Sunday, March 16, 2014
NHL postponement rules
?First time I came across the NHL postponement rules was in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Oilers v Bruins. From what I remember, after two periods of play, the score was tied, and there was a blackout. That game was to be restarted from the beginning, and held as Game 7 if needed.
Recently, there was a game suspended because of a player being hospitalized. The difference here was that one team was leading. And a second difference was that it was still in the middle of the first period. I can understand if the decision was restarting the game, 0-0 (similar to what MLB would do, that a game is not official until 5 innings are played, like in the 1982 playoffs), or if they picked up the game 1-0, with the clock at whatever it was. Instead, they did both, starting the game 1-0, with the clock at 0. That is, a full game, with one team spotted a goal!
I don't really get the logic. And I feel sorry for whoever is the computer programmer for the NHL.