NHL changes scheduling format

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NEW YORK, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The NHL Board of Governors announced Thursday that beginning next season each team in the league will play every other club at least once.

"The sense of the board was we heard the concerns raised by some of the fans, and this was an attempt to be responsive to the concerns of our fans," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

Under the new format, teams will play each club in their division six times for a total of 24 games, and the 10 other clubs in their conference four times for a total of 40 games.

The remaining 18 games will involve each team playing all 15 clubs in the other conference at least once, home or away. The three remaining games will be devoted to inter-conference scheduling.