The NHL cannot even figure out time zones.Why not split east and west games better,instead of having,basically, all games in the same time zones these last 2 nights?
Well what do you suggest they do? The reason the games have all been shoved together is because weeknight games always start at 7:00 or 7:30 local time. With Nashville being in the Central time zone and Detroit in the Eastern time zone (two of the Western teams with home ice advantage), these games are starting earlier. These two teams are in the Western Conference, but are nowhere near the other Western teams geographically.
Aside from the fact the west is so spread out, part of the problem is building availability. Buildings these days are multi-purpose and bookings are made for the buildings months and sometimes years in advance. So the NHL has to work around building schedules too.