NHL Discussion

[forgeagain]

That wasn't as close as the baseball league last year where THREE people tied for 2nd place 1/2 point behind 1st place. But a good run nonetheless. If I had a few more goalie starts I would have been in better shape. Oh well. Good work nonetheless.

[mediocore]

I was shitting bricks the last few days. It's hard to really track how much you'll gain/lose on a given day -- too many variables.

[brad]

i don't understand:

"1 Point will be awarded for a regulation tie if your team loses."

[mediocore]

i don't understand:

"1 Point will be awarded for a regulation tie if your team loses."

If your team goes into OT and loses, you'll get a point. (Should probably just say "1 point will be awarded for an OT loss.")

[drabley]

i don't understand:

"1 Point will be awarded for a regulation tie if your team loses."

Say you pick Boston to win the series. Boston is therefore "your team" for that particular series. A victory is 2 points, regardless of how it is acheived. You could, however, still get 1 point if regulation ends in a tie and Boston loses the game in OT.

I worded it like this to eliminate anyone presuming that an OT victory would be worth 3 points -- 2 for the victory and one for the regulation tie.

This way, it is possible to obtain 13 points in any given series if you correctly predict a team to win in 7 and each of those losses were in OT. 2 points for each victory, 1 point for each regulation tie, and 2 points for predicting series victory in 7 games.

Seems complicated, but I wanted to add some handicapping skill as opposed to pure luck or instinct. I won an NCAA Basketball bracket pool having watched maybe 3 games my entire life. I wanted this to have some skill involved since we're putting vinyl on the line.

[murakami]

i am in for the bracket - i will put up the Matt & Kim 10"

East:

Boston v Montreal: Boston wins series 4 - 1

Washington v New York: New York wins series 4-3

New Jersey v Carolina: NJwins series 4 - 2

Pittsburgh v Philadelphis: Pittsburgh wins series 4 - 2

West:

San Jose v Anaheim: SJ wins series 4 - 1

Detroit v Columbus: Detroit wins series 4 - 0

Vancouver v St. Louis: Vancouver wins series 4 - 1

Chicago v Calgary: Chicago wins series 4 - 3

Rd 2

Boston v NYR - boston wins 4-1

NJ v Pit - Pit wins 4-2

SJ v Chi - Chi 4-3

Det v Van - Van 403

Rd 3

Boston V Pit - Pit 4-2

Van v Chi - Van 4-3

Finals

Van v Pit - Pit 4-3

[drabley]

So I'm in for the pool. I will actually be putting up a 10" instead of a 7" though I don't expect anyone else to.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead: Festival Thyme (Pic Disc)

Picks:

Quarter Final:

Boston v Montreal: Boston wins series 4 - 2

Washington v New York: Washington wins series 4 - 1

New Jersey v Carolina: Carolina wins series 4 - 3

Pittsburgh v Philadelphis: Pittsburgh wins series 4 - 3

San Jose v Anaheim: Anaheim wins series 4 - 2

Detroit v Columbus: Detroit wins series 4 - 1

Vancouver v St. Louis: Vancouver wins series 4 - 1

Chicago v Calgary: Calgary wins series 4 - 2

Semi Final

Boston v Washington: Boston wins series 4 - 3

Carolina v Pittsburgh: Pittsburg wins series 4 - 2

Anaheim v Detroit: Detroit wins series 4 - 2

Calgary v Vancouver: Vancouver wins series 4 - 1

Conference Finals

Boston v Pittsburgh: Boston wins series 4 - 2

Vancouver v Detroit: Vancouver wins series 4 - 2

Cup Finals

Boston v Vancouver: Vancouver wins series 4 - 3

[drabley]

So we have 2 official entries.

Me and Murakami.

Anyone else willing to put their vinyl where their mouth is?

[drabley]

Re-seeding: an oversight on my part.

How do we propose handling this?

Should we wait until each round is over before picking the next round?

If so, your next round picks should jive with your first round results. IE) only one of your west quarter-final teams advances -- therefore, you can only bet on the one semi game that involves one of your original picks.

