QOTD: Are the Blues meddling in the wild card standings?

[troutman]

If my team was solid in their seeding, I would not be adverse to LA missing the playoffs if I could help it.

[Enoch Root]

Bingo, IMHO, this question reflects poorly on the very high standards that CP usually upholds.

[1stLand]

I wouldn't go out of my way to try and ice a lesser quality team, but I think The Blues are not going to lose sleep if the Flames beat them tonight.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Bingo, IMHO, this question reflects poorly on the very high standards that CP usually upholds.

Why???

[robaur]

For those of you saying that the Blues are just resting their players just for rest...I agree with the players but am curious about the goalies.

Elliot has an outstanding record against the Flames. He shut us out last time so why would they start Jake Allen tonight at home and then Elliot on the road at Dallas tomorrow?

That just seems really fishy to me. I understand that they have lost a couple games but those haven't been just Elliot's fault.

This is just my observation.

I have Elliot as one of my goalies in fantasy hockey so I know the trends that the Blues have and this is out of left field.

[dino7c]

Elliot was bad against the Canucks

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by robaur

For those of you saying that the Blues are just resting their players just for rest...I agree with the players but am curious about the goalies.

Elliot has an outstanding record against the Flames. He shut us out last time so why would they start Jake Allen tonight at home and then Elliot on the road at Dallas tomorrow?

That just seems really fishy to me. I understand that they have lost a couple games but those haven't been just Elliot's fault.

This is just my observation.

I have Elliott as one of my goalies in fantasy hockey so I know the trends that the Blues have and this is out of left field.

Jake Allen has been credited with 10-3-1 on home ice this year. On the road he has gone 9-3-3.

Brian Elliot is 12-8-1 at home and 12-6-2 on the road. With a home save percentage of 0.910 and a road save percentage of 0.927, he would appear better on the road.

Dallas, despite the standings, is a hot team with a 7-3-0 record in the last ten. So I wouldn't necessarily say either is the 'easier' team at this point.

Play the goalie with a great home record at home, and the goalie with a great save percentage on the road on the road. Makes sense to me.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Elliott guys, two T's. Sorry it was bugging me.

[Oling_Roachinen]

The Blues do play the Blackhawks twice and the Wild once before the season ends still. Those are far more important games when they are directly competing with those teams for home-ice/position. Makes sense they would rest their injured players against an out-of-division opponent if they believe it gives them a better shot in the upcoming far more important "4 point" games.

[Azhouse]

NHL teams do not play for a loss (except the Oilers).

[Anduril]

They could end up facing one of the Flames, Jets, Wild or Kings depending on how the rest of the season turns out. No doubt they'd prefer to face the Flames in Round 1 so it would only make sense to want to ensure they put their best foot forward. At the same time nobody wants to deal with the Kings in a 7 game series. But then...

Too many scenarios to take into consideration. Can only ensure what your team can control on a day to day basis and keep your team healthy moving forward, while creating/carrying momentum.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

Why???

Suggesting an NHL team might not be trying to win a game - i.e. manipulating the standings - is very lowbrow, IMO.

It's akin to claiming the refs are against your team.

And it's one thing when individuals make silly claims like that, but when Bingo makes a poll of it, he is putting CP's reputation on the line.

[Erick Estrada]

I have to agree with the post above in that this thread is a little silly but if some people really feel that way then I guess it may be warranted.

Elliott being horrible against the Canucks is likely the reason he is not playing tonight. He looked like Pat Riggin in his Flames days just kicking his leg out on shots leaving plenty of net for Canucks shooters to pick. Blues probably feel pretty good about their game vs the Flames and still expect to win tonight and they probably will.

[edn88]

It would be great if the Blues just let us win, but really don't think that is what is going on here.

[Buster]

hopefully we're pissing off one of the Kings or Jets in the last two games of the season by resting some starters.

[Enoch Root]

^ Yup (EE). The Blues are worried about the Blues. They're not trying to play God with the standings

[PugnaciousIntern]

The question and option A) are not mutually exclusive. Plenty of playoff teams rest players in non-essential games at the end of the season, but are not intentionally meddling in potential conference standing outcomes

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Suggesting an NHL team might not be trying to win a game - i.e. manipulating the standings - is very lowbrow, IMO.

It's akin to claiming the refs are against your team.

And it's one thing when individuals make silly claims like that, but when Bingo makes a poll of it, he is putting CP's reputation on the line.

Actually, I think it's a great poll idea, because it questions and illustrates the general feel of the forum participants towards the thought. The idea itself is not unthinkable but very plausible and easily rationalized. This is not some idealistic game but a very profitable entertainment business. The answer is elusive and unprovable; no GM or Head Coach would ever admit to taking the foot off the gas pedal intentionally. So, yeah, what viewers think of it is interesting.

The word "intentional" is the key here. Those who had ever played in a golf horse race game know, it's not about winning each hole, but about not losing each hole. So, you don't try making all of the best/riskiest shots on every hole; but only when you are in danger of being the last one. This is a very comparable analogy. As a head coach, if you know that your team is pretty much there, would you not want to adjust your strategy to reflect that, play with less risk and be better prepared for the next round? Absolutely.

[Enoch Root]

Resting players and not taking risks is completely different, and incomparable, to manipulating the standings.

[CaptainYooh]

define "manipulating"