Tightening the Screws

Last night, there were two 2-1 games in the NHL.

Out of two total games. Pittsburgh and the Rangers. Canucks and the Oilers. All four teams who know how to turn on the offense. Three of those teams will make the playoffs, and one (the Oilers) will not.

So why the energy and goal crisis all of a sudden?

Surely in the era of the "new NHL" coaches and players know that a playoff berth is no longer contingent on how many one-goal games they can squeeze out of the remainder of the schedule. Don't they know they have extra points for overtime and shootout losses? Maybe not. Maybe the psychology of the pre-2004 NHL is still hard-wired into the men behind the bench and the boys out on the ice.

Let's not forget what all those excruciatingly close games from 1996 to 2004 have taught us, and what the 2006 season brought us: the knowledge that a loss is a loss is a loss, no matter if it's 2-1, 6-2, or 7-6. If a team in a playoff race loses by one goal, it still counts as a defeat, and the opportunity to make up the loss is removed. Dozens of coaches trotted out that method in the past, perhaps as a hairshirt over losing a three-goal game in late March. The only remedy then seemed to be winning as many one-goal games or tying as many games on purpose as punishment for losing by so much.

The illusion existed, and persisted, that your margin of wins or losses down the stretch was an indicator of how battle-ready certain teams were in the playoffs. Sadly, that perception still exists in 2007. Take a gander at the margin of victory for all playoff teams in the early stages of last season and this season, then compare them with the margin of victory in March and April for the same: you see that the average goals per game dips, and the goal differential in those games also takes a big tumble.

Pardon me, but I thought the ideas behind awarding points for overtime and shootout losses was to reward teams for throwing caution to the wind and going for the win, breaking them of the habit of playing a 65-minute chess match with little excitement. Instead, more and more teams in year two of the combined overtime/shootout loss column, are taking advantage of the system. More games this season than last have gone to either extra session. Sure, there's been the extra bonus of having a 5-4 game go the distance instead of a 2-2 game end in a tie, but the old-school philosophy of tightening up still prevails.

Lucky for us, there have been some days late in the season already where the trend was bucked, like last Saturday when Carolina won by five, Florida scored eight and won by three, and the Rangers defeated Boston by a touchdown and extra point.

Don't expect fireworks most nights, though. There are still six teams in contention for a final postseason
berth - five in the East and Colorado in the West. Even though the East has flipped the script and plays a more
open game like the West used to, there are enough teams who like to play spoiler who will be fighting tooth-and-nail with one-goal wins just for professional pride.

Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. Unless you're out of contention, then nobody cares how badly you win or lose. These are the games to keep your eye on if you're a fan and want to be entertained - because the pressure's off and guys are playing for pride and numbers.