NHL 2022-23 season to begin with Lightning vs. Rangers as opener

The NHL released the 2022-2023 season schedule on Wednesday this week. The upcoming season will begin on October 11 with a monster-size double-header rematch in the East between final conference rivals⁠—the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Division will begin by pitting the Los Angeles Kings against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The NHL forgoes its annual tradition of having the Colorado Avalanche playing a season opener game. Instead, the Avalanche will take on the Chicago Blackhawks on October 12.

2022-2023 season schedule

The 2022-2023 schedule begins with a huge bang. The Rangers have been given a chance after their playoff defeat to the Lightning. New York was beaten badly, eliminated from the bracket by Tampa Bay with a conference score of 4-2.

Tampa Bay, who was defeated by Colorado in this year’s Stanley Cup final, will have not one but two rematch tickets against the Avalanche. They will begin by hosting the Avs on February 9 before touring Colorado on February 14.

The Avalanche just won their third Stanley Cup title, the first since 2001. Among the many obstacles, Colorado will have to deal with the Edmonton Oilers, who wrapped the recent postseason in a humiliating fashion. Both the Avs and Oilers will play early on January 7.

Aside from the monster-size matchups, February next year will host some of the NHL’s break games, including the All-Star games on February 2-5. Additionally, on February 3-4, the season will present its annual skill-and-star-packed games in Florida’s FLA Live Arena.

Following quite a number of indoor games, the NHL has prepared a decent number of annual outdoor ones in the upcoming season, starting with the Winter Classic on January 2, which will pit the Boston Bruins as the hosting team against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park, to February 18’s Stadium Series matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals in Raleigh’s NC State’s Carter-Finlay Stadium.

The NHL’s most beloved international game, the Global Series, will make its return in late 2022. The series will have four teams in total, starting with season opener games on October 7-8 between the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The second and last game will be held on November 4-5 at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland as the Columbus Blue Jackets will play against the Avs.

The Montreal Canadiens will kick off the season by taking on a fellow Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on October 12. Montreal could also potentially win this year’s Entry Draft No. 1 pick.

Joining the fun is the Arizona Coyotes, who will have a whopping six straight away games before the team plays the visiting Winnipeg Jets on October 28.

The reason behind Arizona’s choke-full of away games is likely due to the club’s venue being under construction, forcing the Coyotes to rent a venue from Arizona State University.

Returning names

The new season will have the returns of several fired head coaches. These include Bruce Cassidy, who will return to the Golden Knights after a six-year stint with the Boston Bruins. Former Blue Jackets John Tortorella will return to the Philadelphia Flyers, Paul Maurice to the Florida Panthers, and Peter DeBoer to the Dallas Stars.