Home is where the heart is

The Teal have slipped under the radar as the Niederpronger juggernaut in Anaheim has run away from the Western Conference pack so far this season. The Sharks (21-9-0, 30 GP, 42 pts) trail the Ducks (23-3-0, 32 GP, 52 pts) for the lead in both the conference and the Pacific Division but are far from being left behind.

One factor may be that Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo have been performing as mere mortals a season removed from winning major individual titles, but another factor is the team's schedule which has forced them to play more games on the road (17) than they have at the Tank (10). Their 11-6-0 road record is satisfactory enough for most teams and is nothing to sneeze at, but considering their proficiency at home (10-3-0), the next month or so has certainly been circled on the calendars of the Brothers-from-a-different-mother Wilson for some time now. Look for the Sharks, who will play 10 of their next 11 on the friendly surface of HP Pavilion, to make some gains against Anaheim.


But San Jose isn't the only city which has blessed its ice icons with a better record in its presence than when its heroes invade a foreign power: Most of the teams in either conference who are currently playoff-bound have a significantly better record in front of friendly crowds than on the road, at least when one does not consider losses in OT or shoot-outs. The only exceptions are Atlanta (10-4-3 on the road, 8-4-2 away); Ottawa (9-8-1 vs 6-7-0); and the Rangers (9-5-1 vs 7-5-3).

The Calgary Flames, as it has been noted ad nauseam in the local media, have been on a 9 game winning streak at home and, as a result, have all but caught up to the Northwest Division leaders in the standings. The team, however, is about to embark on a tough 6 game road trip -- with stops in Vancouver, Phoenix, Anaheim, LA, Colorado and San Jose -- following tomorrow's home tilt against the Wild, and will need to improve their road record considerably if they wish to stick around the playoff hunt (not to mention save us all from dismal commentary from the weathervane sports'perts in the aforementioned media). However, it is clear that a successful home record is absolutely essential for a team's elegibility for playing in late April, and if the Flames, for one, can come out with a .500+ road record this month, they'll be laughing their way for a Chance to Dance with Stan's.

(Er, I mean, " with the Stanley Cup".)


The question remains, however, why a team in this day and age is able to compete better at home than abroad. The playing dimensions are now all equal: Boston Garden have been replaced with a facility which inexplicably chose to replicate the same colouring for its seats as Montreal's Big Owe; the Aud and its tiny surface in Buffalo have been razed to the ground; and a trip to Chicago is no longer a colder version of a Battle Royale, though considering the brutal play of the Blackhawks, you wouldn't know it. The hometown crowd might be a factor in possessing an excellent home record, but this certainly isn't the case in Anaheim, Phoenix, Nashville or New Jersey. Ditto for the ice conditions, which only matters when one team has appreciably more speed than the other and that has more to do with player development than choosing between an Olympia or Zamboni.

The only factor left which might have any difference is real-time coaching decisions. A coach can devise strategies and systems all they want but once the puck drops, they have to rely on the players themselves to enact the game plan. At that moment, the coach is limited essentally to matching lines.

Still, this situation gives the home team the overwhelming advantage in any given home game. As I noted earlier, a top line can often be rendered impotent if he uses the right combination successfully.

Not that I'm complaining. I'm a regular attendee at Flames games and nothing gets me in a pissy mood faster than seeing them lose after spending a hundred bucks in fees and beer and 50/50s. I appreciate the unfair advantage.

However, if the NHL owners (who also enjoy victories at home, for obvious reasons) wanted to make the game more interesting, perhaps they would change the home-team-last-change rule such that the team who causes the previous stoppage of play would lose the advantage of changing last: If your team goes offside, the other team benefits; If you get a penalty, the other team gets even more advantage; Icings, shooting the puck in the stands, the goaltender covering the puck -- the consequences of these stoppages could actually mean more than they do now.

And if there is ambiguity as to which team caused the stoppage, then the home team gets the benefit of the doubt.

Would this have a significant impact on the game? Perhaps, perhaps not. It would make things a little more interesting, however, and you'll soon discover which coaches are earning their paycheques and which ones should stick to selling Fords.

Until then, however, I'll just bask in the glow of the Flames' streak and enjoy it while it lasts.