2 of 8 home openers last night weren’t sellouts; Devils Opening Night tickets still available in abundance

There were eight home openers in the NHL on Thursday, Oct. 3, and of them, two weren’t sellouts.

• In Dallas, 16,100 were on hand for the Stars’ opener – 86.9 percent full.

• In St. Louis, 18,851 were on hand for the Blues’ home opener – 98 percent full.

Meanwhile, the Devils open at home tonight at 7 p.m. (MSG, WFAN) against the New York Islanders.  Given how well the team drew last year, I am disappointed by what appears to be a significant number of tickets available for the game tonight.

I am including two images – one from each end of the ice – of available seats for tonight’s game. You’ll notice there are a ton still available in the lower tier — and entirely too many in the uppers for day of game.

Then again, we were under the same scenario on Opening Night last year, and the game would wind up a sellout.

As of now, however, my guess is it won’t be sold out – and if it is, it’s because the team buys the seats themselves.

Once again, the average hockey fan is priced out of most games. The ticket prices are entirely too high for regular-season games. The ticket prices are entirely too high period. We’ll know, however, in just a few hours.

Of course, our ticket partner, TiqIQ has plenty of good seats available, some at or below face value. So if you’re considering going tonight, check out what they’ve got – and you’ll likely score a good deal.

A look at some – of the many – remaining seats for tonight’s game as of 11 a.m.

Playoff Attendance Watch: 2 games in St. Louis are only non-sellouts

As of today, all NHL playoff games have sold out except the ones played in St. Louis.

Game 1 had a crowd of 17,612

Game 2 had a crowd of 18,681.

Capacity at the Scottrade Center is 19,260.

These are the only two NHL playoff games not to sell out over the last two seasons.

After 2 days of post-season games, just one game hasn’t sold out

After two days of post-season play in the NHL, only one game hasn’t sold out — the Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues game 1. Even the Ducks, who struggled to draw in the regular season, were above capacity with apparent standing-room-only fans.

Blues fall 1,648 short of a sellout for Game 1 v. LA

The St. Louis Blues were 1,648 short of a sellout for Game 1 of its series with the Los Angeles Kings. A crowd of 17,612 was on hand for the game.

This is the first non-sellout of an NHL playoff game in recent memory.

Every game sold out last post-season.

NHL Attendance Watch for Tuesday, March 26, 2013

There were nine games in the NHL on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. Here are your non-sellouts from the night.

• Winnipeg at Carolina — 16,225 — 86 percent full.

• Edmonton at St. Louis — 17,260 — 90 percent full.

NHL Attendance Watch for Thursday, March 14, 2013

There were 11 games in the NHL on Thursday, March 14, 2013, and of them, four didn't sell out. The sellouts were:

• Washington at Carolina — 16,810 — 89 percent full.

• Chicago at Columbus — 15,009 — 82 percent full. NB: Not even the best team in hockey could help Columbus draw a decent crowd. It's brutal.

• Phoenix at St. Louis — 17,852 — 93 percent full.

• Anaheim at Dallas — 15,775 — 85 percent full.

NHL Attendance Watch for Tuesday, March 13, 2013: More than half of games played aren't full

There were 11 games in the NHL on Tuesday, March 12, and of them, more than half were not sellouts.

The non-sellouts include:

• Vancouver at Columbus — 14,852 — 81 percent full.

• Tampa at Florida — 15,174 — 78 percent full.

• San Jose at St. Louis — 16,583 — 86 percent full.

• Nashville at Dallas — 15,661 — 84 percent full.

• Edmonton at Colorado — 14,360 — 79 percent full.

• Los Angeles at Phoenix — 15,075 — 85 percent full.

This marks the most non-sellouts on one day for the entire 2012-13 season (six).

Meanwhile, the Devils will have yet another sellout — their 12th in 14 games — tonight when Philly comes to town. What will be interesting is to see the number of Flyers fans in the building. Previously this season, there were minimal visiting fans in the building.

NHL Attendance Watch for Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013

There were eight games in the NHL on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 and of them, just one wasn't a sellout. A crowd of 16,100 (84 percent full) was on hand to see the San Jose Sharks win at the St. Louis Blues.

Attendance Watch for Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 — 2 non-sellouts of 11 games played

There were 12 games on the NHL schedule on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 — and 11 were played (game in Boston was cancelled after the blizzard). Of the 11 games played, two weren't sold out.

Those games were:

• Buffalo at the Islanders — announced crowd of 12,608. No way there were 12,000-plus people in that building (see photo below).

• Ducks at Blues — nearly full at 18,835 (98 percent full).

The Islanders announced a crowd of 12,608 — but there were no where near that many people in the building, presumably because of the blizzard conditions still in place Saturday night. 

Attendance Watch for Tuesday, Feb. 5 — 4 of 10 games aren't full

There were 10 games in the NHL on Tuesday, Feb. 5, and nearly half did not sell out.

Our Devils hit their 16th-consecutive sellout, a streak dating back to the final game of last season. It also marks the very first time in franchise history the team has sold out its first four home games in any one season.

Among the non-sellouts were:

• Pittsburgh at the Islanders: 11,318 — 69 percent full.

• Los Angeles at Columbus: 11,019 — 60 percent full.

• Buffalo at Ottawa:  18,345 — 99 percent full.

• Nashville at St. Louis: 15,206 — 79 percent full.

The smallest crowd in the NHL Tuesday was at Columbus, where 11,019 showed for Blue Jackets/Kings. Not even the Stanley Cup Champions could help Columbus, which has had the second-smallest crowds in the entire league all season long.

St. Louis Blues to honor Stan Musial during warmups

Many thanks to Vin Witel for the tip on this one.

The St. Louis Blues will honor baseball legend Stan Musial by wearing his name and number 6 on their jerseys tonight during warmups. A classy move by the Blues organization.

Here's a look. Thanks, Vin and Major League Baseball.

Several Thursday games fail to sell out

Here are your non-sellouts for Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013:

• Sabres at Hurricanes: Attendance: 18,081 — 94 percent full.

• Sens at Panthers: Attendance: 15,634 — 81 percent full.

• Predators at Blues: Attendance: 16,047 — 83 percent full.

• Blackhawks at Stars: Attendance: 17,868 —96 percent full.

• Blue Jackets at Avalanche: Attendance: 14.325 — 79 percent full.

Despite what appears to be numerous pockets of empty seats, the Washington Capitals, who fell to 0-3 under new coach Adam Oates, announced a sellout crowd for tonight's game against Montreal.