NEW YORK — Winnipeg hosts Toronto and Edmonton welcomes Calgary on the opening day of the 2017-18 NHL regular season, while the Vegas Golden Knights play their inaugural game two nights later in Dallas.
The NHL released its full schedule for the upcoming season Monday. Play begins Oct. 4 with four games, including a battle of two of the NHL's brightest young stars in the Jets' Patrik Laine and Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews. Later, league MVP Connor McDavid will lead the Oilers against the provincial-rival Flames.
The Pittsburgh Penguins raising their fifth Stanley Cup championship banner opening night before facing the St. Louis Blues at PPG Paints Arena The other game has the San Jose Sharks playing host to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Ottawa Senators open at home Oct. 5 against Washington, while the Montreal Canadiens play at Buffalo that same night. The Vancouver Canucks' first game is Oct. 7 against visiting Edmonton.
The Golden Knights, the NHL's 31st franchise, will play their first regular-season game Oct. 6 against the Stars at American Airlines Center. They will play their first home game on Oct. 10 when they host the Arizona Coyotes at the new T-Mobile Arena.
After closing Joe Louis Arena last season, the Detroit Red Wings will open their new home, Little Caesar's Arena, on Oct. 5 against the Minnesota Wild.
The Colorado Avalanche and Senators will face off in a pair of regular-season games in Stockholm on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11, marking the sixth time the NHL has travelled to Europe to play regular-season games.
The 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic on Dec. 16 will feature the Senators and Canadiens outdoors at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. And the Capitals will play to the Maple Leafs outdoors March 3 at Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
The 2018 NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1 will feature the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers outdoors at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.
The regular-season schedule will pause from Jan. 26-29 for the 2018 NHL all-star weekend in Tampa, Fla.
As the league stated previously, there is no break for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in the schedule.
The Canadian Press
