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The new wild-card setup allowed for a team in one division to cross over to another division and play its first two rounds there, which defeats the league's stated purpose of going from six to four divisions in the first place. And based on the standings, the 2016-17 Stanley Cup Playoffs have a really good chance to be as ridiculous as ever.As of right now, the Metropolitan Division is on pace to send five teams to the postseason. The Philadelphia Flyers are on a 103-point pace, which would give them the fifth-best record in the Metro but the sixth-best record in the conference. No matter the five teams that potentially come out of the Metro, one must cross over to the Atlantic Division and face the Montreal Canadiens in a matchup that shouldn't happen on any level.Count the ways this doesn't make sense.The Habs are on pace to win the East with about 120 points. Instead of being rewarded with the conference's weakest team (likely whichever team finishes third in the Atlantic), they'll likely draw a much more powerful team from the stacked Metro. This is a situation only the NHL can create, one that screws the Habs and the Flyers by forcing them to play a much tougher first-round opponent than what would be offered in the pre-2013 format.It also kicks the teeth out of the NHL's mandate to emphasize rivalries. Instead of drawing, say, the Bruins, the Habs will get a non-divisional team. Instead of drawing the Penguins or the Capitals, the Flyers face the same issue.
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