Imagine the Los Angeles Kings polish off the Phoenix Coyotes and get it over with in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. Now imagine it takes a full week longer for the Eastern Conference finals to wrap up as the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils push one another to Game 7.
Of all the possibilities for the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, that combination of events is one of the most realistic. For the Kings, this would mean an improbable 12-1 romp through the conference portion of the dance, followed by roughly 10 or 11 days before the final series commences.
For the opposition, it would mean either three or four days of rest, refocusing and turning the page for either a Rangers team coming off the maximum 21 games or a Devils team with 19 games already on its log.
Advantage Los Angeles? Not necessarily.
The notion that a disproportionately protracted layoff between playoff rounds comes back to drop the other skate on a previously dominant team probably gets more credit than it deserves. With that said, it does have some credibility based on historical evidence, both in hockey and in other sports.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Al Daniel
NHL Playoffs 2012: Would a Sweep Really Serve the Kings’ Best Interest?
May 19th, 2012 by Al Daniel Leave a reply »
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