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.

NHL Attendance Watch for Sunday, March 31, 2013

There were five games in the NHL on Sunday, March 31, 2013, and of them, two didn't sell out. They were:

• Los Angeles at Dallas — 15,719 — 84 percent full.

• Anaheim at Columbus — 13,185 — 72 percent full.

Meanwhile, the Devils are home tonight to host the Islanders. As of 1:30 p.m. today, it looks as if the game will be the Devils' 16th sellout in 18 home games. Only a handful of lower-tier seats remain, with some single-seats in the upper bowl.

Only a handful of seats remain for tonight's Devils-Islanders game. Tonight should be the Devils' 16th sellout of the last 18 home games, and 28th of the last 30 over the last two seasons.

NHL Attendance Watch for Saturday, March 23, 2013

There were nine games in the NHL on Saturday, March 23, 2013. Just one didn't sell out — Colorado at Dallas — where 17,311 (93 percent full) were on hand to watch the game.

For our Devils, last night's game was sellout no. 15 of 17 home games this season — and 27 of the last 29 games at the Prudential Center overall. The average crowd is 17,318, good for 98.4 percent capacity overall.

NHL Attendance Watch for Monday, March 18, 2013

There were seven games in the NHL on Monday, March 18, 2013, and of them, three weren't sold out. The non-sellouts included:

• Calgary at Dallas — 16,057 — 86 percent full.

• Chicago at Colorado — 16,952 — 94 percent full.

• San Jose at Anaheim — 14,441 — 84 percent full.

Of note here, despite having the second-best record in the NHL, and despite having a no. 1 Power Ranking from many NHL writers, the Ducks cannot draw. An in-state rival couldn't even help get a decent crowd at the Honda Center. Reminds me of the glory days of our team when no matter how well they were playing in the regular season, they couldn't draw well. I wonder how much, if anything, this has to do with the lockout?

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 Sunday, March 3, 2013

There were nine games in the NHL on Sunday, March 3, 2013. The four non-sellouts included:

• Ottawa at the Islanders — 13,512 — 82 percent full.

• Colorado at Columbus — 13,778 — 76 percent full.

• St. Louis at Dallas — 16,663 — 89 percent full.

• Carolina at Florida — 15,978 — 83 percent full.

UPDATE: Our favorite Flames fan, the great Kyle Mayer, @kymayer on Twitter, wrote in today to let us know the Flames' sellout last night came despite a massive blizzard that has hit the Calgary area. Great job by the Flames' fans. They know how to handle blizzards (unlike in 1987, when they played in a blizzard game before 334 fans). Thanks for the info, Kyle.

NHL Attendance Watch for Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013

There were 11 games in the NHL on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. Five weren't sold out and include:

• Minnesota at Phoenix — 11,547 — 67 percent full.

• Calgary at Colorado — 15,197 — 84 percent full.

• Edmonton at Dallas — 17,004 — 91 percent full.

• Buffalo at Florida — 15,672 — 81 percent full.

• Toronto at the Islanders — 9,222 — 56 percent full.

This is the most non-sellouts on a single night all season long.

NHL Attendance Watch for Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013

There were nine games in the NHL on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. There were three non-sellouts including:

• Boston at the Islanders — 12,788 — 78 percent full.

• Dallas at Columbus — 11,523 — 63 percent full.

• Pittsburgh at Florida —17,378 — 90 percent full.

NHL Attendance Watch for Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013

It was a busy night in the NHL on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 — 10 games (all but the Pens played in the East) — and many of the games were sellouts. Here, however, are your non-sellouts for the night.

• Winnipeg at Carolina — 18,282 — 97 percent full.

• Vancouver at Dallas — 17,393 — 93 percent full.

NHL Attendance Watch for Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013: Calgary at Dallas day's only non-sellout

There were seven games in the NHL on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 and of them, six were sellouts.

The one non-sellout was Calgary at Dallas, where 17,340 (93 percent full) showed at the American Airlines Center.

The American Airlines Center, Dallas, wasn't sold out Sunday, Feb. 17. 2013. 

Attendance Watch for Friday, Feb. 8 — 1 NHL game and it nearly sold out

There was one game in the NHL on Friday, Feb. 8 — Ducks and Stars — and it was nearly full. A crowd of 18,112 was on hand (97 percent full).

Attendance Watch for Friday, Feb. 1, 2013 — 2 of 7 games don't sell out

There were seven games in the NHL on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013 — and of them, two were not sold out.

In Anaheim, only 13,007 showed up for the Ducks and Wild, meaning the building was 25 percent empty.

And in Dallas, 18,101 showed for the Stars and Coyotes, representing a building that was 97 percent full.

Just two weeks into the season, 22 teams have sold out every home game.

Phoenix has the lowest average at 12,406 for three games — and that number would be significantly lower if they hadn't had a full house Opening Night. The two games after the opener drew around 8,000 each.

Only 13,007 showed Friday night for a Ducks game at the Honda Center.