2006 Playoff Schedules

[cgang]

I am a fairly superstitious person so I won't begin to assume that the Sabres will make the playoffs or what seed they will be if they do make it.

 

So say I am from out of town (I am), will be in a certain area in early May, and am trying to decide strategically if a playoff game might be played that weekend as I make my travel arrangements. And let's say, hypothetically, that the area is Ottawa and not Buffalo.

 

Any idea when the NHL releases tentative playoff schedules? Do they wait until all 8 teams in a conference clinch, or would they release a tentative schedule if, say, the top 4 teams clinch. I'm pretty much screwed if I have to wait unti mid April.

[LabattBlue]

The playoffs are scheduled to start April 21st. I don't think you will see the game schedules for each series released until the night the regular season ends(April 18th) or the next day.

[Bring Back Sanderson]

Not only will they not be released until the final day or day after the regular season ends, there's no way the schedule is finalized until all 8 seeds are locked in place in a particular order.

 

In other words, if Buffalo matches up with the Rangers in the 1st round, expect a day game scheduled on NBC on a Saturday or Sunday, and then an OLN game or 2. If Buffalo is matched up against Montreal or Tampa Bay, then that's not happening and some of the awkward starting times come into effect...like Sunday night playoff games.

 

Remember back in the day some of the Sunday night playoff games Buffalo would be scheduled against Ottawa? What a buzzkill that was...

[Taro T]

To add to the points already brought up, the league no longer has one conference play all its games on one day and the other on the next. Games are now scheduled based on rink availability and TV network requests, so you can estimate when Buffalo will have home games (21st and 23rd are pretty good guesses, 30th and 4th or 5th are as well, but nothing is certain) but until the 18th nothing will be finalized.