Flyers to open 2021-22 season vs. Vancouver at home on Oct. 15

Claude Giroux

Players from the Flyers and the NHL’s 31 teams might be going to the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.

Then again, they might not.

But at least the league has decided to build in a 20-day break in the 2021-22 schedule, from Feb. 2-22, just in case this event is a go.

Negotiations between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association are ongoing.

That was the big news out of Thursday night’s announcement for the NHL 2021-22 season.

Back in Philadelphia, the Flyers announced they will open their season at home, on Oct. 15, against the Vancouver Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center.

As a matter of fact, the Flyers’ first four games will all be at the Wells Fargo Center. That marks the first time since 1975 that has happened in front of a live audience. The Flyers played their first four games at home last season but that was before fans were allowed in the building due to the pandemic.

During that homestand, the Flyers will play host to the new Seattle Kraken on Monday, Oct. 18.

The Flyers will close their 82-game schedule, the first since the 2018-19 season, against the Ottawa Senators in Philadelphia on April 29.

Philadelphia will not go on the road until just before Halloween. Their first trip starts after a four-day break in the schedule and takes care of their Western Canada obligations right away, with stops in Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary forming a three-game in four-night set. That trip starts off a stretch where the Flyers will play seven of nine on the road from Oct. 27 – Nov. 13.

The Flyers’ first visit to Seattle will come on Dec. 29 to start the team’s annual excursion at the turn of the calendar year. The club will continue through the Pacific Division with stops in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim before returning home to kick off the home portion of the 2022 schedule on Jan. 6 vs. Pittsburgh, the start of a three-game homestand.

Philadelphia will come out of the Olympic break with a visit to Detroit followed by a season-long six-game homestand that starts on Feb. 26 vs. Washington and runs through March 8 when Vegas makes its visit to Philadelphia.

Another five-game road trip awaits the club in the back half of March. They will play the five games over eight days from March 22 – 29, with stops in Detroit, St. Louis, Colorado, Nashville and Minnesota.

Due to the later start to the season and subsequent Olympic break, the regular season will extend through the month of April. The Flyers will play an even number of home and road games down the stretch, with seven home games over that final month.

With February mostly dedicated to the break, the schedule is evenly spread out over the rest of the calendar, beginning with the seven games over the final two-plus-weeks of October. The Flyers play 14 games in November, 13 in December and 14 in January before concluding with 15-game months in March and April. The Flyers will also play 15 back-to-back sets, with all but one of those sets coming as a larger 3-game in 4-night span.

The NHL is returning to its previous scheduling format after re-defining the divisions for 2020-21 due to COVID. However, the addition of Seattle takes two dates away from Flyers divisional opponents. They will play Columbus and New Jersey just three times each, while facing the other teams in the Metropolitan Division four times each. They will continue to play Atlantic Division opponents three times each, and will see every Western Conference team once at home and once on the road.

Start times for the entire schedule have not been finalized as of yet. Those will be announced at a later date, along with television and radio broadcast information. A one-sheet version of the schedule is attached to this email.

 

 

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About Wayne Fish 2374 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.

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