Visiting teams thriving in NHL playoffs
When the Vegas Golden Knights went on the road to face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the NHL playoffs, they got a chilly welcome — and that was inside.
“They had no hot water at the Fairmont Hotel last week in Winnipeg, which I really didn’t like at all,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Great hotel, by the way: great service, nice people, just no damn hot water.”
And no home cooking. Vegas beat the Jets twice on the road and won the series in five games.
The Golden Knights are not alone in what Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper declared “the year of the road team.” Visiting teams are off to the best start in league history with 32 wins through 54 games; the .611 winning percentage is by far the highest dating to 2011, not counting 2020 when games were played at neutral sites with no fans.
Coaches point to better preparation and more roster depth as well as parity leaguewide that has evened out the differences among teams playing for the Stanley Cup. Matchups that used to be paramount don’t matter as much now that there’s so much offensive talent across lineups. There is less of a drop-off from the stars on the first line to depth contributors on the fourth.
“It may have to do with the structure of the teams now and how much that’s changed over the years,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “There’s really high-end, skilled guys. Like our third line has three guys who can make plays. They’re skilled guys. They’re not even necessarily hitters, and that’s kind of true around the league.”
Maurice, Cassidy, Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour and noted that every rink is now the same size; no more special quirks like the tight corners in Boston Garden designed for the Bruins to be big and tough. It wasn’t until 1996, when the Sabres moved out of “The Aud” in Buffalo, that all NHL arenas were a uniform 200-by-85 feet.
“When you think back to playoff series, you think of the old Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium,” Cassidy said. “They were much…
