New York Rangers: Analyzing the 2019-20 regular season schedule

The National Hockey League has unveiled the 2019-20 regular season schedule in its entirety and the New York Rangers have an exciting season ahead as they now must face familiar faces on new squads.

It’s that time of year, everyone. The New York Rangers 2019-20 regular season schedule has been released, and it features plenty of contests that now have extra meaning and would have meant very little last year.

Facing the New Jersey Devils last year, or the St. Louis Blues even, would have meant almost nothing, other than the fact that the Devils and Rangers’ historic rivalry would be in play. Nobody believed any of those three teams would make the playoffs.

But with the Devils nabbing first-overall selection Jack Hughes, that adds fuel to the rivalry as Kappo Kakko and Hughes will go head to head on the NHL level. Also, playing the Blues means the Rangers will have to face the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Since they are a Western Conference team, thankfully the Rangers only have to face the Blues twice.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Rangers’ four contests against the Philadelphia Flyers have plenty of more meaning as well, as the Blueshirts must now face former fan-favorite Kevin Hayes for the first time after he spent almost five years playing in front of the Garden faithful.

Let’s take a look at some notable games, nuances, and even some important information that Rangers fans need to know about this 82-game slate.

Facing Hayes

The Rangers will meet with the Flyers four times in the 2019-20 season, and will face their former acquaintance and team member Kevin Hayes for the first time since his trade to the Winnipeg Jets at the 2019 trade deadline.

The four games against Philadelphia include a home-and-home between the two that ends the Rangers campaign in the month of March and begins the new month of April for them.

After spending almost five seasons donning the blue, red, and white on Broadway, the Rangers will face Hayes and their division-rivals on the following dates (times are Eastern):

• Monday, December 23 at 7:00 p.m. in Philadelphia
• Friday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Philadelphia
• Sunday, March 1 at 12:00 p.m. in Manhattan
• Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Manhattan

Other Notables

Some other games that are of note for the Rangers this coming season are obviously Opening Night against the Winnipeg Jets on October 3 at 7:00 p.m. That game will also serve as Jacob Trouba‘s first game against the Jets since he was  traded to the Rangers before the Entry Draft.

The Rangers conclude the regular season with a 1:00 p.m. battle with fellow Original Six team the Chicago Blackhawks at The Garden on April 4. The Blueshirts will face the Blackhawks before that in Chicago on February 19 at 8:00 p.m.

With every schedule in the NHL for individual teams comes its nuances and struggles. The Rangers definitely have some in theirs for the upcoming year.

On two different occasions the Rangers will be on the road for four straight contests, their longest road trips of the season. The first is a Vegas and California road trip from December 8-14 followed by a Toronto and Western Canada journey from December 28-January 4. Obviously, no team wants to start the new calendar year on the road, especially not on the other side of the continent.

The other gruesome road schedules the Rangers have to deal with is a stretch from February 11-28  when they play eight of ten games on the road, and a March 10-30 stretch where they play eight of eleven games away from the Garden.

Also, There will be eleven different occasions where the Rangers play on back-to-back nights this season.

Breaks

After their second game of the season in Ottawa on October 5, the Rangers have a full rest week until their third game, where they will host the Edmonton Oilers on October 12.

And even though the All-Star Break is from January 23-26 this season, the Rangers play their last contest before the break on January 21 at home against the New York Islanders, and aren’t scheduled to play again until January 31, when they host the Detroit Red Wings.

In conclusion

The Rangers’ 93rd season in the National Hockey League is looking to be filled with a fair amount of ups and downs, but also hope for the future.  New rivalries are forming with unexpected teams and old rivalries are becoming more heated.

A schedule with this many highlights and notable matchups is sure to excite Rangers fans for the entire 82 games. Enjoy the ride, Blueshirts fans!