The NHL has released its full schedule for the season, and once again this year, one of the Canadiens’ great rivalries will suffer.
Published at 4:30 p.m.
The Boston Bruins will indeed come to Montreal only once this season. The CH will see the Bruins in the second game of the year, on October 10 in Boston. But we will have to wait until April 3 before Brad Marchand and his friends arrive at the Bell Centre.
The NHL schedule format calls for four games against each division rival, but only three against two of those rivals, for a total of 26 intra-division games. The Lightning are the other Atlantic Division team the Habs will see only three times; Montreal will travel only once to Tampa, in late December.
The season will begin on October 9 with the Maple Leafs visiting the Bell Centre.
The players will play their first game in Utah on January 14, in a Delta Center that will feature an atypical configuration while the arena is converted to meet more hockey standards.
The team will also enjoy a 12-day break in February for the Four Nations Confrontation.
Montreal will play their last two games of the season at home. The Blackhawks and Hurricanes will be the visitors, on April 14 and 16 respectively.
Is the NHL green?
Furthermore, it should be noted that the NHL, which prides itself on being green through its NHL Green initiative, continues to produce a schedule with many incongruities that do not hold up in terms of travel. The availability of arenas is clearly causing headaches.
So, in February, we will be treated to the classic trip to California where the games in Anaheim and Los Angeles, two neighboring cities, are separated by a jump to San Jose, which will require an additional flight. This is what is called, in the jargon of the trade, a trip to tata.
In addition, the Canadiens will play four games in the greater New York area, against the three teams that play there. But these duels will take place as part of four different trips.
Finally, the post-Christmas trip doesn’t give its place either. After the two games in Florida, the Habs will head to Vegas for the New Year’s Eve game, return east for a game in Chicago, before heading west again for a duel in Denver, then retracing their steps to return to Montreal.
Regarding this trip, let’s note that the duels in Chicago and Colorado will take place within a 23-hour interval, with a short 3-hour plane ride in between. Energy management promises to be interesting for the duel against the Avalanche…
