Why are the Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup Final and the NBA Finals being dragged out? An explanation
If the Stanley Cup Final between the Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers goes the maximum seven games, the series will end up taking more than twice as many days as it took for humans to travel from the Earth to the moon and four times as long as it took the United States to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, in which France gave the U.S. parts of 15 states.
So why exactly does the NHL need 17 days to play as many as seven games?
And why have there been two nights in the past week without a Stanley Cup or NBA Finals game?
Several factors have contributed, starting with these two:
1). The NBA and NHL and their television networks are sensible enough to know that competing against each other on the same nights isn't good for anyone.
So nights the NBA Finals are played have become essentially, and voluntarily, off limits for the Stanley Cup Final. And vice versa. ABC has the NBA Finals every year, while TNT and ABC alternate Stanley Cup Final coverage, with TNT airing this month's Panthers-Oilers matchup.
2). Both leagues, ideally, also would prefer two nights between Finals games whenever possible, so that players can be rested and, at least in the NBA's case, so they can own a larger chunk of the June calendar.
The NBA is adamant about having two days off in between Finals games played in different cities; the NHL prefers to have two days off between Final games in different cities because of the cross-country travel involved for players, coaches, NHL staff and media.
But the NHL isn't insistent on having two days off between games in different cities, which is why the Panthers and Oilers will play Game 4 in Sunrise on Thursday and then Game 5 on Saturday in Edmonton.
The NHL could have played Game 5 on Sunday (when the NBA is dark) instead of Saturday, but that would have meant having only one travel day between Games 5 and 6 or Games 6 and 7, and the NHL preferred to have the one-day break, on a travel day, earlier in the series, while also making sure that it would not compete with any NBA Finals game.
For the Panthers and Oilers, there will be two days off between Game 5 in Edmonton and a potential Game 6 in Sunrise as well as two days off between Game 6 and a potential Game 7 in Edmonton.
Television also plays a role in scheduling.
TV's influence was felt last Saturday, when both the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final were dark. The Panthers and Oilers played Game 2 on Friday, so a Saturday game wasn't an option for the NHL. The NBA and NHL never play consecutive nights during their championship rounds.
Game 2 was an option last Saturday for the NBA, because the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers played Game 1 on Thursday.
But the NBA and ABC opted to play Game 2 on Sunday night instead of Saturday night because television audiences are traditionally bigger on Sunday than Saturday, which is considered the least-watched night of viewing.
And why was there no NBA or NHL game on Tuesday?
The Panthers and Oilers played Game 3 on Monday, so Tuesday wasn't an option for the NHL.
And the NBA wanted two days off between Game 2 in Oklahoma City on Sunday and Game 3 in Indiana on Wednesday. So Tuesday wasn't an option for an NBA game, either.
So NBA and NHL fans must wait patiently as both series play out over as much as 2 ½ weeks. There's no shortcut to winning a championship, or apparently, to getting to the end of a championship series.
Remaining games of each series
Panthers-Oilers (Panthers lead 2-1):
Game 4: Oilers at Panthers, Thursday, June 12, 8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, Max
Game 5: Panthers at Oilers, Saturday, June 14, 8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, Max
* Game 6: Oilers at Panthers, Tuesday, June 17, 8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, Max
* Game 7: Panthers at Oilers, Friday, June 20, 8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, Max
Thunder-Pacers (Series tied at 1-1):
Game 3: Wednesday, June 11 | Thunder vs. Pacers | 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
Game 4: Friday, June 13 | Thunder vs. Pacers | 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
Game 5: Monday, June 16 | Pacers vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
*Game 6: Thursday, June 19 | Thunder vs. Pacers | 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
*Game 7: Sunday, June 22 | Pacers vs. Thunder | 8 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
* - if needed
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