[worthyoflove]

They will! I was watching the games last night and they were advertising the bracket challenge. It's up but obviously can't be filled in until these first qualifying/round robin rounds are done.

[SouthernSweetieTX]

Originally Posted by worthyoflove (View Post) They will! I was watching the games last night and they were advertising the bracket challenge. It's up but obviously can't be filled in until these first qualifying/round robin rounds are done.

Oh yay! Maybe Taylor will do one. I mean, it's kinda tradition at this point.

[worthyoflove]

I think he'd definitely do it, or they'd reach out to him to do it. It might be the first thing we see from him in awhile.

[elherts]

I got it. Its kind of like the soccer except that had no season at all. So pool play determined ranks and then the knockout rounds started. There aren't as many teams so essentially everyone was in the playoffs. Although they are expanding to two new teams... one in LA and one in Louisville.

[worthyoflove]

I literally had to look at three different sources to make sure I had the gist of it down correctly. It's really convoluted and I'm still pissed that one of these teams in the qualifying rounds is going to get the first pick in the draft.

[elherts]

I had to ask my nephew what the lines mean... 1st line, 2nd line etc. That was something new that I didn't know since they don't do that in basketball or soccer. I always wondered how they knew to come off and on. Is it because they get tired quickly on skates as opposed to basketball or soccer. I mean basketball especially, they are moving constantly. I also asked if the 4th line people weren't as good as the first line people. He said "not necessarily," but I didn't really understand.

[worthyoflove]

1st line is generally your best line, and often times lines are separated from the forwards and defense. Like they might be running three defensive pairings instead of four, or they might have a fourth pairing but it's only on in certain situations.

4th line is often more specialty, like they might be the grinders who are out there to kill penalties or out there in certain situations. They're not likely to give you a ton of scoring but eat minutes and you can depend on them defensively.

But your line status doesn't totally dictate your worth. 1st through 3rd line, you might have a better player on the 3rd line but that player could be on the first line but you put them there because they can elevate their linemates play and/or they have a higher skill level then who they might be matched up with on the other teams 3rd line when they're out there.

The matchups against other teams lines becomes a real thing during the playoffs. It becomes a big deal to not want to ice the puck because you can't change your lines if you ice the puck. So say a teams 4th line is out on the ice and ices the puck. The opposing team has the ability to make the change and put out their first line against the fourth line. It's a lot of matchup games with last change in the playoffs.

[elherts]

What does icing the puck mean?

[worthyoflove]

If a player, from their own zone (not past their side of center ice), shoots the puck all the way down the ice, past the opposing goal, without touching another player, that is considered icing.

Why would you ice a puck? Because you're seeing a ton of pressure in your zone and just want to dump it down the ice to stop play. It can be considered a way to stop play to give you a breather, which is why in recent years they've changed the rules so that if your team ices the puck you can't change your line because it's generally an intentional act and the team that did it is tired, etc.

Icing does not exist for a defensive team when they're killing a penalty. The shorthanded team can dump the puck down the ice without it being considered icing when they're down a man.

[SouthernSweetieTX]

Originally Posted by worthyoflove (View Post) I think he'd definitely do it, or they'd reach out to him to do it. It might be the first thing we see from him in awhile.

Let's hope so!

[DaisyGirl14]

I wonder how much hockey Taylor has watched this past week????

[worthyoflove]

Probably quite a bit. Though, admittedly there's so much of it I couldn't catch it all. If the Wings were playing I'd be more interested. Though New York was already bounced from the qualifier so he'll have to root for another team.

[worthyoflove]

No celebrity brackets released this season. Probably too hard to coordinate with such late notice with the qualifying rounds.

[elherts]

Something to look forward to at least. The Phillies and the Sixers are doing meh... But I hear the men's soccer team is doing well.

Best of 7 for each round right?

[worthyoflove]

The Tigers are doing okay, I have neither the Red Wings or Pistons to watch so I'm just kind of along for the playoff ride. That 5OT game last night was crazy, it went long enough they had to push the game following it to this morning.

And, yes, they're back to the standard playoff format with best of seven game series.