[gusmahler]

I haven't followed hockey for years, so pardon me if this is a silly question. But what's the deal with the hockey schedule? The teams play each other many times consecutively.

For example, the Coyotes have the following stretch of games:

@ SJ
@ SJ
SJ
@LA
LA

Home and home series at least sort of makes sense. But two games in a row on the road against the same team?

Also, why is the schedule so unbalanced? They only play Pittsburgh once and never play Washington, but they play San Jose 8 times.