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NHL and Gary Bettman Called Out for Controversial Playoff Scheduling Decision

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Jack Sutherland | Last updated May 3, 2025 10:54 AM ET

The NHL and Commissioner Gary Bettman are being called out for a strong postseason scheduling decision involving the Colorado Avalanche and their Game 7.

The Colorado Avalanche refused to allow their year to end against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night, scoring 4 goals in the 3rd period in Game 6 of the series on home ice to force a decisive Game 7 on Saturday night back in Dallas.

However, fans on the Denver sports scene are going to have to have multiple viewing systems set up. As it happens, not only are the Avalanche battling Game 7 against the Stars on Saturday night, but the NBA's Denver Nuggets are also playing a Game 7 of their own against the Los Angeles Clippers.

This was noticed by Denver sports analyst Will Petersen, who wrote the following on X:

There is ONE NBA Game 7 on Saturday.
There is ONE NHL Game 7 on Saturday.

Both involve teams from Denver in huge leagues.

And they start 30 minutes apart. How remarkably dumb.

Game 7 presents a fantastic opportunity for ex-Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen, now with the Stars, to eliminate his old club. For Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who battled against Rantanen many times, he's happy that the sides have switched.

We knew what we were getting [in Rantanen]. We played him a ton. So just one of the best players in the world. The fact that he's in green and white now is great and expect nothing less from him. He's a [heck] of a player. I'm just happy he's wearing our logo now.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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