Although teams in the NHL tend to play geographically close clubs within their own divisions and conferences the vast majority of the time, there are still inter-conference games that create long plane flights and late nights for teams. While it’s tempting to point out that pro hockey skaters are very well-paid to deal with that kind of jet lag, hockey players are creatures of habit, and a long-distance trip can create an additional obstacle to overcome in a game. There are a couple of frequent flyer mile specials on the NHL schedule tonight, and here’s how the swarm picked them.

Pittsburgh was the swarm’s pick of the night tonight, hosting the Islanders. The other New York club in action later today is the Rangers. This evening they’re three time zones from their home, playing Pacific Division leading San Jose. As we’ve noted before, the Rangers appear to be in a full tear-down/rebuild year at this point. The Sharks, for their part, seem headed for another strong playoff-bound year. The swarm loves their chances tonight.

This is an interesting replay. The initial movement the puck makes is almost purely horizontal, going from the middle of the hexagon to the right side. What’s very important here is to note that this movement is caused by all the magnets pulling to the Sharks side of the hex. That suggests strongly that while there may have been some division in thought with the swarm over the extent of a San Jose win tonight, there was little doubt that they’d end up prevailing. That makes this a high confidence pick on tonight’s schedule.

We’ll be holding weekly NHL swarms and paying cash prizes to the highest performing members of the Swarm! Want to join the Swarm or see the picks? Click the button below…

Want to learn more about our Swarm AI platform? Check out our TED talk…