Road no problem in this year's NHL playoffs

Home-ice advantage.

Teams work all season for it, hoping it pays off during the Stanley Cup playoffs, especially if they need it in a Game 7.

Well, this season home ice actually has turned into a disadvantage as the visiting squad had racked up a 25-19 record, or a .568 winning percentage, going into Monday's action.

The craziest series have been Nashville vs. Anaheim and San Jose vs. Los Angeles where the home team won just two of 10 contests.

St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has a theory as to why this might be happening, saying that this generation's hockey player has faced so many big moments before entering the NHL that being in enemy territory doesn't bother them.

"It's the generation that we're in that they get excited by being able to perform at a high level in a raucous atmosphere," Hitchcock said. "They don't care anymore."

Experience in World Juniors or other big-time tournaments helps players become immune to their surroundings and just allows them to play, Hitchcock said.

OK, but if that's true why did home teams go 51-38 in last year's postseason and 56-37 the year before? Maybe this is just a one-year anomaly.

Or, as Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has stressed in recent days, maybe a small, subtle, rule change in the faceoff circle might have something to do with the success of visiting teams.

During last off-season, the NHL competition committee decided that instead of a visiting team's player being forced to put his stick down first, the player on the defensive side of the red line must do so.

It was done with the idea that scoring might increase since the player closer to his net has a better chance of winning the faceoff, thus theoretically creating more scoring chances.

But taking away the advantage for the home team may have taken away some home-ice advantage as well.

Or, maybe it just boils down to the fact that all of these teams are so darn close talent-wise.

"I guess it doesn't matter where you end up in the standings," said Hawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. "Obviously you want to have home-ice advantage. At the same time, nowadays it's so even between all the teams that make it to the playoffs. …

"It's so competitive. It's just small margins that are separating teams.

"I don't know, but hopefully we can keep that going today with the road teams getting wins."

Recent records of home teams during the Stanley Cup playoffs:

2016: 19-25 (.432)

2015: 51-38 (.573)

2014: 56-37 (.602)

2013: 59-27 (.686)

2012: 39-47 (.453)

2011: 48-41 (.539)

2010: 46-43 (.517)