Dear gamers,
Unfortunately it has turned out that the current rules for playoff match scheduling have turned out inadequate. The remaining teams are very competitive by nature, which is of course to be expected in a tournament like this. However, the side effect of this is that many teams only want to play with their best possible lineup, resulting in conflicting interests between the teams, as no one would like to give an edge to their opponent. We simply cannot afford to postpone the tournament any longer, so we have decided that the current rules should be modified with immediate effect.
From now on, the playoffs will continue with the schedule that was in use already during the regular season. Effectively it means that the default match days will be Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 20:00 CET, with Sunday being the "emergency back-up day", during which the games delayed due to technical difficulties etc. must be played at the latest. Not having the best lineup available is not considered a sufficient reason to postpone games from default times and/or agreed re-scheduled times to Sunday. Teams are allowed to re-schedule their games, but any game day outside the default days will have to be accepted by both teams. If no agreement is reachable, then the games will be played on default match days. By default 2 games should be played on Monday, 2 games on Tuesday and the rest (max 3) on Thursday.
A public thread will be opened in the Forum section, in which teams are expected to post their match dates and times. If the teams are playing on default times, the teams should post that "We have agreed to play on default days". In addition to making the scheduling more transparent to the community and the administration, this will also make it easier for those who want to spectate the streams of the games.
Round 3 of the playoffs will officially start on Monday the 22nd of February, and the following rounds on consecutive Mondays. However, teams are allowed to start Round 3 before that if they have already agreed to do so.
We apologize for any inconvenience the new ruling might have on the remaining teams, but we felt it was of utmost importance to improve the rules to get the rest of the playoffs played in time and with as little hassle as possible.
Respectfully yours,
NHLGamer Staff
Edit: Note! We meant Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, as in the regular season, as currently scheduled. Sorry for the confusion!