By Stretch Jenkinson
NHL Public Relations
UTAH HOCKEY CLUB SET FOR INAUGURAL GAME
Tuesday, Oct. 8 – Utah Hockey Club will play its first-ever game, at home against Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks on opening night in North America. Utah will become the 40th different NHL franchise to play a game.
MACKLIN CELEBRINI WATCH
A few key dates on the Sharks’ schedule, in the event No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini makes the team:
Thursday, Oct. 10 – Potential for Celebrini’s NHL debut, at home against St. Louis.
Thursday, Oct. 17 – San Jose at Chicago could be a clash of the past two No. 1 picks in Celebrini and Connor Bedard, who both were born in Vancouver and skated for some of the same minor hockey teams. This also could be the first game between the top two picks from the 2024 NHL Draft (Artyom Levshunov, No. 2 by CHI).
Monday, Dec. 23 – San Jose visits Vancouver for the first time (they meet for the first time Saturday Nov. 2, in San Jose).
NEW-LOOK PREDATORS
A look at some of the key matchups stemming from the Predators’ wave of early free agent signings:
Monday, Oct. 28 – Nashville visits Tampa Bay, where Steven Stamkos was drafted No. 1 overall in 2008, played 16 seasons (10 as captain) and twice won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and Stanley Cup. He is the franchise leader in goals, points and games played. The teams also meet Friday, Nov. 29, in Nashville.
Monday, Dec. 23 – Nashville hosts Carolina, with whom Brady Skjei helped to a playoff series win in five consecutive seasons, including a trip to the 2023 Conference Finals. Nashville visits Carolina Tuesday, March 25.
Saturday, March 29 – Nashville hosts Vegas, with whom Jonathan Marchessault had a Conn Smythe Trophy-worthy performance and won the Stanley Cup in 2023. He is the Golden Knights all-time leader in goals, assists, points and games played. Nashville visits Vegas on the final weekend of the regular season, Saturday, April 12
DEALING WITH THE DEVILS
A look at some of the key matchups stemming from a busy Devils offseason:
Thursday, Oct. 10 – After a season-opening home-and-home against Buffalo at O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series presented by Fastenal, New Jersey will play its first game in North America at home against Toronto, with whom new head coach Shelden Keefe served 349 games and posted the highest point percentage in franchise history (.665%). New Jersey visits Toronto Thursday, Jan. 16.
Friday, Nov. 1 – New Jersey visits Calgary, where Jacob Markstrom spent the past four seasons and finished within the top five in franchise history for games played, wins and shutouts, – a stint that included one campaign as a runner up for the Vezina Trophy.
Tuesday, Oct. 15 – New Jersey first visits Carolina, where Brett Pesce and Stefan Noesen played as teammates for the past three seasons. Pesce spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career with Carolina after being drafted by the club in 2013 (an event held at his new home, Prudential Center).
4 NATIONS FACE-OFF: FOES BEFORE FRIENDS
Some of the NHL’s brightest stars will take to Bell Centre in Montreal, Que., and TD Garden in Boston, Mass., for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off – a four-team tournament from Feb. 12-20, 2025 that features NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
* A trio from Nova Scotia, Canada were named to the team’s initial roster in Sidney Crosby (Cole Harbour), Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax) and Brad Marchand (Halifax). The Penguins captain, Avalanche forward and Bruins captain account for nine of the 16 career 100-point campaigns on Canada’s initial lineup (also Connor McDavid: 7). The first meeting between the Penguins and Avalanche is Tuesday, Dec. 10 in Pittsburgh, while the Bruins and Penguins first clash on Friday, Nov. 29 in Boston. MacKinnon and Marchand will meet for the first time on Wednesday, Oct. 16 in Colorado.
* The reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers are represented in three of the four initial rosters: Aleksander Barkov (Finland), Matthew Tkachuk (United States) and Gustav Forsling (Sweden).
* Auston Matthews, a 69-goal scorer in 2023-24, and Connor McDavid, with a 100-assist campaign in 2023-24, will go head-to-head when Canada and the United States renew their rivalry on Feb. 15. The Maple Leafs forward owns a 12-4-2 edge in 18 head-to-head meetings with the Oilers captain (McDavid: 6-10-2).
