Game on! New York Rangers schedule posted!
By Steve Paulus
The NHL released the schedule for New York Rangers series versus the Carolina Hurricanes
At last! The players ratified the new contract and that meant it was all systems go for the NHL to finalize their plans for the “Return to Play.” One of the first steps was to issue the schedule for the best-of-five qualifying round. The New York Rangers begin their quest for a Stanley Cup on August 1. The teams will play as many as five games in eight days. Here is the full schedule:
Saturday, Aug. 1: Rangers at Hurricanes
Monday, Aug. 3: Rangers at Hurricanes
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Hurricanes at Rangers
Thursday, Aug. 6: Hurricanes at Rangers (if necessary)
Saturday, Aug. 8: Rangers at Hurricanes (if necessary)
Opting out
If players choose to opt out of the return to play, they can do so with no penalty. The deadline for letting the league know is Monday at 5pm EST. The first player to opt out of the postseason is Travis Hamonic of the Calgary Flames who cited concerns for the health of his children as the reason. His daughter had a severe respiratory illness last year and he has an infant son. Here is his Twitter message.
There has been no word of any Rangers with health concerns and Kaapo Kakko, who has Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease, was cleared to play by team doctors.
Home ice advantage
In the qualifying round, the higher seeded team will be designated the home team in games one, two and five with the lower seeded team the home team in games three and four. Since the Hurricanes are the sixth seed and the Rangers are 11th, Carolina gets home ice advantage.
Despite the lack of a home crowd, there are three advantages to being the home team:
- Starting Lineups: The home team gets to pick its lineup after the visiting team has submitted theirs. The significance in these series is that with the expanded rosters, Coaches will have more flexibility in picking their starting lineups.
- Last change: The home team gets to make the last line change. There’s no special significance in the qualifying round, it’s a huge advantage for the home team.
- Faceoffs: When it is unclear where a faceoff should take place in center ice, it goes to the location that provides the best advantage for the home team. Also, on faceoffs in the neutral zone, home players allowed to put their stick down last for face-off. In the attacking zone, it’s the defending player who puts his stick down first.
Game times
The Rangers and all Eastern Conference teams will be located at the Toronto hub and they will play three games a day, at noon, 4pm and 8pm. The 4pm time slot is reserved for the round robin teams (Boston, Philadelphia, Tampa and Washington) so that will help determine when the Blueshirts will play. Round robin games are scheduled on days the Rangers play on August 3, 6 and 8.
As far as the final schedule, television will dictate which teams are playing when and that schedule should be revealed soon. Since there is no travel involved, it’s quite possible that the full television schedule won’t be reveal until after the series have started. Knowing the importance of the New York television market to NHL ratings, it’s reasonable to assume that the Blueshirts will get some prime scheduling slots.
Full schedules
Here are the full schedules for the qualifying round and round robin games, by date and by series. All Eastern Conference games will be held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with all Western Conference games at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Teams designated the home team are listed last.
Saturday, August 1
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 1
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 1
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 1
Sunday, August 2
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1
Round-robin: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 1
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 1
Round-robin: St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche
Monday, August 3
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 2
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2
Round-robin: Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 2
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 2
Round-robin: Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Tuesday, August 4
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 2
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 3
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 2
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 3
Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 3
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 2
Wednesday, August 5
New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 3
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 3
Round-robin: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins
Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 3
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 3
Round-robin: Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
Thursday, August 6
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 4*
Round-robin: Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 3
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 4*
Round-robin: Vegas Golden Knights vs. St. Louis Blues
Friday, August 7
New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 4*
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 4*
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4*
Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 4*
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 4*
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 4*
Saturday, August 8
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 5*
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 5*
Round-robin: Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 5*
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 5*
Round-robin: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche
Sunday, August 9
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 5*
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 5*
Round-robin: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 5*
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 5*
Round-robin: Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues
Schedule by series
Here are the games by series and they are listed by seed:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(5) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (12) Montreal Canadiens
Saturday, Aug. 1: Canadiens vs. Penguins
Monday, Aug. 3: Canadiens vs. Penguins
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Penguins vs. Canadiens
Friday, Aug. 7: Penguins vs. Canadiens*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Canadiens vs. Penguins*
(6) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (11) New York Rangers
Saturday, Aug. 1: Rangers vs. Hurricanes
Monday, Aug. 3: Rangers vs. Hurricanes
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Hurricanes vs. Rangers
Thursday, Aug. 6: Hurricanes vs. Rangers*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Rangers vs. Hurricanes*
(7) New York Islanders vs. (10) Florida Panthers
Saturday, Aug. 1: Panthers vs. Islanders
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Panthers vs. Islanders
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Islanders vs. Panthers
Friday, Aug. 7: Islanders vs. Panthers*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Panthers vs. Islanders*
(8) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (9) Columbus Blue Jackets
Sunday, Aug. 2: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs
Thursday, Aug. 6: Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets
Friday, Aug. 7: Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs*
Round robin games
Sunday, Aug. 2: Flyers vs. Bruins
Monday, Aug. 3: Capitals vs. Lightning
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Lightning vs. Bruins
Thursday, Aug. 6: Capitals vs. Flyers
Saturday, Aug. 8: Bruins vs. Capitals
Sunday, Aug. 9: Flyers vs. Lightning
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(5) Edmonton Oilers vs. (12) Chicago Blackhawks
Saturday, Aug. 1: Blackhawks vs. Oilers
Monday, Aug. 3: Blackhawks vs. Oilers
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Friday, Aug. 7: Oilers vs. Blackhawks*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Blackhawks vs. Oilers*
(6) Nashville Predators vs. (11) Arizona Coyotes
Sunday, Aug. 2: Coyotes vs. Predators
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Coyotes vs. Predators
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Predators vs. Coyotes
Friday, Aug. 7: Predators vs. Coyotes*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Coyotes vs. Predators*
(7) Vancouver Canucks vs. (10) Minnesota Wild
Sunday, Aug. 2: Wild vs. Canucks
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Wild vs. Canucks
Thursday, Aug. 6: Canucks vs. Wild
Friday, Aug. 7: Canucks vs. Wild*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Wild vs. Canucks*
(8) Calgary Flames vs. (9) Winnipeg Jets
Saturday, Aug. 1: Jets vs. Flames
Monday, Aug. 3: Jets vs. Flames
Tuedsay, Aug. 4: Flames vs. Jets
Thursday, Aug. 6: Flames vs. Jets*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Jets vs. Flames*
Round robin games
Sunday, Aug. 2: Blues vs. Avalanche
Monday, Aug. 3: Stars vs. Golden Knights
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Avalanche vs. Stars
Thursday, Aug. 6: Golden Knights vs. Blues
Saturday, Aug. 8: Golden Knights vs. Avalanche
Sunday, Aug. 9: Stars vs. Blues
* – if necessary