NHL games tonight: League's scheduling for November 23, 2023 explained

Modified Nov 23, 2023 15:18 GMT

Toronto Maple Leafs v Washington Capitals — NHL games tonight: League's scheduling for November 23, 2023 explained

On Thursday, hockey fans once again found an empty schedule with no NHL games scheduled for the day. This break is intentional in observance of Thanksgiving on Nov. 23. If you want to know more about the intricacies of these peculiar NHL schedules, one of the prominent insiders discussed it at length.

If you happened to miss the absence of games Tuesday and are wondering about the reasoning behind this peculiar schedule gap, insider Jeff Marek addressed the reason. The host of "The Jeff Marek Show" took to Twitter on Nov. 21, unraveling the mystery behind the temporary empty NHL calendar.

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Marek began by shedding light on the empty schedule for Tuesday, saying that American teams had made specific requests for home dates during the holiday week. This, in turn, eliminated the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames from the available options.

The Flames had already embarked on a four-game road trip across the United States, commencing in Seattle. Simultaneously, the Canucks were set to kick off a three-game U.S. road trip in Colorado.

The Arizona Coyotes were the sole available option for a game Wednesday. However, Marek said that the Coyotes were reluctant to play back-to-back home games. Faced with the constraints of Thanksgiving observance Thursday and a packed schedule Friday and Saturday, the NHL aimed to avoid overburdening teams with the challenge of playing four games in five nights.

Complicating matters further, four teams – the Wild, Red Wings, Maple Leafs and Senators – were unavailable as they returned from Sweden. Factoring in all these issues, the result was an unprecedented night without any hockey action on Nov. 21. Marek emphasized that the break in today's NHL schedule is primarily a result of the Thanksgiving holiday.

So hockey fans will have to wait for the games scheduled Friday to enjoy hockey action. This break is temporary, as until next Thursday there is no gap in the schedule.