ST. LOUIS _ It's the third period of a tied Game 7 in the Blues' first-round series, and it's so quiet, you could hear a puck drop.
But no one is there to hear it anyway, except for the refs, broadcasters and arena staff, and of course the Blues and their opponents: the Blackhawks.
On March 12, the Blackhawks had only a 2.5% chance of making the playoffs.
Oh, and the game is being played in Columbus.
All of this _ or some of this _ could actually happen in the proposed playoff format by the National Hockey League. Everyone's got an argument about something regarding how hockey will be played. But _ at least hockey will be played!
That's the plan, anyway, as announced Tuesday by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. As we've learned in a coronavirus world, nothing can be assumed. But the league has taken extreme measures to make sure the 2018-19 Blues won't still be the reigning champs during 2020-21, while making it possible for the reigning champs to be the 2019-20 Blues.
Bettman keeps saying that there will be a "worthy" winner and the Cup will be won with legitimacy and integrity. Here's agreeing with the commish on that, while acknowledging that some of the plans should be tweaked.
Right away, and you don't hear this often in St. Louis, but I feel for Boston. The way the NHL has it set up, the Bruins could end up with an unfair situation. The Blues, too. See, the two teams from last year's Cup Final are currently the No. 1 teams in the NHL's two conferences. But instead of guaranteeing the top spot in the playoffs to the Blues and Bruins, there will likely be a round-robin tournament (a playoff preseason, if you will), involving the top four teams in each conference.
The round-robin results would determine the seeding of the top-four teams. So if this happens, the Blues could enter the playoffs seeded Nos. 1, 2 3 or 4. That's frustrating, since they were in first place at the time of the NHL "pause." But the Blues had 94 points, the Avalanche had 92 and the Golden Knights had 86, so it's possible (dare it be said) that the Blues might not have held on to the top spot by season's end.
But the Bruins? Those guys were out in front like Secretariat. In the Eastern Conference, Boston had 100 points. Next-closest? Washington with 90. But now with the round-robin, Boston could end up seeded Nos. 1, 2, 3 or 4. Imagine _ the fourth-seeded Bruins.
They should play the round-robin games as exhibitions.
But if the proposal stands, there could be that Blues-Blackhawks matchup. See, in efforts to fill seeds 5-through-8 in each conference, the NHL will host best-of five series between team Nos. 5-12, 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9 (so maybe we will have a "12-5 upset" in 2020 sports, after all). In March, Chicago's Blackhawks were a handful of games away from elimination. Now, the No. 12 Blackhawks will face the No. 5 Oilers in a best of five. You hear about miracle runs in sports _ if the Blackhawks win the Cup in 2020, it will be up there with Villanova in 1985 and the Cardinals in 2011.
So, the best-of-five matchups are already set. And what's funny is hockey folks suddenly find themselves scouring for statistics, to see which team might have an edge. In the Toronto Star, for instance, it was noted that the No. 8 Maple Leafs are the third-best offensive team in the league based on goals per game, but their opponent, the No. 9 Blue Jackets, are the third-best defensive team based on goals against. But you read that and think _ does any of that actually matter? There's been such a disruption in flow. Months between games. We don't know for sure if characteristic of a team will translate to a "new" version of the team. You want to hope that the Blues will still look like the Blues. But you'd have to think that not every team will return to clicking the way it had been in March.
So, where will the games be played? Each conference will play in a hub city (there are 10 possibilities for the two choices). It would be really cool if one of the two cities were Canadian. This stuff means so much to the Canadian people. But the current 14-day quarantine rule for Canadian visitors could affect this.
The extra teams gives Canada more chances for one of its teams to win the Stanley Cup. A Canadian team hasn't won the Cup since the Canadiens did in 1993. If Canada does host one of the conference hubs, it's quite possible that a team could win the Stanley Cup in Canada in 2020 ... yet both teams in the Stanley Cup Final could be from America. Or, who knows, maybe the Canadiens win the Cup in 2020 against Dallas in Columbus? It's like hockey Mad Libs.
Now, much respect goes to the NHL for trying to pull all of this off. It's unprecedented. It's extraordinary. But just like we worry about in baseball, the fear of a coronavirus spread is possible in hockey, even if the league provides precautions. Yes, the NHL will give tests once a day during the playoffs. The fear _ whether it being a slim chance or not _ is that a player gets the coronavirus and spreads it in the 24 hours between tests. Could derail the season. Or worse. But these are the risks people will face in any occupation, as months pass in our country, as well as in Canada.
As the league is un-paused and the phases to a playoff begin, it's fair to look at the NHL as a metaphor for life in the second half of 2020 _ Returning to work, settling unfinished business, providing some hope in normalcy, taking extreme safety measures, all while risking a little bit in the process.
