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Betting NHL 2013; Will a shorter season make for more meaningful games?

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mrquincy

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I wanted to put this out there and see what everyone says... We all know that with an 82 game season that there is a lot of mediocre hockey....A lot... which can make hockey very difficult to handicap.

I am wondering if they play a shorter season, will the games will be more intense? If every game has say twice as much meaning will it make betting on regular season games a little easier?

I'd like to hear some opinions.. I had vowed to not watch hockey this season if they came back, but I realized that there may be some good opportunity to make some cash on NHL this season if the players have to play to win every night.
 
I don't see any doubt that it will make a higher overall percentage of games more meaningful. It is a mathematical inevitability. Does that mean players will play with more intensity? I think a lot of players try their hardest all the time anyway but there may be some marginal overall uptick.

Does that mean better wagering opportunities? I doubt it. Some people who happen to do well with their bets will probably chalk it up to that and declare themselves experts at short seasons - people like to contrive that kind of thing and declare themselves expert at something rather than chalk it up to a little lucky run - but I doubt there is any real effect. Just as many people will have cold runs. Most will stay the same - i.e. methodically losing their money.

Personally, my best betting time in all sports seems to be the dog days of early to mid-season when (theoretically) there would be the least intensity. But that's just me.



While I will place my usual UNDER bets on selected NHL games, I will not be watching. It is not a gesture of protest for me. Just don't find it interesting. They lost me a long time ago.
 
It is interesting to see the Canadian perspective. When you lose your core market, it really weakens the sport.

What percentage of the players were playing in other leagues? Since there are fewer games, more unders since they mean more? Thinking out loud here.
 
The first few games are going to be more like street hockey. Look for the teams with established lines to do really well in the early season... I could potentially see a lot of scoring as well given the fact that the goalies will probably not start out so strong...
 
As a non-fanatic hockey fan, will enjoy more not having to wait forever to see the playoffs start! Probably for teams that are not considered playoff worthy, their fans might be more pumped up bout possibly chances they can sneak into the playoffs with a short season!
 
I am a casual fan.

I won't spend money on tickets, merchandise, or specialty channels for any league.

Formed the opinion a long time ago that being a "serious" fan is a big waste of mental energy and time.

Would like to see the Leafs do well but am so used to them as a less than mediocre team that I don't pay much attention to them.

Toronto could sure use a winning team in the big leagues.
Plommer would like to see his hometown teams do well.

I may become interested if they have success on the ice.

NHL hockey is the least repulsive of the 4 major sports for me.