Earlier on Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers officially announced their full regular season schedule that will feature an 84-game season for the first time since 1993-94.
Since they expanded to 84 games, the regular season will commence on the 29th of September with several marquee matchups including the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montréal Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes against the Florida Panthers, and the Boston Bruins against the New York Rangers, among others.
The Flyers will then feature the following day with their home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins as the first game of a doubleheader on TNT.
The Flyers will now be playing all their Metropolitan Division rivals four times, compared to having played half the division four times and the other half three times in previous seasons.
They will continue playing the Atlantic Division teams three times with their games against Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, and Montréal featuring two home games to one away game. Conversely, they will playing in one home game and two road games against Boston, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and Toronto.
The Western Conference remains the same with one home and away game against each of the 16 teams. The Flyers’ last game against a Western Conference opponent will come against the Utah Mammoth on the 13th of March, which will lead into a 12-game stretch to end the year against their own conference.
The Flyers will finish out the year with six straight contests against their own division with games against Carolina and Columbus, as well as two games apiece with Pittsburgh and Washington, which also includes the season finale against the latter on home ice.
Considering the Flyers’ playoff push last year, finishing off the season against their own division could bring about the same level of intensity and excitement towards the standings.
Other important information includes the Flyers having 12 sets of back to backs, they will be playing three games in four nights 13 different times, as well as four games in six nights on nine separate occasions.
Their longest homestand will be 5 games between the 21st and 30th of January with games against Nashville, New Jersey, Florida, Los Angeles, and Winnipeg. Conversely, their longest road trip will be 5 games, which will be done twice; November 5th to the 14th and December 27th to the 4th of January.
The Flyers will also have 10 days off between the 3rd and 13th of February due to the All-Star Game that is scheduled for the 5th and 6th of that month. This year’s game will feature a 3-on-3 tournament with national pride on the line as Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA, and the rest of the world will be fielding teams.
Perhaps the most circled game on the calendar will fall in October when the Anaheim Ducks pay a visit on the 24th. After the Leo Carlsson offer sheet, it’s just an added layer to a newfound rivalry created off the back of the Cutter Gauthier trade.