* A pair of Predators teammates will be at the center of a Finland-Sweden showdown on Feb. 15 as the two Hockey Associations produce another chapter in their storied rivalry. Filip Forsberg is fresh off a franchise-record 48 goals in 2023-24 while Juuse Saros enters 2024-25 18 wins shy of 200 in his NHL career.
McDAVID VERSUS…
A look at notable matchups between Connor McDavid, the highest scoring player since entering the NHL in 2015-16, and other notable No. 1 picks:
Connor McDavid vs. Connor Bedard – Edmonton and Chicago will meet three times: Saturday, Oct. 12 (CHI at EDM), Saturday, Jan. 11 (EDM at CHI) and Wednesday, Feb. 5 (EDM at CHI). McDavid (0-2—2) and Bedard (1-0—1) met once in 2023-24 (Dec. 12, 2023).
Connor McDavid vs. Auston Matthews – Edmonton and Toronto will meet twice: Saturday, Nov. 16 (EDM at TOR) and Saturday, Feb. 1 (TOR at EDM). McDavid (8-21—29) and Matthews (13-7—20) have met 18 times entering 2024-25.
Connor McDavid vs. Sidney Crosby – Edmonton and Pittsburgh will meet twice: Friday, Oct. 25 (PIT at EDM) and Thursday, Jan. 9 (EDM at PIT). McDavid (9-18—27) and Crosby (3-4—7) have met 13 times entering 2024-25.
Connor McDavid vs. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier – Edmonton and New Jersey will meet twice: Monday, Nov. 4 (NJD at EDM) and Thursday, March 13 (EDM at NJD). McDavid (7-8—15) and Hughes (2-3—5) have met eight times entering 2024-25, while McDavid (7-14—21) and Hischier (2-9—11) have clashed 11 times.
Connor McDavid vs. Nathan MacKinnon – Edmonton and Colorado will meet three times: Saturday, Nov. 30 (EDM at COL), Thursday, Jan. 16 (EDM at COL) and Friday, Feb. 7 (COL at EDM). McDavid (11-18—29) and MacKinnon (8-15—23) have met 19 times entering 2024-25.
Connor McDavid vs. Macklin Celebrini – Edmonton and San Jose will meet four times: Saturday, Dec. 21 (SJS at EDM), Thursday, April 3 (EDM at SJS), Friday, April 11 (SJS at EDM) and Wednesday, April 16 (EDM at SJS).
MORE KEY PLAYER MATCHUPS
The Hughes Brothers – Vancouver and New Jersey will meet twice: Wednesday, Oct. 30 (NJD at VAN) and Monday, March 24 (VAN at NJD). Luke, Jack and Quinn Hughes have all played in the same NHL game once before, on Dec. 5, 2023, when they all registered a point in New Jersey’s 6-5 win at Vancouver.
Round 70: Sid vs. Ovi – Pittsburgh and Washington will meet four times: Friday, Nov. 8 (PIT at WSH), Saturday, Jan. 18 (PIT at WSH), Saturday, Feb. 22 (WSH at PIT) and Thursday, April 17 (WSH at PIT). Crosby (31-59—90) and Ovechkin (37-30—67) have met 69 times and both rank among the top 15 all-time in points entering 2024-25.
Trio of Free Agent Targets Trade Teams – Three key free agency targets could face their former teams when the Bruins and Canucks meet for the first time Tuesday, Nov. 26 (VAN at BOS). Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov both left Vancouver to sign with Boston, while Jake DeBrusk went the other way. They meet again Saturday, Dec. 14 (BOS at VAN).
CUP-WINNING PANTHERS WHO PARTED FOR NEW CLUBS
Notable players’ first matchups against the team with whom they won the 2024 Stanley Cup:
Brandon Montour – Seattle hosts Florida Tuesday, Dec. 10, and visits Florida Saturday, Feb. 22.
Ryan Lomberg – Calgary hosts Florida Saturday, Dec. 14, and visits Florida Saturday, March 1.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson & Anthony Stolarz – Florida hosts Toronto for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 27, and visits Toronto for the first time on Thursday, March 13.
