NHL late night starts hurt fans, players, and more 

The NHL is known for having unnecessarily late start times. And that has held true in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Monday, the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild did not drop the puck until after 8:50 CT (9:50 ET). Even if the game does not go to double overtime, fans are expected to stay up until after 1:30 a.m. on a Monday night in order to watch their favorite team. And it hurt.

Not only does it inevitably hurt TV ratings in the local market, but it hurts the capacity of the arena.

Can you blame them?

Fans can't stay awake late enough to watch. Ticket buyers are not showing up or leaving early, and players, coaches, employees, and journalists are stuck at the rink until 4:00 a.m. or later in order to get their work done. That just doesn't feel right.

What about those in the supposed "traditional" Eastern time zone? For example, the Wild OT winning goal on Monday was scored at 2:04 a.m. ET. And that goal came midway through the second overtime, not the fifth.

Minnesota Wild v Dallas Stars - Game One

That is an incredibly exciting moment that was not seen live by far too many people.

Now, this does not affect everybody. The Eastern Conference games begin around 7:00 ET, while the West Coast matchups drop the puck around 7:00 PT. But it does and always has, affect the Central.

Casualty of war? Shouldn't be. There has to be a better solution out there, and it is time for the NHL to find it.

Remember, these are the marquee games. We are not discussing unimportant regular-season matchups, this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If the local team is in the postseason, fans should have no trouble watching, whether in person or on TV. Isn't that the entire point of professional sports?

On Wednesday, fans are in for an identical layout.

Two Eastern Conference games begin at 7:00 and 7:30 ET, while the Stars and Wild once again kick things off at 8:30 CT (9:30 ET). Most likely, the puck will not drop until closer to 9:00 as it did on Monday.

NHL's Possible Solution?

One possible fix would be to stagger the games across the board, something the NHL should look at in the regular season as well.

It could look like this: (times in ET)

• Islanders at Hurricanes: 6:30
• Panthers at Bruins: 7:00
• Wild at Stars: 7:30
• Kings at Oilers: 10:00

In this format, no games will go past midnight in regulation, and fans will still be given ample time to attend with only a 30-minute change at most. Simple as that. Rather than focus entirely on the TV ratings of the early East Coast games, focus on what the NHL and professional sports are all about, the fans.