I did a pretty good job of not following the NHL this season - I didn't even know about the new tie-breaker rule that was implemented this year until Boneman mentioned it to me a couple weeks ago - but that same Bone fellow dragged me back in when he claimed the Rangers were 9 points up on a playoff spot with about 6 or 7 games to go. It turned out they were only 7 up, but even that looked reasonably safe, so late in the season. Then the team chasing them for the 8th spot in the East - Carolina Hurricanes - proceeded to win just about every game they played, and it set up a nail-biting final weekend for the Rangers, for the second season in a row. Last year they lost a shootout to the Flyers on the final day, and missed the postseason by that small of a margin. This year they needed to beat the Devils on Saturday afternoon and then hope the red-hot 'Canes would be unable to win against the Lightning later in the day. Tampa Bay had nothing to play for, as they were already in and couldn't move up or down in the standings.
The Rangers pulled off their part, downing the Devils 5-2 to finish with 93 points. I would've bet a fair amount of money that Carolina would be able to win their game, considering that it was a "win and you're in" scenario. Instead, Rangers coach John Tortorella's old team from Tampa did him a huge favour and pummelled the Hurricanes 6-2, sending the Broadway Blueshirts back into the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.
It boggles my mind that Carolina would come up short in that situation, but then lightning (pardon the pun) struck twice more! First Chicago had a chance to secure a playoff spot by earning at least a point against Detroit this afternoon, but couldn't do it, losing 4-3 in regulation (in a game that featured a fantastic finish). That was surprising but not shocking, as the Wings are an excellent team and probably relished the thought of keeping the Hawks out of the postseason. But this set up the Dallas Stars for their game against Minnesota tonight, knowing that a victory against the golf course-headed Wild would propel them into the postseason at the expense of the defending champion Blackhawks... and they lost 5-3! How crazy is it to have one weekend where three teams choke that badly against opponents that couldn't possibly be playing as hard, or have nearly as much on the line, as they do? I would never have thought to see it. At least Chicago's fans lived to see their team play another day, as it were.
And now back to that tie-breaker rule... the NHL changed the first tie-breaker condition from most wins to most wins in regulation or overtime, thereby nullifying the value of any shootout victories beyond the 2 points that they carry with them. This set up a situation where, had Carolina beat Tampa last night, their 41 wins (and 93 points) would've been considered better than the Rangers 44 wins (and 93 points)! The Rangers had the misfortune to get 9 of those 44 victories in the shootout whereas Carolina was only 5-5 after overtime. I hated that rule change as soon as I heard about it, and I hate it even more now that it almost cost the Rangers a playoff spot. I really hope they get rid of it, even if that means eliminating the shootout and going back to awarding ties (if you get through the O/T without a winner). A double standard, as the rule provides now, just shouldn't be allowed.
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