The National Hockey League’s regular season is only 48 games due to the lockout. It lasted 119 days, hindering the usual 82-game season. Since the season is cut short, the winner of the Stanley Cup should hold a tainted title.
The lockout was a complete shutdown of all operations that had to do with the NHL. No organized practices could be held between the team, however some players competed in leagues around the world.
In the 1994-95 season, the NHL also played a 48 game season and in 2005-06 all 82 games were canceled. In the 1995 season the Devils won the Stanley Cup in four games.
If the Blues win, I will celebrate with the rest of St. Louis, but it’s not a legitimate title if the teams don’t play an entire season. The winner of the title should have an asterisk next to their name in the record books.
During the season a team can go through winning and losing streaks. With a shortened season, it could cost a team a playoff spot if players dig themselves a hole.
Injuries are also a big factor in the short season because a separated shoulder could cost a player to miss more of the season. If it’s a key player that goes down, the team could lose a playoff spot.
The schedule squeezes more games into less days than usual, so fatigue might hurt the teams with older players, such as the New Jersey Devils whose average age is over 30.
The NBA teams that had older players had trouble with fatigue in last year’s shortened season because of the lockout.
Because of the lockout, teams are playing teams only in their conference. Teams from the Western Conference only play other teams from the Western Conference until the Stanley Cup. That means the teams playing each other in the Stanley Cup will be less familiar with each other than in a normal season.
The playoffs could end up being more than half the games of the entire season if you play seven games each series.
This makes each game of the season more crucial and each mistake amplified. The less games you play the closer the race to get into the playoffs is.