This whole thing, where we have been dialed into team's motives so much proves to me what I've always thought - there are way too regular season games.
In the playoffs, you don't question anybody's motives or effort, really. But, hockey to me has always been a game where effort is rewarded the most. I remember in the late 80s, the Flyers being so depleted yet making a playoff run essentially with the Hershey Bears on their team.
So, here we have a JV team, and just because they are mad at the fans, they are all of sudden outshooting teams for the first time all season.
if all the teams were giving their all, we wouldn't have anything to worry about. But, we just faced two teams who are mailing it in............Then, you have teams that are totally set for the playoffs. Are they really going to give it their all over the last few games, just for seeding when it means less in hockey than any other sport?
If there were less games, they'd all be giving full effort. The same applies to the NBA, where Lebron goes to Miami for two weeks, Pop rests his starters all the time (well, only on road games - home teams keep the money from the home attendance)............So, really everybody is tanking in some way.