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Rest Is Important
by Paul on 05/19/08 at 03:28 PM ET
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from Al Strachan at Fox Sports,
If you look at the Stanley Cup playoffs over the years, especially in the modern era, a clear trend emerges. Teams that can get themselves at least one short series along the way are much more likely to hoist the Cup than a team that had to battle hard all along the way.
Similarly, that’s why the fourth and fifth holes are so dreaded. For those teams, every round is a tough one and less likely to produce a short series. Under the current format, no fourth-seeded team has managed to win the Cup.
So the Red Wings did themselves no favors by failing to put away the Stars after going up 3-0 in the conference final. In fact, most hockey observers felt that one of the reasons the Wings were able to open that lead was the fact that the Stars exhibited a similar failing in the previous round.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Do we really know that more rest leads to a greater chance of hoisting the Cup? Perhaps it’s simply that teams with enough talent to win the Cup are more apt to win series’ in 4 or 5 games.
Posted by Hugh on 05/19/08 at 05:19 PM ET
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Scratchan is wrong. In 2000 the New Jersey Devils came out of the 4th seed to win the Stanley Cup. Similarly the 1995 Devils were the 5th seed and won the cup out of the 4-5 match-up.
His point that teams need short series early and need to get rest is correct. However he is wrong about the facts.
Posted by jkrdevil on 05/19/08 at 03:12 PM ET