Mark Madden: There's a lot of randomness with these NHL playoffs

The last two Stanley Cup winners trail in their first-round playoff series. The team that won the Cup in the two seasons before is long since eliminated.

Given the four-month break because of covid, then starting the postseason cold after a brief training camp, there seems an element of randomness about these NHL playoffs. But it figures to lessen as the tournament progresses. There’s also the possibility the window is closing for the Penguins and Washington, and that St. Louis was a one-hit wonder.

Excuses are being made for prominent losers, such as: They need a crowd and the accompanying atmosphere to do their best.

That’s silly. That proposes that good teams feed off such energy, and bad teams don’t. But the crowd is an equal (minimal) factor for all. Regardless of any accoutrements, two teams are on the ice playing. Whichever team is better, wins.

The notion of game-night hype’s importance gained momentum thanks to Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask: “There’s no atmosphere. So it feels like an exhibition game.”

Not long after saying that, Rask packed up and went home.

Rask isn’t tending to a family emergency. (He is married with three children, including a newborn.) It’s nothing to do with potential exposure to covid: No players or staff have tested positive since 24 NHL teams entered the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles to start the playoffs. In that regard, Rask seems in more danger at home.

It sounds like Rask missed his family, so he left. Maybe his wife decided.

Not sure what to think of that. Besides his family, Rask’s teammates should be considered. The Bruins are still in the playoffs, considered one of the favorites, and now their No. 1 goalie split.

The Bruins organization and the other players seem OK with Rask’s decision.

But what happens if backup Jaroslav Halak leaks in bad goals? (He probably won’t.) What happens if Halak gets hurt and a minor leaguer has to jump in goal?

The plentiful virtue-signalers among us (especially those in the media) are pounding their chests in support of Rask and shouting “FAMILY! FAMILY! FAMILY!” That would be a lot easier to embrace if 40% of U.S. marriages didn’t end in divorce and if 21 million children in the U.S. weren’t being raised by single parents.

The opinion that Rask quit on his team is unpopular but not outrageous. It would be naïve to think it’s not held by even one person in the Bruins locker room.

Rask’s contract has paid him an average of $7 million per year since 2013, and his career earnings top $56 million. That gives his family financial stability that enables Rask to walk away. But all that money came from the franchise he is walking out on. As an employee, Rask has been successful and highly paid. But he is an employee nonetheless.

Rask probably shouldn’t be vilified for taking a hike. But he probably shouldn’t be canonized, either.

If you’ve heard sports talk radio in Boston, you know what direction the callers will choose.

Rask should have considered his decision more carefully before entering the bubble and been true to his feelings then (assuming that’s what they were). But the Bruins would have ended up in the same place regardless of Rask’s timing.

If Rask goes home and watches television, he probably won’t tune in to sports.

None of the major sports are drawing the hoped-for amount of viewers, not after the long layoff caused by the pandemic.

Baseball hurt itself via a labor dispute. Covid outbreaks among several teams have provided a drag on credibility and perceived sustainability. (Inaccurately, in the latter case: MLB and the NFL likely would play through a sizable body count to grab those TV bucks.)

Hockey suffers because it’s August. Hockey isn’t played in August. Quick ousters for stars Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews haven’t helped.

Basketball’s a more puzzling case. Mentally, basketball fits into any time frame. If any league figured to come out of the gate strong, it was the NBA.

But the NBA beats viewers over the head with social justice: Logos on the court, related names and slogans on the backs of jerseys. It doesn’t end when the national anthem does.

It’s a just cause, but when people turn on the TV to see a game, that’s what they want to see: A game. Not CNN with basketball highlights. (ESPN’s “WokeCenter” is a viable option for that, and a pioneer in sacrificing ratings at the altar of woke.)

LeBron James got it right.

James’ link to Nike duly noted, James has been at the forefront of serving social justice. But when it came time to pick a name for the back of his jersey, James chose his own.

There’s a time for protest, and a time to just play ball.