Stanley Cup champions the Tampa Bay Lightning are due to host the Chicago Blackhawks in one of five games to open the NHL’s COVID-19-shortened season on Jan. 13.
The league on Wednesday released a first-of-its kind schedule, featuring four realigned divisions based on geography and limited to division play only.
Each team is to play 56 regular-season games, which would be squeezed into what is tentatively scheduled as a 116-day stretch ending on May 8.
Photo: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
It includes an NHL first: An all-Canadian North Division of the nation’s seven teams would play each other nine or 10 times.
The three remaining eight-team divisions have all US teams, which would face each division foe eight times.
Although the playoffs are set to open on May 11, that date could be pushed back in the event the league is required to reschedule games amid the pandemic.
While the schedule is set, much remains undetermined, including game times. A much bigger question is whether the NHL would receive approval from Canada’s provincial and federal health officials to allow the nation’s teams to play in their home cities.
The San Jose Sharks are planning to open training camp on Thursday next week in Scottsdale, Arizona, and their season with two games at the Arizona Coyotes.
Like the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers who are closing out their season at Arizona, the Sharks are temporarily without a home after Santa Clara County banned contact sports through at least Jan. 8.
The NHL took into account the possibility of the ban being extended by having the Sharks open with eight straight road games. Their home opener against Vegas is not scheduled until Feb. 1.
There are numerous quirks in the schedule, which would feature at least one game a day over an 868-game season, and has teams playing mostly two-game sets against the same opponent in the same city to reduce travel.
“The back-to-backs are more like baseball,” Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. “You are going to do a lot of prep and then going to have a very good knowledge of where that team is at after you play that first game.”
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
RSS