6:30 p.m. ET Starts Will Return This Year

Last year, during the Conference Semifinals, a couple of games from the Washington-Tampa Bay series were played at 6:30 p.m. ET, so they could be paired up with games from the Nashville-Vancouver series for doubleheaders. The practice was considered largely inoffensive, and considering the networks often will make teams from the central and pacific time zone play well before 7 p.m. local time, seems like turnabout is fair play.

Looks as if this practice will return for 2012, which is a good idea, since anywhere from 4-5 teams in the Western Conference playoffs could be from the Eastern and Central time zones. The story’s from Elliotte Friedman:

Don’t be surprised if you see some 6:30 p.m. local starts on weekdays in the playoffs, so the league can get a staggered finish or two.