When the NHL signed their collective bargaining agreement they knew that they would have to cram as many games into 99 nights as possible, but some teams are hit especially hard, like the Blackhawks who play 11 games in seven days next week.
Chicago has started the season hotter than the female shoot-the-puck contestant, but things could cool off next week after they are forced into a hellish schedule.
Monday starts things off in no-man’s-land, even for Canada, Edmonton, followed by Tuesday’s doubleheader at 3 pm and 7 pm against Winnipeg then Vancouver. From there, they travel a total of 21,000 miles in route to five games over the next four days, including a few morning tilts.
On Sunday, they will play the NBC Game of the Week at 11 am against the Red Wings, then replay them for the Hockey Night in Canada game at 7 pm. During their downtime between the Detroit games they will sneak down to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets.
“This many games in so few days is bound to hurt players.” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville “It’s already led to greater concussion chances, sloppy power plays and a sharp decrease in alcohol ingested by Kaner.”
