NHL attendance is relatively flat to date, with teams averaging 17,334 fans at home games through Monday night. That figure compares to 17,400 at the same point last season (-0.4%). The Eastern Conference is pulling attendance down some, with average crowds for those 16 teams down 2% to date. The Hurricanes are seeing the steepest decline among all NHL clubs, with attendance down 11% in Raleigh. Games at PNC Arena are at only 61% capacity -- also a league low. The Islanders are down 9% during their first season at Barclays Center, while the Blue Jackets are down 6% to date and the Devils down 5%. Seeing a league-best increase are the first-place Panthers, whose attendance at BB&T Center is up 31% to date. Listed below is team-by-team attendance for NHL Eastern Conference clubs. See tomorrow's issue for Western Conference figures (THE DAILY).
|
NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE THROUGH JAN. 18
|
| HOME TEAM |
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
% CAP.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
GMS ('14-15)
|
| Canadiens |
22
|
468,336
|
21,288
|
100.0%
|
21,287
|
0.0%
|
21
|
| Red Wings |
24
|
480,648
|
20,027
|
100.0%
|
20,027
|
0.0%
|
25
|
| Maple Leafs |
20
|
386,138
|
19,307
|
102.6%
|
19,132
|
0.9%
|
24
|
| Flyers |
21
|
401,351
|
19,112
|
97.8%
|
19,725
|
-3.1%
|
21
|
| Lightning |
22
|
420,024
|
19,092
|
100.0%
|
18,632
|
2.5%
|
23
|
| Penguins |
22
|
408,186
|
18,554
|
100.9%
|
18,614
|
-0.3%
|
25
|
| Capitals* |
22
|
407,231
|
18,511
|
100.0%
|
18,506
|
0.0%
|
21
|
| Sabres |
25
|
458,140
|
18,326
|
96.1%
|
18,319
|
0.0%
|
25
|
| Rangers |
23
|
414,138
|
18,006
|
100.0%
|
18,006
|
0.0%
|
22
|
| Senators |
21
|
375,204
|
17,867
|
95.6%
|
18,240
|
-2.0%
|
19
|
| Bruins* |
23
|
403,995
|
17,565
|
100.0%
|
17,565
|
0.0%
|
26
|
| Blue Jackets |
21
|
307,353
|
14,636
|
80.7%
|
15,612
|
-6.2%
|
23
|
| Devils |
22
|
319,214
|
14,510
|
87.5%
|
15,297
|
-5.1%
|
20
|
| Panthers |
22
|
309,599
|
14,073
|
73.1%
|
10,782
|
30.5%
|
19
|
| Islanders^ |
25
|
331,483
|
13,259
|
83.9%
|
14,556
|
-8.9%
|
19
|
| Hurricanes |
23
|
261,983
|
11,391
|
61.0%
|
12,725
|
-10.5%
|
21
|
| E.C. TOTALS |
358
|
6,153,023
|
17,187
|
92.5%
|
17,442
|
-1.5%
|
354
|
| NHL TOTALS |
681
|
11,804,609
|
17,334
|
94.6%
|
17,400
|
-0.4%
|
676
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTES: * = The Bruins hosted this year's Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, while Capitals hosted last year. All attendance figures for outdoor games have been replaced with team's home arena capacity. ^ = Playing first season in Barclays Center, which has hockey capacity of 15,795. Previous home, Nassau Coliseum, held 16,170 for hockey.
