The Buffalo Sabres often consider the Toronto Maple Leafs their biggest rival. They are also only playing one another three times this season.
Making changes to the schedule is always a controversial affair. Purists want to see everything hold as is for the sake of tradition, while others want to see more meaningful games on the schedule, and it is something an 84 game regular season will bring.
As it stands, teams like the Buffalo Sabres often need to sacrifice a game against a heated division rival, and this season, the (dis)honor went to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sabres and Leafs have already played once this season, so they have just two more meetings on the year.
What about other teams in the NHL? The New York Rangers and Islanders met for the final time this year – IN DECEMBER! Heated rivals like the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are also meeting just three times this year.
By comparison, the Sabres play three games against each team in the Metropolitan Division, and it shouldn’t, in any way, be like this. That said, adding two measly games to the schedule while sacrificing two preseason contests will go a long way in terms of NHL rivalries.
84 game season will benefit Buffalo Sabres and their rivalries
When you put 84 games on the schedule, you get 28 games within the division, allowing four meetings between the Sabres and their rivals. An additional 24 games come against the Metropolitan Division, and the final 32 comprise games against the Western Conference, two per team.
While not all teams can realistically contend for the playoffs in March and April, if the NHL adopted something similar to the NFL, where the bulk of year-end games came against division rivals, the Sabres would be playing in front of larger crowds and odds are, more fans would be tuning in. Even if they entered the final stretch of the season looking like the 2014-15 Sabres.
These days, however, falling out of contention is less likely for this team, considering the recent play of their offense. Either way, fans would at least attend games to watch the Blue and Gold play spoiler. Per Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, general manager Kevyn Adams endorses the idea, having stated the following:
"“It’s up for (NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy Bill Daly) and the NHLPA to discuss it. Whatever is better for our league and benefits us and makes more sense, it’s something I’m all for.” – Kevyn Adams – via Buffalo News."
Overall, increasing the schedule to 84 games will work wonders for all 32 NHL teams. With division rivals playing two home and two road games against one another, you can expect more intense hockey, more sellouts and far more entertainment.
Article Source: Inside the NHL: Even a two-game expansion of the schedule would help fix some of the inequities by Mike Harrington
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