The NHL's second-class status when it comes to arena dates and television schedules, on U.S. TV anyway, has resulted in a familiar problem in the playoffs. And it will get worse the deeper you go in the playoffs, where fatigue becomes a bigger factor with the players.
I'm talking about the back-to-back games, often in different cities, that are part of almost every playoff series.
The problem is that often NHL teams do not have first call on their arena's availability, especially when that arena is shared with an NBA team. The basketball team always gets the right of first refusal. Also, NBC and Versus, the two American networks showing playoff games, prefer games on weekend afternoons to spare their modest audiences from competing with the prime-time network schedules.
To accommodate both problems, the league has to have back-to-back games more than it wishes, which is probably zero.
Earlier this week, for example, the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars had to play back-to-back, with the Stars winning 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday night in San Jose and then losing 2-1 the next night back in Dallas. By all accounts, the latter game was a snoozer.
The problem will surface again on Sunday if either the New York Rangers or Montreal Canadiens win to prolong their respective Eastern Conference series. Game 6 of the Rangers-Pittsburgh Penguins series is Monday night in New York, with the night game following a day game, making the time off even shorter. If the Habs win, Game 6 of their series will be in Philadelphia on Monday.
This is not the sort of thing the league needs at its most important time of the hockey season but it will not go away as long as hockey remains an acquired taste in the U.S.