[swankymodes]

Re-seeding: an oversight on my part.

How do we propose handling this?

Should we wait until each round is over before picking the next round?

If so, your next round picks should jive with your first round results. IE) only one of your west quarter-final teams advances -- therefore, you can only bet on the one semi game that involves one of your original picks.

I don't get it... so should I only pick the first round then?

[drabley]

Re-seeding: an oversight on my part.

How do we propose handling this?

Should we wait until each round is over before picking the next round?

If so, your next round picks should jive with your first round results. IE) only one of your west quarter-final teams advances -- therefore, you can only bet on the one semi game that involves one of your original picks.

I don't get it... so should I only pick the first round then?

That's what we need to collectively decide.

[swankymodes]

I don't get it... so should I only pick the first round then?

That's what we need to collectively decide.

I'd say go round by round. That way everyone can keep participating through the finals even if their picks are shit.

[xfactor675]

I'm a Canucks fan, but are they really that strong?

[drabley]

That's what we need to collectively decide.

I'd say go round by round. That way everyone can keep participating through the finals even if their picks are shit.

That could work, though it takes some of the skill out of it. The saving grace of it is the points structure.

[sgoodcore]

I'm a Canucks fan, but are they really that strong?

Two big "?" can Luongo carry them and how does Sundin play. Personally, I believe Luongo on the top of his game can help the Canucks beat anyone in the West. I don't see any team overwhelmingly better than any other team.

[kirbypuckett]

I might have a solution...

http://rinkotology.org

I won't explain it, check it out. Sign up. Fill out your bracket. Take a screen shot. Donate.

I wish there was a way to show everyone your saved bracket based on username.

Note: I'll probably change this again, every time I fill out a bracket I change something. I hate it, haha.

[murakami]

thinking out loud a little we could try something like this

pick the first round. for each game you pick right, you get 2 points - ie if you said boston 4-1 and they won the series 4-1, you would get 10 points (2 * 4 for boston + 1 * 2 for MTL).

for missed picks, you would then lose 2 points. in the above example if you still had boston at 4-1 and they won 4-3 you would get 6 points ([2 * 4 for boston] + [1 * 2 for MTL] - [2 * 2 for MTL wins not picked]) these negative points would also accrue for games picked and not played - if you had Boston 4-3 and they won 4-1 you would get 6 points ([2 * 4 for boston] + [1 * 2 for MTL] - [2 * 2 for MTL picks not won])

Then, 5 points as a bonus for correctly picking a round winner and maybe a double bonus for a 'perfect' series

when round two start, everyone gets to submit new picks and the scoring continues

[drabley]

I kind of prefer the idea of sticking to your guns. If you stink it up in the first round, you live with it in subsequent rounds.

This will prompt people to really consider their picks based on liklihood rather than love or hatred. Anyone who plays the books knows that sometimes, you need to bet against your team or ride your rivals if you plan on being successful.

That said, I like the visual bracket. That way it's done and there and looks official. Any edits will need to be complete by the deadline for them to be valid. The last version posted here prior to the deadline will be considered final.

Here is my bracket. I don't plan on editing. This is it, baby. Vancouver FTW.

[kirbypuckett]

I kind of prefer the idea of sticking to your guns. If you stink it up in the first round, you live with it in subsequent rounds.

I agree w/ this. You don't get to remake NCAA brackets.

This website re-ranks them on the fly too.

[mediocore]

Note: I'll probably change this again, every time I fill out a bracket I change something. I hate it, haha.

Don't forget to pick a champion...

[brad]

I kind of prefer the idea of sticking to your guns. If you stink it up in the first round, you live with it in subsequent rounds.

I agree w/ this. You don't get to remake NCAA brackets.

This website re-ranks them on the fly too.

well it's different because the NCAA doesn't reseed like the nhl does.

say you pick the top 4 seed to advance so in the next round you have your bracket set up as

1 v 4

2 v 3

well what if seed 7 upsets seed 2?

1 v 7

3 v 4

so you only picked one team wrong and your bracket is still fucked up???

the only way to do an nhl bracket is round by round.

