Those who took advantage of the Rangers’ five game stretch mentioned in last week’s article probably have been pretty happy so far, especially if they own Marian Gaborik. Thanks in part to their 8-2 win over the Oilers last weekend, New York has averaged 4.6 goals in the first three games of that five game trip, which concludes with games in Colorado and Calgary. Speaking of the Flames, Calgary has their own five game week if you’re in a Sunday to Saturday league. Unfortunately for any their owners, it’s part of a five game road trip with stops in Detroit, New York, New Jersey, Philly and Pittsburgh. Yuck!

The Blues have absolutely fallen apart defensively over the past week and a half (don’t forget the injuries they have), losing five straight and allowing 29 goals over that period. However, four of those five games were away from St. Louis, as they have still yet to lose in regulation at home. Thankfully, they can hope to get things back on track with two straight games in St. Louis against Ottawa and New Jersey. Then again, this may just be the injury bug hitting them at the wrong time rather than a team that is significantly better at home than on the road. Time will tell.

Two of the teams sitting near the top of their respective Conferences look like they do fit into the category of teams that are much better at home. The Kings are 8-1 in LA, while only 4-4 on the road They play five of their next six on the road, then head home for a four game stand, then back on the road for five in a row and seven of their next nine. Such is life as a Western Conference team.

The NHL leading Washington Capitals are 10-1 at home, but only 4-3-1 on the road. They play three away games this upcoming week and have five of their next eight on the road before a nice four game home stand in mid December.

Probably the best looking week on the chart below is for the Boston Bruins on the Monday to Tuesday schedule; they play @Tampa, @Florida, Carolina and @Atlanta. Remember, the Bruins 7-1 on the road. Carolina and Atlanta respectively rank 28^th and 29^th in goals against per game, and the Lightning are 22^nd.

Over the next three weeks, the Canes, Devils, Isles and Canucks all play a League low eight games. Islanders’ owners are actually lucky enough to have them only play one game during the Thursday to Wednesday schedule this week; saves you the trouble of being forced to play any of them. Over the same span, the Flames play a league-high of 12 games.

Comments (4)

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buffalosoldier66 said:

	... If that is the case then what determines "Weak Opponents"? Points per game? Overall record? I have never really used the numbers for anything. I look at the teams in the Best Bets catergory and go with that. However, I also usually go with whomever is available in my lineup. Only two roster moves a week limits my ability to pick up players and drop others with any frequency.
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November 19, 2010
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Badgers Badgers said:

	... It basically boils down to More Games + Weak Opponents = Big Number; Less Games + Strong Opponents = Small Number. Start players from teams with big numbers. Hope that helps.
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November 19, 2010
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Badgers Badgers said:

	... Not sure how he calculates it buffalosoldier66, but it's probably something along the lines of Number of Games / Opponent Strength with strong teams >1 and weak teams
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November 19, 2010
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buffalosoldier66 said:

	... Can you tell me what the numbers next to the team names are? I'm a little lost there. Thanks.
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November 19, 2010
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