The NHL cut the number of back-to-backs despite expanding to 84 games. But simply counting them doesn't tell the whole story of which teams received the toughest schedules.
The NHL will play 84 games this season, two more than it did a year ago, but teams will actually play fewer back-to-backs.
There were 430 back-to-back appearances across the league last season. There are 377 in 2026-27. That's a meaningful improvement for teams who are looking to capitalize on as much rest as they can get throughout the grind of a full campaign.
But the total number of back-to-backs only tells us how often teams play on consecutive days. It doesn't tell us what kind of opponent is waiting for them the next night.
Let's take a deep dive into the NHL schedule as puck drop approaches to get a better idea of which teams have the toughest schedule this season.
Not Every Back-To-Back Is The Same
Of the NHL's 377 back-to-back appearances this season, 269 come against an opponent that didn't play the previous day.
The other 108 come from 54 games where both teams are playing the second half of a back-to-back.
The Boston Bruins have one fewer back-to-back than the Pittsburgh Penguins, but actually lead the league in games where they'll be on a back-to-back against a rested opponent.
Even the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights, who are tied for the fewest total back-to-backs in the NHL, aren't dealing with the same thing. Seven of Vegas' eight come against rested opponents compared to only four of Calgary's eight.
The difficulty of playing twice in two days doesn't change. What changes is whether the team across the ice had to do it too.
Montreal Gets The Other Side 14 Times
Montreal plays five games this season where they will be on a back-to-back against a rested opponent. They get the reverse situation 14 times.
That gives the Canadiens nine more games with the rest advantage than the disadvantage, the largest positive difference in the league.
Calgary is in a similar position. The Flames face a rested opponent four times while playing on consecutive days, but get a back-to-back opponent while rested 11 times.
At the other end, the Bruins and the Ottawa Senators each have a net rest disadvantage of six games. So does Toronto, which plays eight back-to-backs against rested opponents while getting the reverse situation only twice.
That doesn't mean Montreal has been handed nine wins or Boston, Ottawa and Toronto have been handed six losses. But recent results give us reason to care about the difference.
Historical Performances On Back-To-Backs
Across the past three seasons, there were 810 games where one team played the previous day and the other didn't. Those teams went 335-370-105, winning 41.4 percent of their games and getting outscored 2,660 to 2,310.
The difference was even larger when the team playing the back-to-back was on the road.
That happened 594 times. Those teams won just 38.6 percent of their games and took 45.0 percent of the available points. When the back-to-back team was at home, it won 49.1 percent of the time and collected 55.6 percent of the available points.
Teams playing back-to-backs are frequently travelling, and road teams already face a disadvantage. This isn't an attempt to argue that fatigue caused every one of those losses. It's a look at what has actually happened when the schedule puts one team on its second game in two days against an opponent that didn't play the previous night.
Over three seasons, those teams have won considerably less often than they've lost.
Boston's Difficult Schedule
Boston's schedule shows what that looks like in practice.
The Bruins play the New York Rangers at home on Oct. 2 before travelling to Minnesota the next day, when the Wild will be rested. They play in Anaheim on Oct. 16 and Los Angeles the following night, where once again, the Kings are rested. In February, Boston plays in Vancouver before travelling to Seattle for another game the following day.
Guess the pattern yet? Seattle will be rested.
None of those games stands out on its own, and every team has difficult stretches during an 84-game season. The accumulation is what separates Boston. 13 times this season, the Bruins will play for the second consecutive day against a team that didn't.
Fewer Back-To-Backs Is Still An Improvement
There is no version of an NHL schedule where every team gets identical rest.
32 teams are spread across two countries and four time zones. Buildings are often shared with basketball teams, concerts and other events. Travel can't be distributed perfectly and neither can arena availability.
Reducing the total number of back-to-back appearances from 430 to 377 while simultaneously adding two games is therefore worth recognizing. The past three seasons gave us plenty of reason to care about this, considering how it has correlated with win percentages.
There's no perfect formula, but knowing what we know about the 2026-27 schedule now will make it even more intriguing to watch how this season plays out.
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