NHL’s playoff format builds division rivalries

Divisional matchups take on extra meaning late in the NHL season.

The league’s playoff format ensures division foes match up in the early rounds of the postseason, which builds rivalries at the expense of a balanced bracket. That means teams can use this time of year to send messages even if they can’t move up in the standings.

“When you play division opponents at the end of the season, like we’re doing right now, it does have a little bit of added intensity,” Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said. “You never know, but you could play that team somewhere down the line in the playoffs. It’s always nice to leave a mark.”

Each division’s top three teams are placed on the same quarter of the playoff bracket, meaning only one can advance to the conference finals. Competitive divisions, such as the Pacific and Atlantic, thus set their teams up for disappointment.

Three of the Western Conference’s top five teams, pointswise, are in the Pacific, and the top three teams in the East are in the Atlantic.

The format’s upshot is the hostility it creates in the early rounds since opponents usually have a shared history. And the intensity it brings to the final games of the regular season since teams are aware of which opponents they might see in the playoffs.

“I think it’s great,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “I’ve got no issue with that.”

GM meetings

The NHL’s general managers met from Monday to Wednesday in Boca Raton, Florida, and moved forward with a few potential minor rule changes.

The items included a rule that would penalize players who don’t leave the ice right away after their helmets fall off, and one that lets a team starting a power play select which side of the ice it wants the first faceoff. The proposed changes must be approved by the competition committee and board of governors in June.

“The skill of our players and what takes place on the ice every night is just fantastic,” commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday. “But we don’t take anything for granted. That’s the reason we have these meetings. Hockey operations is watching and reviewing every game as it’s being played looking for trends, looking for potential issues. The three days we have with this group is a very good time for reflection.”

Lindsay’s impact

Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay died Monday at age 93. The legendary left winger for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks left a large legacy as an 11-time All-Star, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and pioneer for the NHL’s first players’ union.

“Terrible Ted” finished his career with 379 goals and 472 assists in 1,068 games.

“Ted was unbelievable,” said Gallant, who got to know Lindsay during his nine seasons playing for the Red Wings. “Just a great man, a great person. I read a bunch of quotes about (how) as good as he was on the ice, he was a better person off (of it), and that’s exactly true.”

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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.