NHL ANNOUNCES 2012-13 SEASON SCHEDULE!

Regular Season Opens Saturday, Jan. 19, With 26 Teams In Action

720 Games Over 99 Days Determine The 16 Teams Qualifying For 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Schedule Features Intra-Conference Exclusivity
Emphasis On Divisional Play Highlights Intense Rivalries

NEW YORK (January 12, 2013) -- The National Hockey League’s 2012-13 regular season will commence on Saturday, Jan. 19, with 26 of the NHL’s 30 teams in action.  This season, each team will play a 48-game schedule comprised entirely of games against Clubs within its conference.  The regular season concludes Saturday, Apr. 27, with another 13-game slate.  The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Tuesday, Apr. 30.

The 2012-13 NHL scheduling matrix focuses competition on the most heated rivalries in the League. Teams will play 18 games within the division: four games (two home and two away) against two of the teams in the division, five games (three home and two away) against one team from the division and five games (two home and three away) against the remaining divisional opponent.  

To complete the 720-game schedule, Clubs will play three games against each of the ten remaining non-divisional opponents from within the conference.  Outside the division, a team will face five clubs twice at home and once away, while playing once at home and twice on the road against the other five teams.

In what promises to be a frenetic 99-day regular season, there is at least one NHL game on the schedule every night.  The final day of the season – Saturday, Apr. 27 – again features 26 teams in action creating a final, 13-game push for the playoffs.  

For full 2012-13 regular-season schedules, including television information, please visit http://www.nhl.com/schedules.

This season begins in the same location last season ended when on Jan. 19 the Los Angeles Kings raise their 2012 Stanley Cup Championship banner at Staples Center before taking on the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at 3 p.m. ET.  Both NBC in the U.S. and CBC in Canada will present coverage of the Kings’ banner ceremony before taking viewers to live NHL action.

On opening day in the U.S., starting at 3 p.m. ET, NBC will present regional coverage of Kings-Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Philadelphia Flyers.  That night, NHL Network-U.S. presents live coverage of the New York Rangers visiting the Boston Bruins.

The next day, NBC has national coverage of the Flyers in Buffalo taking on the Sabres at 12:30 p.m. ET.  NBC Sports Group is broadcasting four games over the first two days of the season, three on NBC and one on NBC Sports Network, which launches its season Sunday, Jan. 20, in Phoenix as the Coyotes host the Blackhawks at 10 p.m. ET.  

NBC Sports Group will air 70 NHL regular-season games across NBC and NBC Sports Network this season. The schedule includes 14 games on NBC, the most regular-season games ever on the network, as well as 24 exclusive windows and 26 exclusive games on NBC Sports Network.  NBC Sports Group presents a Hockey Day in America triple-header on Feb. 17 and this season has rivalry nights on Wednesday night on NBC Sports Network.  

In Canada, CBC kicks off an opening day triple-header with the Kings’ banner ceremony followed by the Ottawa Senators at the Winnipeg Jets, the Montreal Canadiens hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET and the Anaheim Ducks visiting the Vancouver Canucks at 10 p.m. ET.  

CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada enters its 60th season with 49 games on the schedule. This season includes ten Original Six pairings, 18 all-Canadian match-ups and a full day of coverage on Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada on February 9. CBC’s NHL coverage once again includes the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the network is the exclusive home of the Stanley Cup Final.

TSN is producing 42 games this season with every game featuring at least one Canadian team.  TSN retains English-language exclusivity of Wednesday Night Hockey and includes national coverage of the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  

Regular-season coverage on TSN begins Tuesday, Jan. 22, with a double-header featuring Winnipeg at the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. ET immediately followed by the San Jose Sharks visiting the Edmonton Oilers.  TSN and TSN2 will confirm their package of games featuring other U.S. based teams in the coming days.

RDS returns with French-language coverage of all Montreal Canadiens games.  More than 100 games will air on RDS and RDS2. The networks will confirm their package of games featuring other NHL teams in the coming days.

