A guide to planning your summer viewing schedule

With the New York Rangers schedule posted, it’s time to figure out how to spend your summer

When the New York Rangers skate onto the ice on August 1 to take on the Carolina Hurricanes, it ends a postseason drought of 1,178 days.  That goes back to May 9, 2017 when the Rangers dropped a 4-2 decision to the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden in Game Six of their Second Round series.  For the first time in 1,178 days, Ranger fans will have to cancel all plans and remain glued to the tube to watch their heroes fight for a Stanley Cup.

Here’s what you need to know about the best-of-five qualifying round series versus the Carolina Hurricanes.   All Eastern Conference games will begin at noon, 4pm and 8pm and will be played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Western Conference games will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton and have the same start times at noon, 4pm and 8pm, but with Edmonton in the Mountain Time Zone, that means games will start at 2pm, 6pm and 10pm EST.

For a full schedule of games click here.

Game 1 – Saturday, August 1

Until the television schedule is posted, you have to keep the day and evening wide open.  The Rangers could play at noon, 4pm or 8pm.   Knowing NBC, they may very will schedule the Blueshirts to kick off their NHL coverage by giving them the noon start.

There are two marquee match-ups on day one with Montreal taking on Pittsburgh and Chicago playing Edmonton.  Considering NBC’s love affair with Sidney Crosby, don’t be surprised to see them play at noon or 8pm with the Rangers getting the other time slot.

Game 2 – Monday, August 3

There is a round robin game scheduled for this date and the 4pm time slot has been reserved for the round robin so you will be able to watch the Capitals take on the Lightning at that time.  That means it will be another competition for prime time between the Rangers-Hurricanes game and the Penguins-Canadiens match.

Game 3 – Tuesday, August 4

No round robin game this day so the Blueshirts could play at any of the three time slots.  The 8pm slot should fit the Rangers nicely as they are the biggest major market team playing that day.   It’s the only time during this series that the Rangers will be playing on back-to-back days

Also, this the first game three of any Eastern Conference team so the Rangers could be the first team to clinch a series if they sweep (fingers crossed).

Game 4 – Thursday, August 6

The 4pm time slot is reserved for the round robin game between the Capitals and Flyers so the Rangers could play at noon or 8pm.  It’s also game three of the Toronto-Columbus series so both matches could be clinching games.

Game 5 – Saturday, August 8

This is the date for the fifth games of  both the Rangers-Hurricanes and Penguins–Canadiens series.  There is a round robin game between Boston and Washington so the possibility is that there will be one, two or three games that day.   If there are all three games, it will be a television ratings decision as to who plays when.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs

There will no rest for the weary if teams play the full five games.  The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are scheduled to begin on as few as two days rest, on Tuesday, August 11.  If the Rangers fall flat and lose to Carolina, the key date to watch will be Monday, August 10 when the second phase of the NHL Entry Draft Lottery is held.

Here are the key dates for the schedule after the qualifying round:

Tuesday, August 11 – First round Stanley Cup Playoffs begin

Tuesday, August 25 – Second round Stanley Cup Playoffs begin

Tuesday, September 8 –  Stanley Cup Conference Finals begin

Tuesday, September 22 –  Stanley Cup Finals begin

Sunday, October 4 – Last possible date of the Stanley Cup Finals

The NHL is also planning to hold the NHL Entry Draft on October 9-10 with the free agency period beginning after the Draft.   The NHL also notes that every scheduled event after the first round of the playoffs are on tentative dates.

The last important date to note is the start date for the 2020-21 season.  That is tentatively scheduled for December 1, meaning that with a full  compressed 82 games schedule, the season and playoffs will end sometime in late July 2021.