The longest postseason & statistical weirdness

Statistical weirdness

The league has been careful to call the best-of-five qualifying round precisely that, a round to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  In that case, any statistics from those games should be considered regular season records, but the league has decided that they are Stanley Cup Playoff records.   Gary Bettman proclaimed that the regular season is over, meaning the qualifying round is in limbo….not in the playoffs, but not in the regular season.  The league will have a boatload of asterisks to hand out after this is over.

That means that in the strange 2019-20 NHL, a player could score a goal in the qualifying round, but lose and never play in the playoffs the rest of his career.  In that case, he would have scored one playoff goal, despite playing no playoff games.  Weird.

The desire to proclaim the regular season over means no shot at 50 goals for Alexander Ovechkin.  No 100 point season for Connor McDavid.  For the Rangers, it means Artemi Panarin loses his chance for a 100 point season.

What about this scenario?  Let’s say that in the qualifying round, Mika Zibanejad continues his end-of-season torrid scoring pace when he scored nine goals in his last five games.  If he did that in a qualifying round that went five games, he would finish with 50 goals on the season, only the fourth Ranger to accomplish that.   But where would this season fall in the Rangers records book?

But let’s not stop there.  it would also mean that he would have more goals this season than either David Pastrnak or Ovechkin in non-playoff games.   And he still would have done it in fewer games (62) than Pastrnak (68) or Ovechkin (70).  But no Rocket Richard Trophy for our intrepid Swede.

But if the Rangers lose in those five games, Zibanejad’s record would include nine playoff goals in zero playoff games.  That would make for a helluva goals per game average.

These are uncharted waters for the NHL and they are making a lot of decisions that can seem questionable. To this observer, the need to proclaim the regular season over is a clear indication that there is sincere doubt that the qualifying round will even happen.

How long it took to win

Here’s how long it took for every team to win the Stanley Cup since the 1986-87 season.

26 games:  St.Louis- 2019; Los Angeles– 2014
25 games:  Pittsburgh – 2017; Boston – 2011; Carolina – 2006
24 games:  Washington – 2018; Pittsburgh – 2016, 2009, 1991;  Tampa – 2004; New Jersey- 2003
23 games: Chicago – 2015, 2013; Detroit – 2002; Colorado – 2001; New Jersey – 2000; Dallas – 1999; Rangers – 1994
22 games: Chicago – 2010; Detroit – 2008, 1998; Colorado – 1996; Edmonton – 1990; Calgary – 1989
21 games: Anaheim – 2007; Pittsburgh – 1992; Edmonton – 1991
20 games:  Los Angeles – 2012; Detroit – 1997; New Jersey – 1995; Montreal – 1993
18 games:  Edmonton – 1988