The Carolina Hurricanes' path for their Stanley Cup defense was announced on Thursday afternoon, with the league dropping the 84-game schedules for each team. On Wednesday, we learned that the Canes would open their season and raise their banner against the Florida Panthers on September 29. The only other date we learned was October 6 against Montreal for the Canadiens' home opener.
With the full schedule being released, I picked through it with a fine-tooth comb to find some trends and observations for what we could expect once the puck drops in September and the regular season concludes in April. It'll be an 84-game grind, with the league playing this many games for the first time in three decades. It's sure to be a wild ride.
Let's start with the Hurricanes against the Metropolitan Division
With the expanded schedule, the Canes will face each of their seven division opponents four times. While the games are spread out, there are some stretches when they'll face the same team in short order. They'll play both games at home against Washington and both games in Philadelphia before they begin their State Fair trip in mid-October, accounting for four of their first eight contests.
The Canes will play at Madison Square Garden twice in eight days, getting that out of the way by the end of November. Similar to last season, they'll face the Penguins three times in 12 days, doing so in December and January. Their schedules against the Blue Jackets and the Islanders are pretty well dispersed, while they won't face the Devils for the first time until late February.
Their State Fair trip takes them through Western Canada (& St. Louis)
As is customary in October, the Hurricanes will hit the road while the North Carolina State Fair takes over the fairgrounds in Raleigh. However, with the earlier start this season, the Canes will play eight games before hitting the road, which is more than they have in a very long time. Once they leave, the team will be away from Raleigh for two weeks.
It alternates each season, so the Canes will tackle their Western Canada journey early in the year after visiting California last October. This means visits to Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton. It's weird that they didn't schedule the Alberta games back to back. Their return to the United States sees them finish the trip in St. Louis.
There is a surprising lack of homestands on the schedule for the Canes
The long State Fair trip has become a given, and it's one of four stretches during the season when the Canes will play at least four straight games on the road. By comparison, they will only play two long homestands during the season of at least four games. Technically, one of them shouldn't count because it's interrupted by the All-Star Break in early February.
Both stretches are five games long. The first comes at the beginning of December, with the Canes hosting Columbus, Toronto, both New York teams, and Boston over ten days. Then, their final two games before the festivities on Long Island will be at the Lenovo Center before returning to action at home for their first three games in February against Colorado, Minnesota, and Buffalo.
Once more, it's a road-heavy conclusion to the season
A few times recently, the Hurricanes have closed the season on a long road trip. Last season, for example, their final four games were away from Raleigh. This year, while their final game is in Florida, ending the season the same way they will start, there is a three-game homestand that precedes it. However, they'd better have the plane fueled up for the final month and a half.
The Canes will play 12 of their final 20 games away from home in March and April. Two of their long road trips account for eight of a nine-game stretch from mid-March to early April, coming in the form of two four-game journeys. The first is their California trip with a stop in Dallas. Then, after completing a home-and-home with the Stars, the Canes will tackle the northeast.
There are plenty of interesting tidbits to gather from the team's schedule. For starters, the Canes might not face Connor Bedard this season after the Blackhawks' star went down with a shoulder injury this offseason. Both meetings are scheduled for early in the season. The Canes also get both games against Vancouver and Winnipeg done quickly, too.
We'll look into the schedule a little more over the next few days, discussing some of the most critical points and highlighting the biggest games. It's nice to know how the schedule looks now, even if some of the most important contests aren't for several more months. Regardless, it's starting to feel like hockey is close once again.
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