Gary Bettman Proves the Doubters Wrong With the NHL Playoffs

There are more than a few hockey fans who openly expressed disappointment in the current format of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In years past, the postseason format would feature the conference's No. 1 seed against the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed vs. the No. 7 seed, and so on.

Now, there are a pair of Wild Card spots up for grabs in each Conference; in Round 1, the division winners take on the Wild Card placeholders, while the 2nd and 3rd place finishers face one another.

This has led to matchups like what we just witnessed between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, a tilt that many felt should have been a Round 2 or even Round 3 matchup; the Stars prevailed in a thrilling 7-game series.

Speaking of Game 7, the Jets eventually outlasted the Blues in double overtime after miraculously tying the matchup with 2.2 seconds left.

Additionally, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning met one another in the opening round for the 2nd straight year, while the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers battled in Round 1 for the 4th straight year.

Don't expect Bettman to look for a change any time soon, though.

In March, Bettman pushed back against those who said the was wrong with the updated playoff format that has been in place since 2013-14.

Bettman also isn't without his support for how things have turned out.