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Playoff format's impact on NYR, Kakko's risk by playing may be manageable

June 4, 2020, 4:55 PM ET [64 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
The NHL/NHLPA reached accord on several items on the 'return-to-play' initiative. Timeframes and details for Phases 3 (training camp) and 4 (games/hubs/protocols) remain to be determined but the format for the round robin, play-in round and playoffs have been decided. In addition, Vince Mercogliano of USA Today, who is a must follow, wrote a key column on the potential availability of Kappo Kakko despite his Type-1 diabetes and impact of COVID on him.

The NHL PR announcement and a better tweet by Adam Vingan that contains all:










The key announcements are:
- the play-in round will be best-of-five while the other rounds are best-of-seven. Up for debate initially was if the play-in round and first playoff round would be best of five or seven. A decision was made to have the "playoffs" remain as usual while the initial round will be shortened version, hearkening back to playoffs of yore. The impact is that a hot goalie has a better chance of stealing a round, as only three wins are needed to advance. This could benefit New York, especially if Igor Shesterkin is between the pipes or Henrik Lundqvist, due to his history against Carolina, can turn back the clock.

- The NHL Playoffs will not be bracketed, but re-seeded after every round. Thank god. I have been saying that this is the way to go, ad nauseum, ad infinitem for weeks. The top seed should see the lowest seed remaining. Using this format becomes even easier to defend if we have one hub for each conference, since no travel will be needed and having the highest seed match up against the lowest seed can be accomplished without any additional effort. The Rangers, at #11, are the second lowest seed in the East, so if the top four seeds hold true, if New York wins, they would face Tampa in the first round of the playoffs.

- The higher seed will be designated the home team – and have the last on-ice change – for Games 1, 2 and 5 in the qualifying series and Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 in the playoff series. In the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the higher regular-season points percentage will be designated the home team for Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. Let the Rangers make the finals and I won't be that concerned they are potentially the lower seed and don't get home ice advantage.

- Now for the one I disagree with vehemently and have written about this previously. For Tampa (.657), Washington (.652) and Philly (.649), who are separated by minimal % and three action points in the East, the round robin makes sense. Maybe the same for Vegas (.606) and Dallas (.594), who are separated by four points. But Boston, 10 points ahead of second place in the East, and St. Louis, six points ahead of third and fourth in the West, the round robin is a detriment not a benefit. The Avalanche, .005% and two points shy of the Blues, could pass St. Louis, but the Golden Knights and Stars have no chance of doing so, but the current tournament set up potentially allows that to occur.
 


Kakko, originally viewed at risk to the potential impacts of the pandemic due to his Type-A diabetes and celiac disease, may not be at any more risk than others, per what was reported by Mercogliano:



With the disclaimer that they haven't treated Kakko firsthand, three doctors from New York and New Jersey — two endocrinologists who specialize in diabetes and one gastroenterologist who specializes in celiac disease — agreed that Kakko wouldn't necessarily be more vulnerable to complications if he contracts coronavirus.

"I would say that he’s at no increased risk relative to his teammates with respect to (COVID-19)," said Dr. Fredric Wondisford, professor and chair for the Department of Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "He’s young — that goes in his favor. ... And he has diseases that are both controllable with appropriate diet and therapy."


Similar views were also espoused by the other two doctors in the column. One key mentioned is that celiac disease, which is an immune reaction to eating gluten, causes increased risk of influenza and pneumonia.  If Kakko were to contract one of those diseases while simultaneously infected with COVID-19, it could put him on a "bad course... but that’s very unlikely."

New York may still opt for caution with Kakko and sit him out, but as the doctors noted, the risk may be manageable. In addition, the concern that these views were provided by team doctors and therefore come with ulterior motives - meaning the team and not player's health was primary - is obviated, since all three doctors are independent. Time will tell where we are with the virus, the concern and likelihood of infection and ramifications for Kakko, so a decision on his status may not come until right before games start and could change daily.

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