The NHL finally released it's 2013-14 schedule yesterday after much anticipation around the hockey world. I thought that instead of wading through all 1230 games to find the ones you want, I'll do all the hard work for you! There's going to be tons of interesting games, and lots of old friends returning as foes who didn't get a chance during 2013 due to no intra-conference play. Here's a list of can't miss dates in next year's NHL season:
October 1st: The season starts a little earlier than usual, to facilitate a 17 day break in the schedule during February for the Sochi Olympics. Still, the opening night starts with a bang, as Toronto visits Montreal on Hockey Night In Canada, followed shortly by a game between Washington and Chicago on NBC in which the Blackhawks will raise their championship banner.
October 8th: New Jersey at Vancouver. The Devils will be making their western road swing early in the season, so Canucks fans won't have to wait long to see Cory Schneider wearing the red and black. Schneider versus Luongo is a long story in Vancouver, but seeing them finally against each other on opposing sides of the ice is going to be interesting.
November 7th: New York Rangers at Columbus. At long last the fans of Columbus will get to see their former captain Rick Nash return. It's pretty amazing to see how the team is finally on the upswing after their greatest player in franchise history left, and the welcome he receives should be very fun to watch.
November 27th: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Speaking of returns, Vincent Lecavalier's return to Tampa wearing in a Philly sweater should be quite the spectacle. I expect, as Vinny was bought out and didn't actively pursue leaving the team, that he'll get a very warm response from the fans he once lived an died for.
November 30th: Vancouver at New York Rangers. If there's one game next year that many secretly hope will turn into a media circus, it's this one. After swapping head coaches this summer, you can bet every reporter will be going hard after Alain Vigneault and especially John Tortorella. This will be an early season test for Torts, to see if he can stay true to his word of forming a relationship with the media instead of antagonizing them.
December 1st: Detroit at Ottawa. In a season full of homecomings, the return of Daniel Alfredsson to Ottawa might be the most captivating. It's going to be very strange seeing the man who scored more than 1100 points during 17 seasons as a Sen return to Ottawa in another team's colors. Added to that is the fact that Alfie spurned the Sens in favor of the Wings, which will likely bring a very mixed reaction from the Ottawa faithful. Those fans loved him for a long time, but got their hearts broken.
December 10th: Boston at Calgary. Flames fans never got a chance to properly say goodbye to Jarome Iginla, but they will when the Bruins visit in December. Just like Alfredsson, it's going to be strange to see Iginla playing in black and gold instead of the customary Flames red, but he'll still get love from the people in Calgary.
December 14th: Boston at Vancouver. Yes, I'm going a bit heavy on the Canucks in this article. You can't really blame me though, there's some interesting stuff happening on the West Coast. This will be the Bruin's first game in Vancouver since they raised the Cup there in 2011. The one game they played since then was an absolute classic in Boston during the 2011-12 season, so there's no reason not to expect another great one here. The Final was a while ago, but these two teams have long memories.
January 1st: Winter Classic. Yes, the NHL schedule will feature six outdoor games next season, but the Winter Classic is still...well, the classic. All eyes in the hockey world will be on Detroit as the Red Wings take on their reunited divisional rival Toronto Maple Leafs in Michigan Stadium. A record 110,000 people are expected to attend the game. Added to that will be the build-up of HBO's 24/7, which is sure to have the excitement for this one at a fever pitch.
January 18th: Hockey Day In Canada. All seven Canadian teams will be in action for a triple header of hockey that spans the nation. Aside from the games, there will be many celebrations of hockey in smaller communities from coast to coast. More than anything though, it's a great excuse to take the day off work and watch nine straight hours of hockey.
January 24: Anaheim at Los Angeles. An outdoor game at Dodger Stadium in California? Not to devalue the other games in the NHL's Stadium Series, but this one is going to be the most interesting. Never before has the NHL attempted to host an outdoor game in such a warm climate (to be fair they did so in Las Vegas back in the 90's, but the ice technology has advanced dramatically since then). People will probably be keeping an eye on the weather more than the game.
March 20th: Minnesota at New Jersey. Just another intra-conference game on the schedule, nothing to see here. Oh wait, Zach Parise will be making his first appearance back in Jersey since he left for Minnesota last summer. Though the loss of Ilya Kovalchuk will be numbed somewhat by then, you can bet that the Devils fans won't be happy to be reminded of another superstar they lost.
March 27th: Chicago at Boston. Though this will be the second meeting between the 2013 Finalists on the season, I expect this one will have much more atmosphere. It wasn't easy for the Bruins or their fans to watch that lead disappear in game six, then having to watch the visitors raise the Cup in their own building. Boston fans will be going nuts in this one.
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