If the NHL playoffs started today, the Toronto Maple Leafs would face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, the Pittsburgh Penguins would face the New York Rangers, the Florida Panthers would face the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes to the Boston Bruins.
Posted at 11:53 a.m.
The National League would therefore lose as of the second round three of the nine best teams in the general classification, four of the ten best, since all the teams qualified for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference are ranked among the first ten.
- Toronto (5) vs. Tampa (7)
- Pittsburgh (4) vs New York (6)
- Florida (2) vs Washington (10)
- Carolina (3) vs. Boston (9)
Add to this that only ten points separate the first qualified team, the Panthers, from the last, the Capitals. Florida still has three more games to play.
The situation would be less cruel in the West since only Colorado and Calgary are ranked among the top ten teams overall.
The Colorado Avalanche would face the Dallas Stars, which they lead by 22 points in the standings, the Calgary Flames would play against the Nashville Predators, the St. Louis Blues against the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings against the Edmonton Oilers.
- Colorado (1) vs. Dallas (16)
- Calgary (8) vs. Nashville (13)
- St. Louis (11) vs Minnesota (12)
- Los Angeles (14) vs. Edmonton (15)
For a very short period, from 1979 to 1981, the best team played against the last qualified according to the general classification, the second played against the penultimate and so on. The results in the regular season therefore mattered more, as the first club in the standings found themselves against the sixteenth.
This formula was fairer, but did not favor regional rivalries and could impose grueling travel arrangements on teams.
In 1980, for example, Buffalo faced Vancouver in the first round, Chicago in the second round and New York in the semi-finals. Philadelphia played against Edmonton, New York and Minnesota before meeting Long Island in the final.
Beginning in 1998, the two associations were separated. The first club in the East faced the eighth, the same for the West, and no club from the two associations could meet before the final.
But since 2013, we have decided to further accentuate the rivalries between clubs in the same region. We have nevertheless introduced the formula of the fourth ace, allowing confrontations between teams of different sections, but the fact of opposing the second and third clubs of each section is very unfair if one section is more powerful than another.
The Maple Leafs are probably the least well served by such a formula in recent years. Toronto has patiently rebuilt its team beginning in 2014.
For two consecutive springs, in 2018 and 2019, they faced the Boston Bruins in the first round despite having 100+ point seasons. They finished seventh overall on both occasions to find themselves ahead each time ahead of a club ranked in the top four overall (fourth in 2018 and third in 2019). And this time they risk having Tampa or Florida in the legs in the first round!
Their fate would be brighter if Toronto hadn’t stupidly lost a 3-1 series lead against Montreal last year, but the fact remains that the Leafs are greatly disadvantaged by the current system, just as than most of the best clubs in the Eastern Conference.
The only advantage for the teams from the East: they don’t have to worry about qualifying. The suspense has been over for several weeks because the gap between the eight best and the eight others is so important.
In the West, only the Avalanche, the Flames, the Wild and the Blues can now blow. Los Angeles, Edmonton, Nashville, Dallas, Vegas, Vancouver and Winnipeg are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but the top three are starting to feel a little more comfortable.
Compromised season for Logan Mailloux
Fighting is always allowed in the junior ranks. One of the Canadian’s best prospects in defense, Logan Mailloux, recently threw down the gloves. His shoulder gave way. We are currently studying two scenarios: rehabilitation, which would allow him to return to the game more quickly, with a risk of relapse nevertheless, or surgery, which would solve the problem definitively, but involves a rehabilitation of four to six months. The Canadian’s first choice in 2021 would therefore probably not be back on the ice before September. The CH undoubtedly favors the second alternative.
Mailloux will then have to hope to stay healthy, as he played only 19 games last year and 12 this season. That’s very little for a developing 18-year-old defender.
Do not miss !
1- The Canadian loses and the fans applaud. My colleague Richard Labbé was moved by it, I believe. Tears sweat.
2— What does a Canadian qualifying match look like in a hostile stadium in Costa Rica? Our Jean-François Téotonio, Téo for his friends, is on site and tells the story.
3- Confidence reigns in the camp of the Florida Panthers. Simon-Olivier Lorange saw it on the spot.