NHL Network-U.S. will televise 78 live games this season focusing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and featuring eight double-headers, seven triple-headers and one quadruple-header.  Information on the dates and times of the NHL Network live-game schedule for Canadian viewers will be released in the near future.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Opening Day: Saturday, Jan. 19
Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada: Saturday, Feb. 9
Hockey Day in America: Sunday, Feb. 17
Regular season concludes: Saturday, Apr. 27
NHL Draft Drawing: Monday, Apr. 29
Stanley Cup Playoffs begin: Tuesday, Apr. 30
Latest possible date for Stanley Cup Final: Friday, June 28

SEASON OPENERS

ANAHEIM – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Vancouver
BOSTON – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. NY Rangers
BUFFALO – Sunday, Jan. 20, vs. Philadelphia
CALGARY – Sunday, Jan. 20, vs. San Jose
CAROLINA – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Florida
CHICAGO – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Los Angeles
COLORADO – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Minnesota
COLUMBUS – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Nashville
DALLAS – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Phoenix
DETROIT – Saturday, Jan. 19, at St. Louis
EDMONTON – Sunday, Jan. 20, at Vancouver
FLORIDA – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Carolina
LOS ANGELES – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Chicago
MINNESOTA – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Colorado
MONTREAL – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Toronto
NASHVILLE – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Columbus
NEW JERSEY – Saturday, Jan. 19, at NY Islanders
NY ISLANDERS – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. New Jersey
NY RANGERS – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Boston
OTTAWA – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Winnipeg
PHILADELPHIA – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Pittsburgh
PHOENIX – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Dallas
PITTSBURGH – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Philadelphia
ST. LOUIS – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Detroit
SAN JOSE – Sunday, Jan. 20, at Calgary
TAMPA BAY – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Washington
TORONTO – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Montreal
VANCOUVER – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Anaheim
WASHINGTON – Saturday, Jan. 19, at Tampa Bay
WINNIPEG – Saturday, Jan. 19, vs. Ottawa

HOME OPENERS

ANAHEIM – Friday, Jan. 25, Vancouver
BOSTON – Saturday, Jan. 19, NY Rangers
BUFFALO – Sunday, Jan. 20, Philadelphia
CALGARY – Sunday, Jan. 20, San Jose
CAROLINA – Tuesday, Jan. 22, Tampa Bay
CHICAGO – Tuesday, Jan. 22, St. Louis
COLORADO – Tuesday, Jan. 22, Los Angeles
COLUMBUS – Monday, Jan. 21, Detroit
DALLAS – Saturday, Jan. 19, Phoenix
DETROIT – Tuesday, Jan. 22, Dallas
EDMONTON – Tuesday, Jan. 22, San Jose
FLORIDA – Saturday, Jan. 19, Carolina
LOS ANGELES – Saturday, Jan. 19, Chicago
MINNESOTA – Saturday, Jan. 19, Colorado
MONTREAL – Saturday, Jan. 19, Toronto
NASHVILLE – Saturday, Jan. 19, Columbus
NEW JERSEY – Tuesday, Jan. 22, Philadelphia
NY ISLANDERS – Saturday, Jan. 19, New Jersey
NY RANGERS – Sunday, Jan. 20, Pittsburgh
OTTAWA – Monday, Jan. 21, Florida
PHILADELPHIA – Saturday, Jan. 19, Pittsburgh
PHOENIX – Sunday, Jan. 20, Chicago
PITTSBURGH – Wednesday, Jan. 23, Toronto
ST. LOUIS – Saturday, Jan. 19, Detroit
SAN JOSE – Thursday, Jan. 24, Phoenix
TAMPA BAY – Saturday, Jan. 19, Washington
TORONTO – Monday, Jan. 21, Buffalo
VANCOUVER – Saturday, Jan. 19, Anaheim
WASHINGTON – Tuesday, Jan. 22, Winnipeg
WINNIPEG – Saturday, Jan. 19, Ottawa