December schedule action packed

by James Mirtle on Dec 7, 2009 8:54 AM CST Comment 24 comments

He's back.

Nik Antropov is here in Toronto today with the Thrashers in town. Pavel Kubina, too. Pretty exciting. Big scrums, lots of questions, etc. Even Wyshynski came to town for this.

If you have something you want asked, shoot me a note on Twitter or email.

The Leafs schedule is nuts through December with 16 games, which keeps me busy. After getting schedule master Dirk Hoag to run the numbers, however, they're not the most over worked team this month:

	Team	2008-09	2009-10	Diff
1	MTL	13	17	4
2	OTT	13	17	4
3	CBJ	14	16	2
4	MIN	14	16	2
5	TOR	14	16	2
6	ANA	13	15	2
7	ATL	15	15	0
8	BUF	14	15	1
9	CHI	12	15	3
10	FLA	14	15	1
11	NJD	14	15	1
12	NSH	13	15	2
13	NYI	14	15	1
14	PHI	14	15	1
15	PHX	15	15	0
16	STL	15	15	0
17	TBL	13	15	2
18	VAN	14	15	1
19	CGY	13	14	1
20	COL	14	14	0
21	DET	13	14	1
22	EDM	13	14	1
23	LAK	15	14	-1
24	BOS	13	13	0
25	CAR	13	13	0
26	DAL	13	13	0
27	NYR	12	13	1
28	PIT	14	13	-1
29	SJS	13	13	0
30	WSH	14	13	-1
	Tot	408	438	30
	Avg	13.6	14.6	1

Eighteen per cent of the NHL season will take place in December, so it's a big month. For some teams more than others.

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Comments

The Kings “only” play 15 games this season but they play 7 games in the next 10 days. Then they have 8 days off. I know scheduling guys have a hard job, especially during the Olympic year, but that seems a little odd to me.

The West Coast is the Best Coast.

by RudyKelly on Dec 7, 2009 10:04 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Seems like they’re a lock for the Taylor Hall since they can only get 30 possible points this season. Something fishy is going on here.

The New Improved Avalanche. Now with Real Coaches!
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time

by Jibblescribbits on Dec 7, 2009 10:32 AM CST up reply actions 3 recs

Ahh

I hate it when my jokes are killed by my reading incomprehension.

Just smile, nod and ignore me.

The New Improved Avalanche. Now with Real Coaches!
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time

by Jibblescribbits on Dec 7, 2009 11:51 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

We often do.

SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.

by Doogie2K on Dec 7, 2009 5:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I’ll fight all of you, right now.

The West Coast is the Best Coast.

by RudyKelly on Dec 7, 2009 7:54 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks James

For giving us a picture featuring those beautiful 3rd jerseys by the Panthers.Ugh.

December is action-packed for every team in the NHL but there are games in particular I’ve got my eye on concerning the ‘Hawks. Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh didn’t disappoint as it was one of the best regular season games I’ve seen in quite some time. Then there’s the stretch right before Christmas when the ‘Hawks take on the Wings on the 20th and the Sharks on the 22nd at home, then travel to the Joe on the 23rd. All 3 shouldn’t disappoint.

By the way, couldn’t help but notice some more love for D2K in “I don’t know how you could keep Duncan Keith off the Canadian Olympic team. He’s a leading Norris Trophy canidate.” Thank-you James.

It's never about the eventual destination, but rather the long journey and its challenging obstacles that are presented and what it takes to overcome them, that makes the taste of success all the more worthwhile!!!

by hawks61 on Dec 7, 2009 10:58 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The Habs have 4 back-to-back sequences (one they , only two two day breaks (one they just had Saturday and Sunday, the other is over Christmas), and end it off with 7 straight road games. If they aren’t in 10th place or higher come Jan. 1, time to start selling assets and get prepared for 2010-11.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Dec 7, 2009 11:14 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I agree Saskhab,

If the habs do not hold down 10th or better, or are not 3 points out of 8th.
Might as well move Halak and any other impending UFA ( Plekanec) or the Beurussian ballet sisters , and let the kids play.

