Playoffs etc. open thread
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It’s that time of year — Game 1 in an NBA series that may be of interest to some regular commenters, both NBA and NHL Game 7s tomorrow (the latter at least involving two legitimate championship contenders.)
This evening there is a very fun game 7 if you’re into that kind of thing. Not only a classic Original Six rivalry matchup, but two neurotic-fanbase teams with statistically improbable elimination game streaks, one of which has to give. The Bruins blew a 3-1 lead in the opening round last year (after being widely, though falsely*, celebrated as the greatest regular season team im NHL history), and have given away 2/3rds of a 3-1 lead this year:
The Bruins have lost six straight games with a chance to advance, with a chance to break that streak on Saturday night.
Using implied probability based on betting lines at the time, there was about a 1 in 200 chance of them having lost every single one of those games. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/BumpYWpHBE— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 3, 2024
The Maple Leafs, without even an appearance in the finals since 1967, have for their part have lost six straight winner-take-all playoff games, including three to the Bruins:
The Bruins have lost six straight games with a chance to advance, with a chance to break that streak on Saturday night.
Using implied probability based on betting lines at the time, there was about a 1 in 200 chance of them having lost every single one of those games. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/BumpYWpHBE— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 3, 2024
As Sean McIndoe observes, the recent Leafs are in the weird position of often showing considerable resilience in getting into a position to win series, and then blown it every time. This will be really fun.
*Not to take anything away from a remarkable season, but…the 22-3 Bruins had a lower winning.percentage than the 76-7 Canadiens, even before you get to the fact that in Gary Bettman’s NHL you can get points for losing games, making the league winning percentage well over .500. And raw points in one year is the only case you can make for the Bruins — if you compare rosters, surrounding seasons, etc. it’s not close. Florida was the 8 seed last year, but if you compare rosters player-for-player it was barely even an upset. They had a great year but let’s calm down a little bit.
Discuss anything you like! It was 4-1.