Buffalo Sabres tired vs rested over the past few seasons

The good thing with analytics is that you can develop metrics for just about anything.

The bad things with analytics is that you can develop metrics for just about anything.

With the NHL Schedule dropping last week, one of the first things everyone rushes to look at before crying wolf is how many back-to-back games their team is playing during the season. However, one of the more underrated aspects of the schedule is how many games a team plays against ‘tired’ vs ‘rested’ opponents.

In the graphs below, done by hockey analyst Micah Blake McCurdy (Twitter: IneffectiveMath - the irony is strong), where tired = played last night and rested = did not play last night. The ratios shown here are quite eye-opening, but we’ll leave you to do the deeper analysis with respect to what it all means for the Sabres and if there is indeed an NHL conspiracy afoot.

Tired vs Rested for the 2014-15 season

Tired vs Rested for the 2015-16 season

Tired vs Rested for the upcoming 2016-17 season

Just for some additional perspective, here’s another chart, but this time showing the past 5 seasons, from 2011-16.

So, what do you think?