After a relatively quiet night in the NHL where Ottawa regained the Northeast Division lead and the Canucks beat the Kings 4-1, today there will be 12 games over 12 hours. It starts with Boston hosting New Jersey at 12, and if there was any time the Bruins could beat the Devils it would be now, riding a four game winning streak and a reassuring Tuukka Rask who is carrying the load while Tim Thomas is injured. New Jersey and Boston both had winning records for matinees last year. The day will end with hostility as Dany Heatley visits the Edmonton Oilers, the team who he rejected over the summer before signing with San Jose. We will never know if Heatley would have scored his current 18 goal total with the Oilers, or whether that would have put them in a playoff spot at this point in the season.
Early to the Rink
With five early start times for games today I wanted to look at teams records for matinee games from last season. It’s interesting to see not only who has the best or worst record but also who plays the most, and with that there is a huge difference with Pittsburgh playing 18 games at 3:00pm or earlier, and Toronto only one on the season. It will only be a matter of time before The Game of the Week on NBC returns, which will mean more early starts and likely more Penguins, Bruins and Flyers coverage.
Here are the stats, with teams ranked for winning percentage. I highlighted the records I thought were most significant:
1.Anaheim, 4-0-0, 1.000
2.Vancouver, 2-0-0, 1.000
3.Buffalo, 2-0-0, 1.000
4.New Jersey, 5-1-0, 0.833
5.Montreal, 3-1-0, 0.750
6.Washington, 6-2-1, 0.667
7.Phoenix, 2-1-0, 0.667
8.Nashville, 2-1-0, 0.667
9.Philadelphia, 7-2-2, 0.636
10.Detroit, 5-3-0, 0.625
11.Boston, 9-3-3, 0.600
12.Ottawa, 3-2-0, 0.600
13.Florida, 4-2-1, 0.571
14.Edmonton, 4-3-1, 0.500
15.St.Louis, 2-2-0, 0.500
16.Chicago, 5-6-0, 0.454
17.NY Islanders, 5-6-1, 0.416
18.San Jose, 2-2-1, 0.400
19.Minnesota, 2-3-0, 0.400
20.Pittsburgh, 7-8-3, 0.388
21.Colorado, 4-6-1, 0.363
22.Carolina, 3-6-0, 0.333
23.Atlanta, 2-4-0, 0.333
24.Calgary, 1-2-0, 0.333
25.Los Angeles, 3-5-3, 0.273
26.Dallas, 1-3-0, 0.250
27.NY Rangers, 2-7-0, 0.222
28.Columbus, 0-0-0, 0.000
29.Toronto, 0-0-1, 0.000
30.Tampa Bay, 0-1-1, 0.000
