NEW YORK (Aug. 13, 2021) – The National Hockey League today announced start times for the 2021-22 regular season. The 2021-22 regular season will commence Tuesday, Oct. 12 with a doubleheader that includes the Tampa Bay Lightning raising their third Stanley Cup championship banner before facing the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amalie Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the first-ever regular-seaon game for the NHL’s 32nd franchise, the Seattle Kraken, who will play against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena at 10 p.m. ET. The 1,312-game regular-season schedule – 82 games per team – will conclude Friday, April 29, when 30 of the League’s 32 teams take to the ice.
In addition, the NHL today announced the following date changes to the 2021-22 regular season:
* Game #15, Winnipeg at Anaheim, is now scheduled for Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. PT (originally scheduled for Oct. 14)
* Game #1150, Los Angeles at Minnesota, is now scheduled for April 10 at 4 p.m. CT (originally scheduled for April 9)
ESPN, Turner Sports, Sportsnet and TVA Sports are the NHL’s national broadcast partners for the 2021-22 season and will provide comprehensive coverage throughout the season. A complete listing of the schedule is attached and available at NHL.com/schedule.
Olympic Break: As a reminder, no final agreement or decision has been made to this point regarding the possible participation of NHL Players in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Talks remain ongoing. Subject to reaching agreement with the NHL Players’ Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation on all outstanding issues, including appropriate COVID-19 insurance for NHL Players, the League has agreed, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, to pause from Feb. 7-22, 2022 to accommodate NHL Player participation in the Olympic Games. The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association will retain full authority to decide not to participate should COVID-19 conditions worsen or otherwise pose a threat to the health and safety of NHL Players, or for any other reason that may warrant such decision. In the event NHL Players participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics, the NHL regular season will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 23. If, for whatever reason, there is no NHL Player participation in the Olympics, a revised Regular Season schedule will be released which, to the greatest extent possible, will adopt the dates and games reflected in the schedule contemplating Olympic participation.
COURTESY NHLmedia.com
