NHL
schedule
2022-23
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Following the release of the 2022-23 NHL schedule, we’ve compared the difficulty of each team’s opening games and their early season performance
Western Conference
Who has the toughest opening schedule?
With the NHL schedule for 2022-23 now released, we’ve used our Stanley Cup odds to assess the strength of each team’s opponents in the first 10 games of the regular season
NHL schedule:
16/1 or shorter
18/1 to 35/1
40/1 to 80/1
100/1 or longer
Central Division
The Winnipeg Jets could struggle early on as they face 4 strong opponents and another 3 above-average ones in their first 9 games
We could see a strong start from the Nashville Predators who only have 1 tricky encounter in their opening 7 fixtures
Game order
Colorado Avalanche
Minnesota Wild
Dallas
Stars
St. Louis Blues
Chicago Blackhawks
Winnipeg Jets
Nashville Predators
Arizona Coyotes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Pacific Division
The Calgary Flames have a tough start this season, with 5 of their first 7 games against one of the strongest teams in the NHL
There’s a much gentler start for the Vegas Golden Knights, with no other team in the Western Conference facing 4 outsiders in their first 10 games
Game order
Vegas Golden Knights
Edmonton Oilers
Calgary Flames
Seattle Kraken
Vancouver Canucks
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
These are colour-coded as follows
Teams in each division are ordered from strongest to weakest, according to the latest odds
53.0%
50.0%
62.0%
55.0%
49.0%
47.0%
30.0%
43.0%
Vegas Golden Knights*
Edmonton Oilers
Calgary Flames
Seattle Kraken*
Vancouver Canucks
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
43.7%
45.0%
57.3%
50.3%
51.5%
49.8%
33.3%
51.7%
+9.3%
First 10 games
Rest of season
+5.0%
-8.7%
+4.7%
+4.7%
-2.5%
-2.8%
-3.3%
Difference
Who performs better in their early games?
We’ve looked back over the previous 10 seasons to determine which teams tend to perform better in their opening game
Win percentage
* Expansion teams - fewer than 10 seasons of data available
The Vancouver Canucks tend to start seasons much better than they finish them, while fellow Canadians the Calgary Flames have often done the opposite
Pacific Division
55.0%
60.0%
52.0%
54.0%
50.0%
50.0%
37.0%
45.0%
52.4%
57.6%
51.5%
54.6%
50.9%
51.5%
40.1%
51.5%
First 10 games
Difference
Rest of season
+2.6%
-6.5%
-0.9%
-1.5%
-3.1%
Central Division
The Dallas Stars often grow into a season as it unfolds, with a worse record in their opening 10 games than in those that follow
Win percentage
Colorado Avalanche
Minnesota Wild
Dallas
Stars
St. Louis Blues
Chicago Blackhawks
Winnipeg Jets
Nashville Predators
Arizona Coyotes
-0.6%
+2.4%
+0.5%
Eastern Conference
Who has the toughest opening schedule?
With the NHL schedule for 2022-23 now released, we’ve used our Stanley Cup odds to assess the strength of each team’s opponents in the first 10 games of the regular season
NHL schedule:
16/1 or shorter
18/1 to 35/1
40/1 to 80/1
100/1 or longer
Atlantic Division
Tampa Bay
Lightning
Boston Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Detroit
Red Wings
Ottawa Senators
Buffalo Sabres
Metropolitan Division
Game order
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Islanders
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
Washington Capitals
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
Columbus Blue Jackets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The Ottawa Senators are the only team in the division who face 4 of the strongest teams in their opening 10 games, along with 3 other solid opponents
The neighbouring New Jersey Devils could start well, with 3 of their first 5 games pitting them against a weak opponent
Game order
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Don’t be surprised if the New York Islanders are off the pace early on, as they face 5 tough teams in their first 9 games
The neighbouring New Jersey Devils could start well, with 3 of their first 5 games pitting them against a weak opponent
These are colour-coded as follows
Teams in each division are ordered from strongest to weakest, according to the latest odds
46.0%
61.0%
50.0%
46.0%
50.0%
48.0%
52.0%
45.0%
39.4%
58.9%
48.9%
46.7%
50.8%
50.2%
59.8%
54.8%
+6.6%
First 10 games
Rest of season
-9.8%
-0.8%
-2.2%
-7.8%
Difference
Who performs better in their early games?
We’ve looked back over the previous 10 seasons to determine which teams tend to perform better in their opening game
Win percentage
The New York Rangers tend to start seasons slowly, with their win percentage usually jumping significantly once the first 10 games are out of the way
Metropolitan Division
59.0%
62.0%
39.0%
63.0%
52.0%
41.0%
42.0%
46.0%
46.4%
57.7%
35.4%
59.4%
51.1%
41.4%
43.6%
50.7%
First 10 games
Difference
Rest of season
+12.6%
-4.7%
-0.4%
-1.6%
Atlantic Division
Montréal Canadiens fans are used to having their hopes dashed - no NHL team has seen a bigger average drop in win percentage from their first 10 games compared to the rest of the season
Win percentage
+4.3%
+3.6%
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Islanders
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
Washington Capitals
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
Columbus Blue Jackets
+2.1%
+1.1%
-0.7%
Tampa Bay
Lightning
Boston Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Detroit
Red Wings
Ottawa Senators
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
+3.6%
+0.9%