Leafs selling hope to the hopeless since 1967

by Toe Blake Hockey on Dec 7, 2009 1:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

In my opinion, it’s not so much the condensed scheduling that poses an issue, but the number of times a team plays on back-to-back nights. These are grown men, 15 games in 30 days doesn’t seem killer if they were to just play every other day for a month.

Unfortunately, the league schedulers always want crowded Saturdays, leaving several teams consistently playing on back-to-back nights. That’s the killer.

For instance, my hometown Sabres last year played 19 sets of back-to-back games, meaning that roughly 25% of their games started less than 24 hours after they finished the previous, with several on the road. This season is only slightly less killer, with 17 sets.

Now, most teams in the NHL have a pretty varied number (random sampling has TOR-18, EDM-11, NYR – 11, ANA-16, DET-11, DAL-12). Seems to me like having some teams play 6-7 extra sets of back-to-back games can really make a difference in the points race by the end of the season (assuming that, in fact, teams perform less well in the second leg, of which I don’t have data on).

by HarryNeale'sGarden on Dec 7, 2009 2:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

And, of course, while I can't speak for the Laffs

The Sabres mgmt does shoulder some of the blame, as they prefer Friday home games to Saturdays. Obviously Toronto wants Saturday games for HNIC, so who knows how to explain their huge number of back-to-backs

by HarryNeale'sGarden on Dec 7, 2009 2:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Arena scheduling for Buffalo: since they request Friday nights, they will often have to go with what other arenas schedule, which is usually games on Thursday or Saturday. Thursday is usually the busiest weekday on the NHL’s schedule.

Can’t say much about Toronto, but it might be because they have a NBA team playing in their building as well, so scheduling is very tight.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Dec 7, 2009 2:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Sure, but several other NHL franchises share a building with an NBA team, including, of course, the Rangers, with one of the busiest arena schedules in the NHL. And yet Toronto plays seven more sets than the Blueshirts do.

NBA teams can’t explain away the variation, I don’t think.

by HarryNeale'sGarden on Dec 7, 2009 2:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

True, especially since Anaheim has 16 and they don’t share their rink with anybody.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Dec 7, 2009 2:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Washington’s building is in use 250-300 nights a year, and they have “only” 12 back to backs by my count.

There’s a lack of consistency in the schedule. 4 games a week two or three weeks in a row, and then a light schedule for 2 week.

by RedBirdie on Dec 7, 2009 2:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

True, but IMO it only becomes a problem when it starts to affect the competitive nature of the league. If all teams deal with weird schedules and time off equally, that’s no problem. But when Toronto plays 7 more games on the back leg than teams they may be competing with in the standings, that can affect the competitive nature of the league and probably the ever-tight playoff race.

Again, this is assuming teams are statistically more likely to lose in the second leg of a back-to-back, which may or may not be the case.

Maybe we can get Gabe from Behind the Net to run the numbers on this for us?

by HarryNeale'sGarden on Dec 7, 2009 3:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Laffs!

Oh, ho, wooo, let me catch my breath. You truly are on the cutting edge of humour.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Dec 8, 2009 12:59 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Shows how weak the Leafs have been lately, if Nik Atropov merits a “he’s back” lead!

Glen Sather is a Hockey Genius.

http://glensathersucks.com/
http://twitter.com/ThGeneralissimo

by poploser on Dec 7, 2009 3:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Well, at least he was there for a significant length of time. I remember reporters desperate to get quotes from Joe Nieuwendyk about his return back in the 2005-06 season… after spending all of ONE year in Toronto in 2003-04.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Dec 7, 2009 3:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Or it shows the fact that a player that spent 10 seasons on a team is playing his first game back in the city which he made his home and in which he because a Canadian citizen. Also, it might be a story because the Leafs are the local team.

You can take your tinfoil hat off. Sometimes it’s a story because it would be a story in any city and not just because it’s the Leafs.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Dec 8, 2009 1:01 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs