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NHL releases full schedule for 2020-21 season

It’s going to be a wild few months, folks.

By Kelly Hinkle
NHL: Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

After weeks (months?) of waiting for it to be official, the league has released the full schedule for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

Each team will open the week of January 11, with the Flyers kicking things off on day one at home against the Penguins. It’s the best possible way to open a season if you think about it.

The Flyers will play each team in the East Division eight times over the course of the season, a division which includes new foes in the Buffalo Sabres and those Boston Bruins. From the league’s release, here are some highlights from the new division:

* Boston and Buffalo will be intradivisional opponents for a 50th consecutive season dating to 1970-71, the longest such active streak in the NHL.

* The Rangers and Islanders are in the same division for a 48th consecutive season since the latter entered the NHL in 1972-73 (East: 1972-73–1973-74; Patrick: 1974-75–1992-93; Atlantic: 1993-94–2012-13; Metropolitan: 2013-14–2019-20). The Flyers join them for a 46th straight campaign dating to 1974-75, while the Devils, Flyers, Islanders and Rangers align in the same division for a 38th consecutive season since 1982-83.

* The Bruins and Rangers will play in the same division for the 20th time in their storied histories, but for the first time in nearly 50 years. The Original Six rivals were in the American Division together for each of New York’s first 12 seasons (1926-27–1937-38) and in the original East Division for the first seven campaigns of the League’s expansion era (1967-68–1973-74).

* New York’s intrastate rivalry puts the Sabres, Rangers and Islanders all in the same division for the first time in nearly 50 years. Buffalo played each of its first four NHL seasons in the original East Division, with the Rangers for all four (1970-71–1973-74) and with the Islanders for two (1972-73–1973-74).

* Intrastate rivals Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will be in the same division for a 22nd straight season and 41st time overall since joining the NHL together in 1967-68 (West: 1967-68–1973-74; Patrick: 1981-82–1992-93; Atlantic: 1998-99–2012-13; Metropolitan: 2013-14–2019-20).

* Fans in Boston and Philadelphia are set to revisit a historic rivalry which featured several playoff battles in the 1970s between the “Big Bad Bruins” and “Broad Street Bullies”, including a meeting in the 1974 Stanley Cup Final, and, more recently, a Winter Classic showdown and historic 2010 playoff series.

* The Bruins (2019-20, 2013-14), Capitals (2016-17, 2015-16) and Rangers (2014-15) have combined for five of the last seven Presidents’ Trophy wins.

We thought we might see some three-game stints, baseball- or AHL-style, but it looks like the Flyers won’t meet up with any team more than twice in a row. Also, not as many back-to-backs as we might be used to; thank the gods. We’ve got the full schedule for you here:

Untitled

DAY DATE VISITOR HOME EASTERN TIME LOCAL TIME
DAY DATE VISITOR HOME EASTERN TIME LOCAL TIME
Wed. 1/13/21 Pittsburgh Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Fri. 1/15/21 Pittsburgh Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Mon. 1/18/21 Buffalo Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 1/19/21 Buffalo Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 1/21/21 Philadelphia Boston T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 1/23/21 Philadelphia Boston T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 1/26/21 Philadelphia New Jersey T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 1/28/21 Philadelphia New Jersey T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 1/30/21 N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 1/31/21 N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Wed. 2/3/21 Boston Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Fri. 2/5/21 Boston Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 2/7/21 Philadelphia Washington T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 2/9/21 Philadelphia Washington T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 2/11/21 New Jersey Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 2/13/21 New Jersey Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 2/16/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Rangers T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 2/18/21 N.Y. Rangers Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 2/21/21 Philadelphia Boston T.B.A. T.B.A.
Wed. 2/24/21 N.Y. Rangers Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Fri. 2/26/21 Philadelphia Buffalo T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 2/28/21 Philadelphia Buffalo T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 3/2/21 Philadelphia Pittsburgh T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 3/4/21 Philadelphia Pittsburgh T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 3/7/21 Philadelphia Boston T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 3/9/21 Buffalo Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 3/11/21 Washington Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 3/13/21 Washington Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Mon. 3/15/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Rangers T.B.A. T.B.A.
Wed. 3/17/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Rangers T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 3/18/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Islanders T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 3/20/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Islanders T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 3/23/21 New Jersey Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 3/25/21 N.Y. Rangers Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 3/27/21 N.Y. Rangers Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Mon. 3/29/21 Philadelphia Buffalo T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 3/30/21 Philadelphia Buffalo T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 4/3/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Islanders T.B.A. T.B.A.
Mon. 4/5/21 Boston Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 4/6/21 Boston Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 4/8/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Islanders T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 4/11/21 Buffalo Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 4/13/21 Philadelphia Pittsburgh T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 4/15/21 Philadelphia Pittsburgh T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 4/17/21 Washington Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 4/18/21 N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 4/20/21 Philadelphia New Jersey T.B.A. T.B.A.
Fri. 4/23/21 Philadelphia N.Y. Rangers T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sun. 4/25/21 N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 4/27/21 Washington Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Thu. 4/29/21 Philadelphia New Jersey T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 5/1/21 New Jersey Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Mon. 5/3/21 Pittsburgh Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Tue. 5/4/21 Pittsburgh Philadelphia T.B.A. T.B.A.
Fri. 5/7/21 Philadelphia Washington T.B.A. T.B.A.
Sat. 5/8/21 Philadelphia Washington T.B.A. T.B.A.

Giddy up.

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