If you’re playing head-to-head leagues this season, there’s arguably nothing more important to consider than the NHL schedule.
We can consider team vs. team matchups and fiddle with predictive models all we want, but the one thing that is set in stone (barring a force majeure) is the schedule. All things being equal, a player on a team playing four games will earn more fantasy points than a player on a team playing fewer games.
It’s also worth noting that the NHL stacks most of its games on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It’s been this way for quite some time to avoid conflicts with the NBA, which usually has a lot of games on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the NFL on Sundays.
This year, the NHL will play 624 games on Saturdays, 528 on Thursdays, 472 on Tuesdays, 284 on Mondays, 276 on Sundays, 254 on Wednesdays and 186 on Fridays.
Breaking it down further, there are certain days that feature certain teams more than usual. The Ducks, for example, aren’t usually a big draw, especially on national TV, which means they play most of their games on the less busy nights: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Meanwhile, teams with a lot of nationwide appeal in Canada, such as the Leafs and Habs, play a league-high 23 games each on Saturday nights for Hockey Night in Canada. In the U.S., with the NHL on ESPN broadcasts on Tuesdays, teams with a lot of regional appeal, such as the Bruins, play a league-high 19 games on Tuesdays.
Fantasy managers will use this to their advantage. A busy night such as Saturday can cause roster headaches picking which players and goalies to start. Meanwhile, nights where they aren’t many games can make decisions a lot easier.
The Ducks don’t provide any elite options in fantasy, but with so many games played on the less busy nights, it allows fantasy managers to make gains while their opponent might stay idle.
Below is a breakdown of games each team plays on each day of the week. I’ve also tallied all the ‘off-night’ games (M/W/F/Su) and busy nights (Tu/Th/Sa) for you.
Note the Ducks, as previously mentioned, and the Mammoth have the most off-night games with 41 each, followed by the Blackhawks’ 40. The team that might cause the biggest roster crunch of fantasy managers is the Habs with 60 (!) games on the busy nights, followed by the Oilers (59), Bruins and Predators (58 each).
A few other notes:
– the Sabres, Flames and Caps are good teams to stream for Wednesdays since don’t play often on Thursdays
– the Penguins are weekend warriors, playing a league-high 34 games on Saturdays and Sundays
– the Kings and Rangers are the teams most likely to miss Monday Night Football with a league-high 14 games on Mondays
– the Kings, Wild, Flyers, Sharks and Jets have the most balanced schedule with a median value of 31 games on off-nights and 51 games on the busy nights
Plan wisely.
Hockey News