Update (7:35 PM): George Malik has a nice breakdown of the schedule here. - Matt
Like the rest of the NHL, the Wings released their schedule for next season today. They’ll open the season on October 3rd at home against the Anaheim Ducks and will finish on April 6, also at home, against Chicago. Some points of interest in between, as pointed out by Ansar Khan:
The Wings will play on Thanksgiving for the first time in recent memory, visiting Nashville on Nov. 22 for an 8 p.m. game. Their final 11 games, and 14 of their last 15, are against Central Division opponents, …. They host St. Louis in their annual New Year’s Eve game.
Two more dates to watch out for: Alexander Ovechkin’s first trip to Detroit, on December 17th and the Hockey Day in Canada game in Toronto on February 9th.
So, start planning your trips to the Joe! I hope to go to more games this season, after only making it to one this past year.
What’s up with the end of the Wings’ schedule? 14 of the last 15 games are against teams within their division…I think this is the attempt to fuel some division rivalries.
Personally, I’d rather see them play more of the original six teams. I only saw the Maples Leafs on there once, but correct me if I’m wrong.
Original Six games? That’s a thing of the past. This is the Nu-NHL. For better or worse, I don’t think O6 games are something worth marketing.
For that matter, most of the divisional opponents of the Wings are “ho-hum” games as well. But in other divisions, it is pretty heated and closely contested.
I don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch, but I don’t see a serious threat from anyone in our division to take the thrown away.
In an ideal situation in my eyes, I’d like to see more matchups (at least one game each) against Eastern Conference opponents.