MONTREAL – No false stops for Olympics. No pandemic delays. No reason not to play a normal 82-game NHL slate at its regularly scheduled time.
That’s what the Flyers and 31 other teams hopefully will be experiencing when the 2022-23 regular season commences in October.
Professional hockey has been experiencing some rocky roads the past two seasons. The 2019-20 regular season was shortened by COVID-19 concerns and the 2020-21 campaign was contracted to 56 games by the same problem. The NHL was scheduled to play at Beijing this past February but pulled out when health conditions in China didn’t improve.
So maybe the sport can now get through six months of hockey without any breaks.
One bit of noteworthy news: Due to the new balanced schedule, the Flyers will play division rivals Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers only three times, one less than in past seasons.
The Flyers, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons, will open their season on home ice when they take on their Metropolitan Division rival, the New Jersey Devils, on Thursday, Oct. 13 with John Tortorella making his debut as head coach of the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. The club will then wrap up a two-game home set when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The team will hit the road for the first time when they begin a three-game trip that begins with a pair of back-to-back games in Florida. They will take on the defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Tue., Oct. 18 and Florida Panthers on Wed., Oct. 19 and wrap up their trip at Nashville when they face the Predators on Oct. 22. In total, the Flyers have 15 back-to-back games this season, one less than 16 from last season.
Marquee matchups at Wells Fargo Center this year will feature the Flyers annual Black Friday game against their intra-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on Fri., Nov. 25. The Flyers will also welcome the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche on Mon., Dec. 5 as part of a five-game homestand from Nov. 29-Dec. 7.
Coming out of the NHL All-Star break in February, the Flyers will open up a four-game homestand from Feb. 6-12 when they face off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (Feb. 9) and welcome the NHL’s 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 12.
The Flyers’ longest homestand of the season comes in a stretch of 15 days and seven straight games at Wells Fargo Center. From Mar. 14-28 they will face the Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.
Philadelphia’s longest road stretch of the season comes with five straight away games beginning with a back-to-back in Toronto on Dec. 22 and Carolina on Dec. 23. Following a five-day break for the holidays, the club will embark on their annual California trip when they play at San Jose on Dec. 29, Los Angeles Kings on New Year’s Eve and ring in 2023 with a game at Anaheim against the Ducks on Jan. 2.
Other notable road trips the Flyers will take on is a pair of four-game trips from Dec. 9-15 (Vegas, Arizona, Colorado and New Jersey). The club’s annual trip through Western Canada will begin with a stop in Seattle on Feb. 16 before visiting Vancouver (Feb. 18) and a back-to-back set in Calgary (Feb. 20) and Edmonton (Feb. 21). The Flyers will wrap up the regular season with six of their last nine games on the road, ending with a trip to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Thu., Apr. 13.
The 32 teams in the NHL will require two dates taken away from Flyers divisional opponents. As mentioned, the Flyers will play the Rangers and Penguins just three times, while facing Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York Islanders and Washington 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.
The 2022-23 Flyers schedule:
>OCTOBER: Thu. Oct. 13 vs. New Jersey, 7 PM; Sat. Oct. 15 vs. Vancouver 4:00 PM; Tue. Oct. 18 at Tampa Bay 8:00 PM; Wed. Oct. 19 at Florida 7:30 PM; Sat. Oct. 22 at Nashville 8:00 PM; Sun. Oct. 23 vs. San Jose 7:00 PM; Thu. Oct. 27 vs. Florida 7:00 PM; Sat. Oct. 29 vs. Carolina 7:00 PM.
>NOVEMBER: Tue. Nov. 1 at NY Rangers 7:00 PM; Wed. Nov. 2 at Toronto 7:00 PM; Sat. Nov. 5 at Ottawa 7:00 PM; Tue. Nov. 8 vs. St. Louis 7:00 PM; Thu. Nov. 10 at Columbus 7:00 PM; Sat. Nov. 12 vs. Ottawa 1:00 PM; Sun. Nov. 13 vs. Dallas 1:00 PM; Tue. Nov. 15 at Columbus 7:00 PM; Thu. Nov. 17 at Boston 7:00 PM; Sat. Nov. 19 at Montreal 7:00 PM; Mon. Nov. 21 vs. Calgary 7:30 PM; Wed. Nov. 23 at Washington 7:00 PM; Fri. Nov. 25 vs. Pittsburgh 5:00 PM; Sat. Nov. 26 at NY Islanders 7:30 PM;Tue. Nov. 29 vs. NY Islanders 7:00 PM.
