You might be working through your turkey coma, but players in the NHL do not have that luxury. After a one-day break for a football-fest in the U.S., hockey is back in a big way this weekend.
The NHL schedule features 14 games on Friday, 12 on Saturday and five on Sunday, for a total of 31 games. And since there are only 32 teams, nearly everyone will play twice. For 22 teams, those two games will be back-to-back, with 20 playing Friday and Saturday and two others playing Saturday and Sunday.
Of course, not all back-to-backs are created equal. Travel is a factor, especially if it’s across time zones, as is the quality of the opponent — and whether or not they’re rested themselves. And then there’s goaltending, where a reliable backup can share the workload.
Here’s a look at some of the toughest matches on the NHL docket this weekend, a couple of head-to-head sets, and how teams have fared on their back-to-backs so far this year.
Rangers, Flyers, Kings In Tough
The good news for the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers is that they play each other at Wells Fargo Center on Friday, so somebody has to win.
The Rangers are reeling amid franchise-altering trade chatter. Even their normally reliable tandem of Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick has faltered during the team’s current four-game losing streak, giving up 18 goals between them.
The Flyers have had seven points in their last six games but have not yet seen consistency from first-year stoppers Ivan Fedotov or Aleksei Kolosov, while Samuel Ersson has been out with an injury.
Kolosov has won his last two starts. But if John Tortorella continues to rotate, Fedotov will get the nod against the Rangers.
The second half of the back-to-back will be an even tougher test for both teams. The Flyers will travel nearly 900 miles to the Central time zone to take on Jim Montgomery’s St. Louis Blues on Saturday, but they will have a bit of an extra time cushion, with a total of 30 hours between puck drops.
The Rangers will trek just 100 miles back to Madison Square Garden but will have just 24 hours between their games. They’ll also be facing the rested Montreal Canadiens, which won in overtime in Columbus in their last game on Wednesday.
The Rangers are the only team that has not yet played a back-to-back this year. The Flyers have played three sets, where they’re 2-1-0 in the first game and 0-3-0 in the second.
Travel-wise, the Los Angeles Kings have a back-to-back that’s about as gentle as an NHL team can get. Their road game against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday is just 30 miles down the road at Honda Center, and then they’ll come home to face the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Los Angeles is just 1-2-0 in the first game of back-to-backs this season but is the only team in the league that’s a perfect 3-0-0 in Game 2. However, the Senators will be rested, and the Kings have been riding David Rittich in net since Darcy Kuemper was injured two weeks ago. If they decide to split the starts, 24-year-old Erik Portillo would be poised to make his NHL debut this weekend.
Related: Are Big Changes Coming For The New York Rangers?
A Pair Of Home-And-Homes
In two cases, a pair of teams will have identical back-to-back experiences.
In the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers will be playing a home-and-home set. In the West, it’s the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks.
The Eastern battle is the heavyweight bout, with the defending Stanley Cup champions set to face this year’s top team in the conference.
The Panthers have not been operating at full force lately but snapped a four-game losing streak with a decisive 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. They also have two capable netminders ready to go in Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight.
That question looms larger for the Hurricanes. They’ve been riding Spencer Martin since Pyotr Kochetkov went down with a concussion a week ago and have won their last two games by outscoring their opponents by a total of 10-7.
Officially, Kochetkov is listed as day-to-day, and he was back on the ice on Wednesday, so perhaps he’ll return to action this weekend. Otherwise, Rod Brind’Amour must decide between playing Martin back-to-back or giving 24-year-old Yaniv Perets his first action of the year.
The drama shouldn’t be as high in the series between the Kraken and the Sharks. Vitek Vanecek has already been declared as the starter for San Jose’s home game on Friday, so Mackenzie Blackwood should get the nod on Saturday, while Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer will split the duties for the Kraken.
San Jose has already played four back-to-back sets this year, with a .500 record in the first and second parts for a total of eight points in eight games. Seattle has played three sets and is 2-1-0 in Game 1 but a grim 0-3-0 in Game 2.
Related: NHL Power Rankings: The Contenders, Playoff Hopefuls And Lottery Squads At U.S. Thanksgiving
Back-To-Back Success Rates
The best team in the NHL in back-to-back situations so far this season is the Panthers.
The champs have played two back-to-back sets so far — including the Global Series in Finland against the Dallas Stars. Both times, they’ve won both games for a perfect record of 4-0-0.
The Washington Capitals have the most points so far in back-to-backs. They’ve played four sets and are 3-1-0 in Game 1 and Game 2 for 12 out of a possible 16 points. This weekend, the Capitals are home to the New York Islanders on Friday, then visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
The worst team on back-to-backs this season is the Detroit Red Wings. In three sets, they’ve gone 0-3-0 in Game 1 and 0-2-1 in Game 2 to collect just one of a possible 12 points. Detroit is one of the teams that won’t have a back-to-back this weekend, hosting New Jersey on Friday and then the Vancouver Canucks for a 12:30 p.m. ET start on Sunday.
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