The NHL playoffs officially get underway on April 10th. However, not all of the eight series will start that day. Instead, at least three will start the following night on the 11th. The schedule will not be released until Saturday at the earliest, but using some deductive reasoning we believe Vegas and San Jose will start on April 11th with games every other night through the 23rd. Here’s how we came to that conclusion.
As of this moment, only three teams have officially locked in home-ice advantage in the first round. They are Tampa Bay, Calgary, and San Jose. However, it seems fairly likely that Boston and Washington have their spaces under control. That leaves three we are waiting for.
The two series from the Central will start in two of the three of Winnipeg, Nashville, and St. Louis, so we’ll account for all three of those options. As for the Metropolitan, it looks like it’ll be in New York (Islanders) or Pittsburgh, again, we’ll account for both.
The best way to predict when each series will begin is to look at the arenas each team play in and see which dates are unavailable. Here are how all 10 arenas look for April 10th through 14th.
Calgary – Scotiabank Saddledome
Available: 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th
Unavailable: 13th (Lacrosse)
San Jose – SAP Center
Available: 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: None
Winnipeg – Bell MTS Place
Available: 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: 11th (Concert)
Nashville – Bridgestone Arena
Available: 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: 11th (Concert)
St. Louis – Enterprise Center
Available: 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: None
Tampa Bay – Amalie Arena
Available: 10th, 12th
Unavailable: 11th (Concert), 13th (Concert), 14th (Concert)
Boston – TD Garden
Available: 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: 10th (Concert)
Washington – Capital One Arena
Available: 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: 11th (Arena Football)
New York – Nassau Coliseum
Available: 10th, 11th
Unavailable: 12th, 13th, 14th (PJ Masks) *13th and 14th are potentially available
Pittsburgh – PPG Paints Arena
Available: 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Unavailable: None
Based on these dates the following series must start on each specific date.
April 10th: Calgary, Winnipeg, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Washington, *New York*
April 11th: Boston
Each of the past five years the playoffs have begun with either three, four, or five series on the first night of the playoffs. In both 2014 and 2015 one series waited until the third day of the playoffs to get underway.
Thus, with at least four (and potentially as many as six) arenas locked in for the 10th/12th, it’s almost a certainty the Golden Knights will begin in San Jose on the 11th.
As for the remaining dates, the only date T-Mobile Arena is unavailable is April 20th. The SAP Center is unavailable on the 17th and the 20th. Historically, the NHL prefers for series to run every other day if possible. In this case, it is possible. So, the plan would likely be:
Game 1 – at San Jose – April 11th
Game 2 – at San Jose – April 13th
Game 3 – at Vegas – April 15th
Game 4 – at Vegas- April 17th
Game 5 – at San Jose – April 19th
Game 6 – at Vegas – April 21st
Game 7 – at San Jose – April 23rd
This is NOT an official schedule, but instead an educated guess. Hopefully it helps make your planning a bit easier.
HeWhoKnows
April 12th is unavailable at T-Mobile as they have P!NK.
Ken Boehlke
Doesn’t matter. Can’t be a game on the 12th at T-Mobile. Would have been very important if VGK had home-ice advantage.
nick
Isnt there typically 2 days in between when moving between arenas?
Ken Boehlke
Not in the first 2 rounds.
Diane
Think it might matter that April 21st is Easter Sunday?
Ken Boehlke
No, they play on Easter.
shimmy
I’m a religious Jew so I always need to look out for games on the Sabbath or Passover when I can’t watch. If you are right, game 5 is for sure out because it’s the night of Passover. Other than that, this works out very well for me. Do you think game 6 will be a afternoon or late game?