The NHL’s overhauled playoff format might schedule multiple division matchups on the docket right out of the gate in April — but the number of faults in this current system have been well-documented at this point.
Barring some major swing in the standings over the final 10 days of the regular season, the NHL is once again going to have egg on its face by the conclusion of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs — with two of the Lightning, Bruins and Maple Leafs sent packing before the Eastern Conference Finals even get underway.
Since this new format was introduced back in 2014, the traditional, conference-based system (No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 seed, No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 seed) has been discarded in favor of a division-focused structure — in which the top three teams in each division make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots are filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season record and regardless of division.
It’s an interesting twist — but creates a brutal uphill climb for most teams if the best two or three teams are all sandwiched into one division.
After getting bounced by the Lightning in five games last spring following a seven-game slugfest against the Maple Leafs, the Bruins are doomed to face a similar gauntlet once again this postseason.
Boston is far from the first team to be dealt a poor hand with this current playoff format, but speaking ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, Bruins President Cam Neely noted overhauling the system wasn’t a major conversation at the recent NHL GM Meetings down in Boca Raton, Fla.
“Well, there’s some camps that like to add teams and some that would like to change the format,” Neely said. “But right now I don’t see much happening, at least from the last meeting.”
So, there may not be much of a movement to change the current system. But that doesn’t mean that Neely is particularly thrilled with it. After all, a pair of 100-point campaigns for the Bruins in 2017-18 and 2018-19 could very well end in the second round — with a juggernaut of a team in Tampa Bay standing in the way.
“Obviously the last couple years, you look at it and say it’s maybe not fair when you’re the top teams in the league and you fight hard to get home ice advantage and that’s what you shoot for,” Neely said. “And then you end up playing some tough teams before you even get out of your division. You know, we don’t want to look past anybody. We’ve got a really strong division with Toronto and Tampa, so would I like to see (the) two (seed) play (the) seven? Probably.”
From his days battling out of the Adams Division, Neely can understand the league’s desire to load up on divisional rivalries at the start of the postseason — especially if such bad blood carries over to the following season.
But 2019 is a long time from when Neely and Co. would resume hostilities with a foe like Canadiens on a regular basis at the start of every new campaign, while the current scheduling also finds matchups like Boston vs. Montreal or Boston vs. Toronto limited to just four meetings during the regular season — a far cry from the eight-plus game sample size from yesteryear that gave rival clubs plenty of time to get riled up going into the playoffs.
All in all, just a complete mess from the NHL when it comes to this time of year.
“Guys still don’t like each other, but it doesn’t have the same feel to it the following year as it did years ago. … We would play those teams more than we do now, and I think that would make a bigger difference,” Neely said. “You look at our schedule this year, we’ve got teams in our division that we haven’t seen in a while and won’t see until the playoffs.
“So scheduling, I know it’s not that easy with certain buildings that are very busy like ours, but I would agree. I mean, if you played a team eight times in the regular season and played them in the playoffs, the following season there’s some nastiness there.”
Splitting time in net come the playoffs?
Since the start of the new year, Tuukka Rask is 17-3-3 with a .918 save percentage and four shutouts, but Bruce Cassidy isn’t ruling out the possibility of some split duties in net come the postseason.
While Rask boasts a .924 save percentage over the span of 65 postseason appearances, he ran into his fair share of issues during the 2017-18 Stanley Cup Playoffs — posting an .899 save percentage during a seven-game series against the Maple Leafs.
Rask will be Boston’s go-to option in net once the postseason gets underway, but the Bruins do have a more than suitable backup in Jaroslav Halak — who is 21-10-4 with a .923 save percentage in his first season with Boston. While he hasn’t appeared in a postseason matchup since April 27, 2015, Halak has also established a solid track record in the playoffs with a .924 save percentage over 30 games.
As evidenced by previous Stanley Cup champions that rolled out a pair of goalies in the postseason such as Washington (Braden Holtby & Philipp Grubauer) and Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury & Matt Murray), there can be a benefit in turning to a reliable backup when necessary during a grueling best-of-seven series.
Even with a fair bit of criticism directed toward Rask following Monday’s loss to the Lightning, Cassidy noted that Boston’s veteran netminder will still get the nod in goal for his club at the start of the postseason — even if things could change in a hurry.
“Well, I’m not a detractor,” Cassidy said of Rask. “I think he's been a real good goalie for the Bruins. Played well against Tampa, Toronto was a little more of a run-and-gun series. I think both goalies had their moments where they were fishing pucks out of the net. But at the end of the day, we’re confident in him.
“We’re fortunate, we’ve got Jaro too. Terrific numbers, who’s got a playoff resume, so we’ve got two to pick from if some injury or performance related, (issue) we can go to the next guy. Tuukka, I assume, will be our No. 1 going into the playoffs or Game 1 starter — between now and then, we’ll sort that out.”
Bruins extend partnership with Providence
The Bruins’ AHL affiliate isn’t changing any time soon, as the club announced Wednesday afternoon that it has agreed to a 10-year partnership agreement with the Providence Bruins through the 2028-29 season.
The P-Bruins have served as the AHL affiliate for Boston since their inception in 1992, making the 27 consecutive season affiliation between Boston and Providence one of the longest standing player development agreements in either league’s history.
“Player development is one of the most important parts of our hockey operations strategy which has the goal of achieving long term and sustainable success,” Neely said. “Our partnership with the Providence Bruins has been a key part of our player development over the past three decades and we are very happy to have a long-term deal solidifying this relationship for 10 more years.”
In total, 200 players have made the jump from Providence up into the NHL, with current players within the organization that have played at least one game for both Boston and Providence including: Noel Acciari, Patrice Bergeron, Anders Bjork, Anton Blidh, Paul Carey, Brandon Carlo, Peter Cehlarik, Connor Clifton, Jake DeBrusk, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Trent Frederic, Matt Grzelcyk, Danton Heinen, Steven Kampfer, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Karson Kuhlman, Sean Kuraly, Jeremy Lauzon, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Zane McIntyre, Kevan Miller, David Pastrnak, Tuukka Rask, Gemel Smith, Lee Stempniak, Jordan Szwarz, Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril.
“It’s fantastic, I mean, the location is great. When needed, it’s easy to shuttle guys back and forth,” Neely said of the partnership between both organizations and the benefit of having an AHL affiliate so close to its parent club. “It’s been a great relationship over the years, and we’re excited about another 10 (years).”
A dangerous celly
Staying healthy is a top priority for this Bruins team with just five games remaining in the regular season. The last thing this club needs is another top player going on the shelf, especially due to some teammate-on-teammate damage.
Most of TD Garden held its breath following Jake DeBrusk’s 24th goal of the season at 3:19 in the third period of Wednesday’s win over the Rangers. Always one to emphatically celebrate his goals, DeBrusk jumped into the arms of the primary playmaker on the sequence in David Pastrnak — with DeBrusk promptly knocking his linemate to the ice.
David Pastrnak wasn't ready for #CellySZN pic.twitter.com/rlEbfk4GcM
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 28, 2019