St. Louis Blues: Why Not Having Play-In Games Is Most Fair

The St. Louis Blues and the NHL continue to explore options about the possible resumption of the season. While some options are more inclusive, the one that is actually most fair is the one that is not fair to all.

The St. Louis Blues, as we are all painfully aware, are sitting at their homes, waiting for any positive news on a potential finish to the 2019-20 season. However, despite a number of decent suggestions, there is only one solution that is most likely and also most fair.

In our What If series, we covered the two most popular ones. One features the season resuming with the playoffs as the standings are at this moment. The other features a play-in scenario where teams on the playoff bubble would have an opportunity to make it in.

Both of these assume that there is not enough time or building availability to have regular season games. If that is indeed the case, the reality is that one of those two scenarios is actually more fair.

Those that feel the teams on the bubble will clearly state that a play-in format is most fair. Their case is that those teams were making their charge and thus robbed of an opportunity to earn a playoff spot via their final regular season games.

On the surface, that is a noble sentiment and one I do not disagree with in total. It gives the teams already in the playoff spots a chance to solidify themselves. It gives the teams on the cusp a chance to earn their way in.

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However, giving those teams games is the exact flaw that makes this format unfair. The most fair one, ironically enough, is the one that excludes teams not currently in a playoff spot.

The reason the less inclusive playoff format is actually more fair is the very nature of the play-in system. In that format, the teams vying for the final playoff spots get to play games – actual, high-stakes games.

This actually puts the teams higher up in the standings at a disadvantage. They will be coming into their first playoff series, whether that is three, five or seven games, ice cold.

If it was a one-game playoff then, perhaps, that might be acceptable. Even then, the Blues would be at a disadvantage.

They would have been sitting around for weeks, perhaps months. Maybe they get to have a mini-training camp, if the potential schedule would not be too condensed allowing it.

The fact is, no matter how you slice it, the play-in scenario actually favors the teams that did the least in the regular season.

There have been different play-in formats proposed. The one covered in our What If article discussed the two above the playoff line playing against the two just below the playoff line. Given the way the standings are at present, that would be the most fair of those because only the Florida Panthers would be “snubbed”.

Another format proposed would basically involve the entire league. The top two teams in each conference would get byes and the bottom two teams would not make it in.

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Yet another format would literally involve every team in the league. This one is the most far-fetched because the top handful of teams would actually be idle for two rounds of playoffs. For example, the bottom-tier teams would play a one-game playoff, playing a waiting opponent for three games, then the Blues would eventually play the winner of all that in a five-game scenario and then seven games from then on.

"Jégkorongblog ” Minden csapat indulhatna az NHL-rájátszásbanÖsszedobtak egy új forgatókönyvet a szezon befejezésére, e szerint a playoff összesen 6 körön keresztül tarthatna. Minden bajnokság leállt Észak-Amerikában, ez azonban nem jelenti azt, hogy a háttérben ne folytatnák az ötletelést. A napirenden lévő kérdések egyike, hogy ha sikerülne újraindítani az NHL küzdelmeit, azt milyen formában tehetnék meg."

That would actually be the worst for the top teams. They would be sitting idle through two rounds of playoffs while the other teams honed their skills and prepared their bodies for the grind that was to come.

The NHL is not like the NFL where a week off can be beneficial to game-plan and heal up. While the rest is good for overall health, the NHL is actually closer to Major League Baseball. Rhythm, timing and cohesion with teammates is a lot more important.

While the teams on the bubble would feel cheated, they put themselves in that scenario by not being good enough during the season. Yes, if the Blues were one of those lower teams, we would feel different individually. That does not change the fact that for the 16 teams currently in a playoff spot right now, they might not actually be cheated by other teams getting play-in games.

The Boston Bruins might actually struggle with the New York Rangers anyway, but imagine if the Rangers got to regain their momentum prior to having to play Boston. St. Louis has yet to beat the Nashville Predators in the 2019-20 season. They would be on even less even-playing ground if the Preds get their legs under them against the Minnesota Wild, or vice versa in either scenario.

Next. Every day lost is costing the Blues money. dark

The scenario most fair to the teams already in a playoff spot is to go with a traditional playoff format. Of course, the best way to end the season would be to have regular season games and settle it all that way.

In lieu of that, the standard playoff format, with standings frozen as they are, would provide the most fair playoffs for the teams playing in it.

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