[sgoodcore]

I agree w/ this. You don't get to remake NCAA brackets.

This website re-ranks them on the fly too.

well it's different because the NCAA doesn't reseed like the nhl does

That's an excellent point.

[brad]

thinking out loud....

how about this? everyone starts out with 0 points.

each 1st round team you pick right is 5 points. you lose 2 points by each game you are off (say you pick the flyers in 6 and they win in 4 you lose 4 points, they win in 7 you lose 2 points...)

then for 2nd round teams if you pick a team you were right on to move on you get 7 points (if you pick a team that you originally had knocked out to move on you win 5 points).

3rd round if you picked the team to move on as far as you do you get 9 points (pick a new team you get 5) with the game subtractions still going on.

and cup round if it's one of your original teams you get 11 points and 5 if it's a new team.

or like say every additional round one of your right picks moves on is an additional 2 points in the win.

let's say i pick the flyers to win it all but the pens beat them in the first round, and then i pick the pens to win it all after that the pens point structure would be 5, 7, 9 as opposed to the flyers winning it all and their point structure being 5,7,9,11

[sgoodcore]

You've chosen quadruple-OT over sleep. You believe in the power of the hot goalie. You can grow a better playoff beard than Joe Thornton. You feel a chill every time Ovechkin's stick touches the puck. You need a 17-minute break between periods as much as the players. You watch pregame, postgame, and in-game interviews and its still not enough. You pray the hockey gods will finally smile upon Jarome Iginla and let him win the Cup. You're slightly disappointed when ever series doesn't go seven games. You count your blessings that you get to live during the Brodeur Era. The only thing that can improve your bagel and coffee is watching Kane and Toews during the morning skate. You dream in lopps of skate, puck, and whistle. You wonder just how do teams gameplan for Roberto Luongo. You live in constant awe of Zdeno Chara. You can't wait to tell your grandchildren stories that begin with "I remember the time Sidney Crosby...". To prepare for the Canadiens playoff run, you learned to say "25 Cups in 100 years" in French. You think the Red Wings might be more dangerous with a target on their back. And in-between playoff games, the only thing you want is more hockey.

Name one other sport that could construct such a simply compelling email advert like that. Got me near goosebumps.

[drabley]

Round 2 is the only difficult round because of the potential re-seeding shuffle.

How about this.

Maintain the original point structure I discussed. 2pts/win, 1pt/otl, 2 bonus for correct series duration.

Round 1 -- this is easy. The games are set. Using the above formula, it is possible to obtain 13 points per series. 8x13 = 104 possible points.

This way, it is possible to amass points in the first round even if you have horrible picks. I would wager that nobody exits the first round sub-30pts and nobody is eliminated outright after the first round.

Round 2 -- we wait for the pairings before we pick. Due to re-seeding, there is the potential for 2 of your first round winners to be paired and 2 of your first round losers to be paired in either conference. I propose an option in this scenario. 1) Pick a series winner per usual, however, you can still get 2 points per game regardless of which team wins, and bonus point if "your team" loses in overtime. This should compensate for the re-seeding and potential loss of a pairing. OR 2) Sacrifice 6 points and pick a new team to move on out of the remaining pairing. Otherwise, if the pairings wind up ww / ww or wl / wl or ww / wl, the original points system applies and you play like usual.

If none of your first round picks move on, you're stuck with whatever points you've amassed and you should strongly consider never wagering on sporting events again.

This way you're stuck with your original picks unless re-seeding screws you out of a 2nd round series. And then you have the choice as outlined above. This will be the only scenario under which you can select an entirely different team from your original round 1 picks and it comes with a penalty. It adds another element of chance because those 6pts spent could net you points in another 2 rounds if that team advances and you correctly select them to do so, or you could just play it safe and take points from both teams in your only active round 2 series.

Round 3 -- this is easy. If none of your picks from round 2 move on, you're done. There will not be the option to "buy in" again. Original points system applies.

Cup -- Again -- easy. If none of your picks from round 3 move on, you're done. Original points system applies.

Make sense?