Column: Move NHL playoffs back

So far, this year’s NBA playoffs have been nothing short of amazing.

In the first round alone, five of the eight playoffs series ended in a game seven. Both conferences’ number one seeds were pushed to the brink of elimination, and it felt like each series ended up as an instant classic in its own right.

Between the four consecutive overtime games between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies and Damian Lillard’s ice cold buzzer-beater that sent Dwight Howard and company back to Houston on an early summer vacation, the playoffs have shown that there’s no question — the NBA owns April and May.

Ratings have been through the roof, as the first eight matchups alone averaged 3.5 million viewers per game.

The story lines have been compelling – from the public relations dumpster fire that is the Donald Sterling incident to the inexplicable late-season collapse that affected the Pacers starting way back in March.

It’s all been captivating.

So captivating that it’s blinded us to the fact that, quietly, the National Hockey League is putting together an enthralling postseason of its own.

For those who haven’t been watching, this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs have failed to disappoint. Newly successful markets like Anaheim and Colorado have proven a force to be reckoned with, and the league’s parity seems unmatched by any other sport.

The NHL’s most storied rivalry in the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens ended in a game seven on Wednesday, and the star-studded Pittsburgh Penguins lost their series in a heartbreaker to the Rangers as Henrik Lundqvist channeled the ghost of Patrick Roy, amassing 35 saves.

But according to Forbes, the average audience for an NBA playoff game is still five times larger than this year’s average NHL playoff game.

The NHL’s viewership is on the rise, but it pales in comparison to its hardwood counterpart. Even its most-watched game of the first round ranked behind an episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” and a re-run of “Full House.”

Now we all love Uncle Jesse and the Tanner family’s heartwarming antics, but that the NHL is playing second fiddle to a corny ’90s sitcom and a cartoon sponge is cause for concern.

Part of this has to do with cable giants ESPN and TNT carrying the NBA playoffs, while the much smaller networks like NBCSN and CNBC have carried NHL playoff games.

But the league’s biggest problem is competing with the NBA in the first place.
Almost nobody has the time to watch 16 different series between both sports, and in the battle of casual fan viewership the NBA seems to be winning out handily.

If hockey wants to boost mainstream interest, it should move the start of the season back a month and a half. That way, as the NBA playoffs are winding down, the NHL playoffs will just be starting up.

By the time the Stanley Cup finals roll around, the league’s only competition for viewers will come in the form of mid-season MLB play — hardly a factor given the MLB’s marked drop in popularity during the past 10 years.

It would save us from the sports purgatory that exists from June until August, and it might finally allow ESPN a reason to give hockey more than a passing acknowledgement on SportsCenter.

It would give Middle America the opportunity to see that hockey players are the toughest athletes in sports despite their difficult last names.

But most of all, it would help turn the most underappreciated North American sport into something even casual fans can enjoy.

­aknorth@indiana.edu