Pinza Playoff Pool Preview #1 - How to Play

This blog is going to be practically focused on the pool I've created for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. At least half of the proceeds from this pool will be donated toward Language Arts scholarships for students at Chabot College wishing to pursue a degree in English or another language. (For more on the "origin story," see my previous entry.)

Structure of the Game

The Stanley Cup Playoffs consists of four rounds - eight teams qualify from the Eastern and Western Conferences for a total field of sixteen. Every match-up is a best-of-seven series within the conference until the final two teams - the champions of each Conference - square off for the coveted Stanley Cup.

As the playoffs unfold, poolies will be given three different 3 x 3 grids to complete. The goal is to predict which teams will end up leading the league or their conference in certain statistics during the designated round.

Here is the grid for the first round of the playoffs, which begins on April 20:

Round 1 Fill in the grid with nine different teams that match the intersecting criteria for Round 1 of the playoffs.

	League Leader	Next best in Western Conference	Next best in Eastern Conference
Most goals scored
Fewest goals allowed
Played in longest series.

Players will earn 2 points for each correct team under "League Leader", and one point for correct teams in the other columns. Highest score after the first round will win a payout (I'm budgeting $2 per player at this point.)

Sample Grids (Offense)

Here are some sample grids with different categories to help you understand how the game works and get you started on your research and preparation. One challenge in the first round is to fill your grid with nine different teams. Thus, if the same team ends up leading more than one category, we'll necessarily have to give some second- or third-best teams a chance to "win" that square.

Let's look at two examples. First, this grid represents statistics through games played last Sunday, April 7:

A quick note - in hockey, when a player commits a penalty, they are removed from the game for an amount of time (usually two minutes), and the other team is allowed to play with an advantage for that time. This is known as a "power play" for the team with the extra player. Conversely, "even-strength" refers to the time when no team has any penalties -- both teams have their full complement on the ice.

For the grid above, if you look at the actual statistics for this part of the season (and the NHL website has a pretty good, easily filtered and sorted stats section), the three teams that lead in total goals also lead the league in even-strength goals. Thus, the "winning" teams in the middle row have to be the next-highest ranked teams. The same is true in shots per game: Los Angeles actually ranks behind other Western teams who are already on the grid (Colorado and Edmonton).

The next sample highlights just the last month or so of the season - games played after the league's trade deadline:

Once again, since Colorado and Edmonton are tops in the league in multiple categories, Los Angeles and Nashville sneak onto the grid as the next-highest ranked teams. 

The pool will feature three grids total, as I said. The second round will have a new grid where you'll, once again, pick teams for each square. After that round, we'll only have four teams left, so the final grid will ask you to use individual players to fill in each square.

As we get ready to start the playoffs, I'll provide more sample grids using statistical categories that will be similar to what you'll be asked to predict in the pool grids. My next preview will focus on defense statistics -- goals allowed and saves made.

How to Donate & Participate

While our college foundation sets up the direct-donation link for scholarships, you can Venmo me your entry fee of $20 using this link or the QR code below. 

If you'd like to donate more, simply add on to that amount. I'll only pull $10 for the pool. Or if you want it all to be donated and you don't want to play in the pool, just send a note to that effect. I appreciate any and all support. Thank you!!

Here you can download the form with your Round 1 grid. You can post your completed grid in the comments, email it to me (coach.pinza@gmail.com), or send it via WhatsApp. 

Check out my other preview blogs for a snapshot of which teams are leading in defense, extra game time, and other stats that may appear on the future grids.

Thank you for reading and (hopefully) playing.