FAMILIAR FACES IN NEW PLACES
A look at notable matchups involving players on new teams for the 2024-25 season:
Zemgus Girgensons – Tampa Bay first hosts Buffalo on Thursday, March 6, and first visits Buffalo on Saturday, April 5, among other meetings in 2024-25. Girgensons spent the first 10 seasons of his NHL career with Buffalo.
Mikhail Sergachev – Utah hosts Tampa Bay Saturday, March 22, and visits Tampa Bay on Thursday, March 27. Sergachev was part of Tampa Bay’s back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021.
Jeff Skinner – Edmonton hosts Buffalo on Saturday, Jan. 25, and visits Buffalo on Monday, March 10. Skinner scored 153 goals in 427 games during his six seasons with Buffalo.
Chandler Stephenson – Seattle hosts Vegas on Friday, Nov. 8 and first visits Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 21. Stephenson won the Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023.
Chris Tanev – Toronto visits Calgary on Tuesday, Feb. 4 (he has yet to face them since being traded to DAL) and visits Dallas on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tanev led the team in blocked shots (566) during his four seasons with the Flames from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
Linus Ullmark – Ottawa visits Boston on Saturday, Nov. 9. Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy in 2022-23 after helping Boston set NHL single-season records for wins and points.
Jake Guentzel – Tampa Bay begins its season with a back-to-back, home-and-home against Carolina on Friday, Oct. 11 (TBL at CAR) and Saturday, Oct. 12 (CAR at TBL). Guentzel had 8-17—25 in 17 regular-season games with Carolina and added 4-5—9 in the playoffs (11 GP) after being acquired in the 2023-24 season.
Logan Thompson – Washington hosts Vegas on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and visits Vegas on Sunday, Nov. 17. Thompson won a Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023.
Tomas Hertl – Vegas hosts San Jose on Saturday, Oct. 26, and first visits San Jose on Friday, Dec. 27. Hertl has yet to face the club since being acquired by Vegas in 2023-24.
Sean Monahan – Columbus hosts Calgary on Friday, Nov. 29, and visits Calgary on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Monahan will reunite with Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus after spending nine seasons as teammates with Calgary from 2013-14 to 2021-22.
A CLASH OF CHAMPIONS
The past two Stanley Cup champions, who met in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, will clash twice: Saturday, Oct. 19 (VGK at FLA) and Sunday, Jan. 26 (FLA at VGK).
2024 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS REMATCHES
In addition to the two Stanley Cup Final rematches (Monday, Dec. 16 and Thursday, Feb. 27), a look at the first meetings between other 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs foes:
Eastern Conference
Florida vs. Tampa Bay – Their first meeting is Sunday, Dec. 22 (FLA at TBL).
Boston vs. Toronto – Their first meeting is Saturday, Oct. 26 (TOR at BOS).
NY Rangers vs. Washington – Their first meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 29 (NYR at WSH).
Carolina vs. NY Islanders – Their first meeting is Saturday, Dec. 7 (CAR at NYI).
Florida vs. Boston – Their first meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 8 (BOS at FLA; Stanley Cup banner raising).
NY Rangers vs. Carolina – Their first meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 27 (NYR at CAR).
Florida vs. NY Rangers – Their first meeting is Thursday, Oct. 24 (FLA at NYR).
Western Conference
Dallas vs. Vegas – Their first meeting is Friday, Dec. 6 (DAL at VGK).
Colorado vs. Winnipeg – Their first meeting is Thursday, Nov. 7 (COL at WPG).
Vancouver vs. Nashville – Their first meeting is Sunday, Nov. 17 (NSH at VAN).
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles – Their first meeting is Saturday, Dec. 28 (EDM at LAK). Two notable players will experience the other side of this developing rivalry, which has seen Edmonton eliminate Los Angeles in three straight opening-round meetings: Viktor Arvidsson is now with Edmonton and Warren Foegele is now with Los Angeles.
Dallas vs. Colorado – Their first meeting is Friday, Nov. 29 (COL at DAL).
Edmonton vs. Vancouver – Their first meeting is Saturday, Nov. 9 (EDM at VAN).
Edmonton vs. Dallas – Their first meeting is Saturday, Oct. 19 (EDM at DAL).
