STHS Forum

Hi. I want to start a season with the new NHL playoff format (viewable here: http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?se ... 14&type=WC), and I was wondering A) if such a format (wildcards and all) is possible with this sim and B) If so, how would I go about setting it up for the season? Thanks.

a) Yes.
B) Select option
How many teams in playoffs : 16
Number of Division Leader : 3
Division Leader 2 & 3 in 1st Round : Check

If I understand correctly the new NHL rules, the top two spots of each conference can't be held by two teams of the same division. Our league has 24 teams, 2 conferences and 4 divisions. We have selected all the options Simont said and the top two teams in the west come from the same division. Is there something wrong or am I misunderstanding the new rules?

The top two teams in a conference can be from the same division but since first round playoff are not conference based in your scenario (Except Position 7 and 8 who are the Wild cards), you can ignore it

*Edit*

Does checking the option "Division Leader 2 & 3 in 1st Round" could bypass the standard 1st vs 8th, 2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th? For example, is it possible to see a first round matchup between the 3rd position against the 7th?

I've tested, first round will work fine with the wildcards, but it won't work for round 2 as the STHS will continue conference bases format. NHL 2nd round is division bases with possibilities of wildcards switching division if they played 1st round against the other division leader

Shevchenko wrote:Does checking the option "Division Leader 2 & 3 in 1st Round" could bypass the standard 1st vs 8th, 2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th? For example, is it possible to see a first round matchup between the 3rd position against the 7th?

Only if the Manual Playoff option is checked.

starfrit wrote:I've tested, first round will work fine with the wildcards, but it won't work for round 2 as the STHS will continue conference bases format. NHL 2nd round is division bases with possibilities of wildcards switching division if they played 1st round against the other division leader

Did the first round matchups were 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc...?

If you have 3 division leader or more, 2 divisions per conference and 16 teams who make the playoff, the first round matchups are not 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc...? They are based on the new NHL format.

I guess I'm just a little slow to understand. Based on your answer, I assume that a first round matchup between the 2nd position and the 6th position of a conference is possible with the new NHL rules. If so, then everything is fine.