Thursday was another bad night for the home team. Fans in Buffalo, Colorado and New Jersey all watched their heroes come up short. At least Avs fans can take some solace in the fact that their team scored a few goals and battled into overtime. The Devils and Sabres, meanwhile, were shut out in front of the home folks. That's right, no goals and good night.

Again this season, teams don't seem to be fazed by playing on the road. Through this spring's first 47 playoff games, the home squad is a very mediocre 24-23.

Once upon a time, though, there was this thing called, "home-ice advantage." In those days, the home team had several advantages. First, its rink was often different from other rinks. The whole game changed on the smaller ice surfaces of the Boston Garden, the Chicago Stadium and the Aud in Buffalo. Teams were built to play on certain rinks.

Today, while the new arenas are beautifully constructed, they're all pretty much the same -- save for the color of the seats and the location of the luxury suites.

In the different buildings, the home team could use little tricks to gain an advantage. In Buffalo, for example, the Sabres had a timing play that involved an arena staffer. Here's how it worked: In the first and third periods, the Sabres would shoot at the end of the rink which featured a door to the locker room. In either period, a Sabre would ring the puck around the dasher. Just as the puck approached the door, the arena attendant would lean on it, causing the door to jet out just a hair -- just enough to deflect the puck right out into the slot to a onrushing Sabre. (And you thought it was just a bad bounce.)

One home team -- the Montreal Canadiens -- never needed any tricks. Visitors didn't fare too well against the powerful Habs at the old Montreal Forum. Although there has never been official confirmation, many felt the place was haunted with ghosts of great teams past. Obviously, those ghosts haven't taken up residence at the new Molson Centre.

Another thing has changed with the addition of all the new arenas. These days, visiting teams get comfortable dressing room accommodations. (Though the visiting room in New Jersey isn't very roomy.) Teams don't have to deal with tiny locker space, ice-cold shower water or various insects or rodents which inhabited some of the old venues.

Most importantly, though, in the age of video coaching and defense, it's probably a bit easier to commit to playing a conservative defensive game on the road. Home teams sometimes get too riled up and make mistakes of passion.

For all these reasons, home ice doesn't mean much during the NHL playoffs anymore. If you're a big fan and you want to see your team win, it might be worth a road trip.

E.J. Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.