now, even if the standings, matchups and bracket make no sense. As the playoffs progress? Less hockey, more tired bodies, fewer engaged fan bases, days with no games. The entertainment factor trails off, and that’s where the bracket format failures are magnified. Actually rewarding the best teams to make them more likely to, you know, actually play each other in the second and third rounds would greatly help the inevitable fatigue and entertainment dropoff in the middle rounds.
SCOTT MAXWELL: I’m basically going to flip around Matt’s choices and go with Round 2, Round 4, Round 1, Round 3. I’m going to be completely honest, I don’t get the hype surrounding Round 1. As someone who likes to catch every minute of every playoff game, the overlap of so much action ruins the experience for me. Oh, I missed a crazy two-goal comeback in one minute? Sorry, I didn’t see it because another game was in overtime, which felt like a more pressing matter. Someone scored a highlight-reel goal just one minute into one of the later games? Ah, I missed it because the other game was finishing up and the broadcast hasn’t switched over yet. Round 1 really only works on the weekends when the NHL can spread the games across 12-13 hours of scheduling instead of the six it has to work with on weeknights. Otherwise, too much is happening to truly enjoy the action, which can sometimes cause burnout. It’s a shame the current format wastes the best matchups of the playoffs during this stretch.
That’s why I like Round 2 much more. I love that I can sit down on the couch at 7:00 p.m. ET, enjoy a nice game of hockey, and then right as that finishes, another game starts at 9:30/10:00 p.m. and I get to do it all over again, with no other games taking away my focus (besides overtime). That’s why I like the Stanley Cup Final as well: it’s the only series left, so it gets all the attention, with the two best teams competing, even if they’re a bit worn down. The only reason Round 3 isn’t in the same territory is because the current format has destroyed all entertainment value from it. When’s the last time you can remember a truly strong Conference Final series? Because the divisions in each conference are so lopsided every year, most Conference Finals result in one team winning in four or five games. At least they put us out of our misery quickly.
ANTHONY TRUDEAU: I hate to do it, but I’m stealing Scott’s answer word-for-word: Round 2, Round 4, Round 1, Round 3. I’m always left frustrated by having to guess the best matchups of the conference quarters on a whim, and some combination of sunk cost, work considerations, and my own personal fandom usually leads me to follow two or three series more closely than the rest, regardless of quality. Round 2 is the stage where the stakes get real and legitimate contenders emerge, all while providing high-level hockey every night without the chaotic overlaps. The Cup Final might produce the occasional laugher, but the high drama during competitive years is unbeatable. I still docked it in my ranking; the nights off serve as reminders of the long offseason ahead, a hockey version of the Sunday Scaries. Round 3 is the same bruised and bloody slog as the Final, except without the carrot at the end.
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