>DECEMBER: Thu. Dec. 1 vs. Tampa Bay 7:00 PM; Sat. Dec. 3 vs. New Jersey 7:00 PM; Mon. Dec. 5 vs. Colorado 7:00 PM; Wed. Dec. 7 vs. Washington 7:30 PM; Fri. Dec. 9 at Vegas 10:00 PM; Sun. Dec. 11 at Arizona 8:00 PM; Tue. Dec. 13 at Colorado 10:00 PM; Thu. Dec. 15 at New Jersey 7:00 PM Sat. Dec. 17 vs. NY Rangers 7:00 PM Tue. Dec. 20 vs. Columbus 7:00 PM; Thu. Dec. 22 at Toronto 2:00 PM; Fri. Dec. 23 at Carolina 7:00 PM; Thu. Dec. 29 at San Jose 10:30 PM; Sat. Dec. 31 at Los Angeles 4:00 PM.
>JANUARY: Mon. Jan. 2 at Anaheim 10:00 PM; Thu. Jan. 5 vs. Arizona 7:00 PM; Sun. Jan. 8 vs. Toronto 7:00 PM; Wed. Jan. 11 vs. Washington 7:30 PM; Sat. Jan. 14 at Washington 7:00 PM; Mon. Jan. 16 at Boston 1:00 PM; Tue. Jan. 17 vs. Anaheim 7:00 PM; Thu. Jan. 19 vs. Chicago 7:00 PM; Sat. Jan. 21 at Detroit 7:00 PM; Sun. Jan. 22 vs. Winnipeg 7:00 PM; Tue. Jan. 24 vs. Los Angeles 7:00 PM; Thu. Jan. 26 at Minnesota 9:00 PM; Sat. Jan. 28 at Winnipeg 7:00 PM.
>FEBRUARY: Mon. Feb. 6 vs. NY Islanders 7:00 PM; Thu. Feb. 9 vs. Edmonton 7:00 PM; Sat. Feb. 11 vs. Nashville 12:30 PM; Sun. Feb. 12 vs. Seattle 1:00 PM; Thu. Feb. 16 at Seattle 10:00 PM; Sat. Feb. 18 at Vancouver 10:00 PM; Mon. Feb. 20 at Calgary 4:00 PM; Tue. Feb. 21 at Edmonton 9:00 PM; Fri. Feb. 24 vs. Montreal 7:00 PM; Sat. Feb. 25 at New Jersey 7:00 PM.
>MARCH: Wed. Mar. 1 vs. NY Rangers 7:30 PM; Sat. Mar. 4 at Buffalo 12:30 PM; Sun. Mar. 5 vs. Detroit 3:00 PM; Tue. Mar. 7 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM; Thu. Mar. 9 at Carolina 7:00 PM; Sat. Mar. 11 at Pittsburgh 3:30 PM; Tue. Mar. 14 vs. Vegas 7:00 PM; Fri. Mar. 17 vs. Buffalo 7:00 PM; Sat. Mar. 18 vs. Carolina 5:00 PM; Tue. Mar. 21 vs. Florida 7:00 PM; Thu. Mar. 23 vs. Minnesota 7:00 PM; Sat. Mar. 25 vs. Detroit 1:00 PM; Tue. Mar. 28 vs. Montreal 7:00 PM; Thu. Mar. 30 at Ottawa 7:00 PM.
>APRIL: Sat. Apr. 1 vs. Buffalo 7:00 PM; Sun. Apr. 2 at Pittsburgh 6:00 PM; Tue. Apr. 4 at St. Louis 8:00 PM; Thu. Apr. 6 at Dallas 8:30 PM; Sat. Apr. 8 at NY Islanders 7:30 PM; Sun. Apr. 9 vs. Boston 6:00 PM; Tue. Apr. 11 vs. Columbus 7:00 PM; Thu. Apr. 13 at Chicago 8:30 PM.
