IslesFan2017
Registered User
- May 29, 2017
- 100
- 15
I don't know if this belongs more in the Business of Hockey forum but this is something I've wondered for a long time. It seems like the NHL schedule has logistical patterns that make sense. I'll give a few examples. When an eastern conference team makes a trip through California, they will play the Kings, Ducks and Sharks together. Similarly, when those teams visit western Canada, they will play the Oilers, Flames, Canucks and maybe the Kraken together on that trip.
On the other hand, when a western conference team makes one of their eastern trips, they'll often play the Rangers, Islanders and Devils consecutively. Another pattern would be that they will play several teams in the "southeast" region together such as the Panthers, Lightning, Hurricanes, Predators etc. Even eastern conference teams usually play the Lightning and Panthers consecutively when flying to Florida.
To contrast, I'll use the Knicks as an example. Last season, they had a trip where they went down to Miami for one game in between home games. It seemed like a waste to travel south for one game since they could have played another nearby team like Orlando, Atlanta, Memphis, or Charlotte.
Considering that there are 32 teams with different arena availabilities due to concerts and sharing with an NBA team, it seems like the NHL does a pretty good job of limiting one-game trips to a nearby city and making sure that the schedule makes sense. It's not totally perfect but it seems to make logistical sense most of the time. Does anyone have any insight into why this is? Does it have to do with the fact that the NHL schedule usually is released before the NBA schedule?
Obviously, this is excluding seasons that were affected by the pandemic or games that are re-scheduled due to extreme weather.
On the other hand, when a western conference team makes one of their eastern trips, they'll often play the Rangers, Islanders and Devils consecutively. Another pattern would be that they will play several teams in the "southeast" region together such as the Panthers, Lightning, Hurricanes, Predators etc. Even eastern conference teams usually play the Lightning and Panthers consecutively when flying to Florida.
To contrast, I'll use the Knicks as an example. Last season, they had a trip where they went down to Miami for one game in between home games. It seemed like a waste to travel south for one game since they could have played another nearby team like Orlando, Atlanta, Memphis, or Charlotte.
Considering that there are 32 teams with different arena availabilities due to concerts and sharing with an NBA team, it seems like the NHL does a pretty good job of limiting one-game trips to a nearby city and making sure that the schedule makes sense. It's not totally perfect but it seems to make logistical sense most of the time. Does anyone have any insight into why this is? Does it have to do with the fact that the NHL schedule usually is released before the NBA schedule?
Obviously, this is excluding seasons that were affected by the pandemic or games that are re-scheduled due to extreme weather.