Stanley Cup playoff format creates debate

Listen up, Vancouver Canucks fans. Would you rather face St. Louis in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs or defending champion Los Angeles?

Its the difference between the NHLs old playoff format and current system.

Last April, the league did away with the format that ranked the top eight teams in the Eastern and Western conferences, with first playing eighth, second vs. seventh, third vs. sixth and so on, in the opening round.

That format would see the third-seeded Blues would match up against No. 6 Vancouver as of Saturday.

The big change is in Round 2 when the remaining four teams in each conference are no longer re-seeded (i.e. highest survivor vs. lowest survivor).

Under the current format, which offers parity and unpredictability, the division leader in each conference with the most points plays the wild-card team with the fewest.

• The division leader with the second highest point total faces the wild-card team with the most points.
• The second and third seeds in each division face one another in the first round.

Entering play Saturday, the West-leading Anaheim Ducks would play Winnipeg (wild card with fewest points) and Vancouver (Pacific No. 2) would face off against Los Angeles (Pacific No. 3).

In the past, if the eighth-seeded Jets upset Anaheim, Winnipeg would play face the highest-remaining seed in the next round.

Now, Winnipeg would remain in its bracket and play the winner of the Vancouver-L.A. series.

Which playoff format is best? Share your thoughts in the comments section and on our Facebook page.