Should the NHL switch to the 2-3-2 playoff series format?

Let's face it. Home-ice just doesn't matter as it used to. Even the NHL players will tell you that. For one thing, hockey is an indoor sport, and second, most hockey arenas have become so commercialized and Orwellian that you really can't tell the difference between the Wachovia Center and the TD Banknorth Garden. The only exceptions to this rule are arenas like Madison Square Garden or Joe Louis Arena.





MLB uses the 2-3-2 format for the LCS as well as the World Series. The NBA uses it only for the Finals (they started it in 1985, after two consecutive years which saw the Celtics-Lakers and 76ers-Lakers, and it was way too much travel involved).





Basically, the 2-3-2 format would save money (travel and hotels etc) for teams, networks and the league. Player fatigue would be reduced and games would be high-energy, more action, more hits and more enjoyable for the fans.





Can you imagine a Stanley Cup Finals with Boston vs. Vancouver? Or Carolina vs. Anaheim? You'd have to travel between the east and west coasts 4 times in 10 days. That's too much.





The NHL should consider doing this at leasy for the Stanley Cup Finals, even if they don't want to do it for the first three rounds.|||Home-ice advantage is more important now than it used to be. Yes, hockey is an indoor sport. But ice conditions vary based on the weather in a given region. Warm, humid air that gets let in when the doors open will cause ice to deteriorate faster than warm, dry air.





Then there is the construction of the rink itself. San Jose's half-boards are actually slightly shorter than most other rinks. Some arenas, like Joe Louis, have very active boards with very active bounces. Some, like Montreal's Belle Center, do not have dividers between the glass.





Lastly come the current rule changes. Before the lockout home-ice was becoming less important. Now it has become extremely important because the home team has the last change. This gives the home team a chance to get the match-ups they want to have.





The money thing is certainly true, but hockey is a game of momentum far more so than basketball or baseball. Owners want cups and if they have a 2-0 lead in a series, go on the road and drop three in a row, come back and lose game six I can guarantee that the 2-3-2 would be dropped.





That being said I see no reason they couldn't experiment with it in the first round next year to see how well it works. There isn't much on the line compared to the later rounds, so why not try it?|||Using one of your examples, the distance between Raleigh, NC and Anaheim, CA is approx. 2500 miles.





Now to a current series in the real-world, the distance between Detroit, MI and Anaheim, CA is approx. 2300 miles.





Screw hypotheticals, I'd say most of the teams in the West would jump at the possibility of a 2-3-2 playoff format.|||I dont like the 2-3-2 i prefer 2-2-1-1-1 mainly because it puts more pressure on the first four games and forces teams to change strategies . Also i like the higher seed having game 5 at home which is usually the most important game in a long seven game series.|||The league had a 2-3-2 format and switched to the current format after the 1995 half-season lockout.





The BOG approved the current 2-2-1-1-1 format.





Teams aren't flying commercial these days; they all fly charter.|||I think it makes better sense to go with the 2-3-2 format. But we ARE talking about the NHL...|||The NHLPA is deadset against it, so it will not happen.|||no they should leave it the way it is|||Ya I am all for less money spent, more rest and all, I just have one problem with the 2-3-2. Lots (I have no numbers, just going on what I have seen)of series are tied up 2-2 after 4 games, maybe the majority. Using the 2-3-2, game 5 would be played in the arena of the lower seed. Say what you want about the importance of home ice advantage (or lack thereof) but here are the facts. During the regular season, only the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks had a better winning percentage on the road than at home. This system puts the lower seed at a advantage going into the most pivotal game. That's my only problem with the system, but its enough for me to say I would not want the current 2-2-1-1-1 to change.