NHL's disputed playoff format ought to make for a grand entrance for the Central Division this year
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The current concentration of power in the Western Conference makes the Central Division a good bet to be the star of the show in these Stanley Cup playoffs .
Don't wait for the ending, though. The bracket ensures that two of the conference's top three teams — Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota — will be ousted over the first two rounds. “The rules are the rules, so you deal with them, and if you’re going to win the Stanley Cup, you’ve got to beat all the teams anyway, so it is what it is,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said.
The postseason format the NHL brought back with the divisional realignment for the 2013-14 season to intensify the first round and double down on regional rivalries has occasionally proved controversial. With the Avalanche, Stars and Wild cemented at the top of the conference and their division for most of the season the calls for change have come louder this spring. League-leading Colorado would face the Minnesota-Dallas winner in the second round if the Avs beat the second wild card team as they will be favored to do.
The Stars, who have lost in the Western Conference final in each of the last three years, don't get much of a reward for finishing third overall in the league. “Well, I’ve yet to meet somebody who likes it, so I’ll leave it at that,” Stars forward Matt Duchene said. “I think everybody feels the same way.
Regular season should set you up well if you do well, and with our division being as strong as it is, it doesn’t, right? But at the same time, there’s nothing we can do about it. You’ve got to go through great teams no matter what round you’re in.