ESPN asked the question: Is MLS' new best-of-three playoff format working?
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/38852791/is-mls-new-best-three-playoff-format-working
They said, sure, as much as can be expected, probably will change in a year or two.
They did note - the MLS is having to play around a few international breaks, one each in Sept, Oct and Nov, with November interrupting the playoffs. So the goal was finish the first round best of 3, international break, then play the rest of the playoffs afterwards.
When you figure in the 8-9 games, you are looking at potentially 4 games before the break - this is just silly.
What I do:
1. Eliminate the #9 team and just make the playoffs 1-8.
2. Every round is home and home aggregate
The format:
Round 1 (Conf QF) Last date in Oct, First date in November
Round 2 (Conf SF) Second and third dates in November
International Break
Round 3 (Conf Finals) Last 2 match dates in November
Championship game - neutral site hosted by an MLS team