Game On!

by Dirk Hoag on Jul 27, 2005 12:19 PM EDT

The 2005-6 NHL Schedule is now available on NHL.com, and here are a few of the highlights:

Sid Crosby's first home game with the Penguins: October 8th, vs. Boston
Dominik Hasek leads the Senators into Buffalo: November 2nd
Brett Hull returns to Detroit as a Phoenix Coyote: November 5th

The Hockey Day in Canada tripleheader (Ottawa @ Montreal, Toronto @ Edmonton, Calgary @ Vancouver) will be January 7, 2006. There will be also break for the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, covering February 13-27, with no All-Star Game as a result.

The bad part here is that the NHL wants to beef up divisional rivalries by scheduling more regular season intra-division games, so you'll see less of cross-confernence matchups like having Original Six teams face each other (Boston/NY Rangers/Montreal/Toronto vs. Detroit/Chicago). Heck, the most recent Cup Finalists (Calgary and Tampa Bay) don't even play each other this year! If they really wanted to stoke division rivalries, they could go back to the good ole' days when the first two rounds of playoffs crowned the division champions, who met in the conference final before advancing to the Cup Finals. Bring back the Norris, Smythe, Adams and Wales, I say. And you could add a Howe and Richard division while you're at it, too!

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Ya, I was/am real dissappointed that some teams won't meet during the season.

It just doesn't feel right.

by Geometry on Jul 27, 2005 3:58 PM EDT reply actions

For me, the two examples I cited are pretty huge from a scheduling point of view. You should absolutely have the previous Cup finalists meet during the next regular season, and traditional rivalries like the Original Six need to be respected, especially considering that Toronto used to be in the same division as Detroit and Chicago. And those division rivalries really meant something when you had to face those familiar opponents each year in the playoffs, before you got the opportunity to meet the best from other divisions down the road...

by The Forechecker on Jul 27, 2005 4:20 PM EDT reply actions