The Hockey Herald

via Globe and Mail:

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman turned up for Thursday’s fourth game of the Dallas Stars-Detroit Red Wings’ series and the question on everybody’s mind was the possibility of sweeps. If both Detroit and the Pittsburgh Penguins end their respective conference finals in four games, would the NHL move up the start of the Stanley Cup final?

“I always hate to speculate about what might happen,” answered Bettman. “Even my mere answering your perfectly appropriate question would suggest that we even think in those terms. But depending on when these series end, we have a variety of contingency plans that deal with whether or not the series go the distance or whether or not they don’t.”

Translation: Yes, they do. According to sources with the television networks, if both series end in four, the Stanley Cup final would likely start next Tuesday. If one or both series end Saturday, then they would start next Thursday. Either way, it opens up the possibility that a Stanley Cup final could end in May for the first time since 1991, when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars in six games. If the final started on May 20, the sixth game would still be played in May. A seventh game would spill into early June.

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