The NHL wiped out the first two weeks of the schedule today, and it's likely fans of the Buffalo Sabres were affected more than anyone else. The Sabres were scheduled to play four home games between Oct. 13 and Oct. 24, plus another game on the road.
The league will try to have an 82-game season if it can quickly reach a collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players' Association, but that's unlikely with no talks scheduled. Instead, expect a whole new schedule if there is a 2012-13 season because it would not be fair for teams like the Sabres to play fewer home games than road games.
"We will have to work that out when it becomes necessary," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in an email to The Buffalo News. "But I doubt very much we would ask any team to play an 'unbalanced' schedule."
---John Vogl
