Worth the replay?
Wednesday, April 22's games ranked by how good they turned out to be: late drama, comebacks, lead swaps and overtime. No scores, no winners, so you can decide what to watch without spoilers.
Best games of the season →- #1StarsatWildNHL· TNT/truTV/HBO MaxOvertimeDown to the wireB+71/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings25/25Comeback9/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth7/10Overtime+8Drama 94 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 71
- #2DucksatOilersNHL· TBS/HBO MaxDown to the wireB61/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings25/25Comeback10/20Decided late10/15Back-and-forth7/10Drama 82 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 61
- #3PenguinsatFlyersNHL· TNT/truTV/HBO MaxD33/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension20/30Swings11/25Comeback5/20Decided late4/15Back-and-forth3/10Drama 44 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 33
Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.