The Path is Clear

And all eyes can see the course laid down long before...

The NHL released its master schedule along with the individual 30 team schedules on Tuesday, and the Flyers were no exception. For the second time in five years, they open in Western Canada (like in 2002 when Edmonton and Calgary were the first two stops), but for the first time ever, they start the season with three road games in Canada. October 4th is the season-opener at Calgary, then Edmonton on the 6th and inexplicably, after a four day break, Vancouver on the 10th before a three-day rest for the Islanders in the home opener on the 13th.

A few other items of note:

Unlike the previous three seasons, there are no early-season weekend afternoon games. The first home matinee is the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 23rd against Washington. The next afternoon game is December 29th at Tampa, but the next home matinee is not until January 12th (Saturday) against Boston. In fact, there are only four home afternoon games the whole season, the least number in I don't know how many years, possibly since I started going to games in the mid-1980's. Does this mean NBC might have given the Flyers the shaft in regional or national coverage late in the season because of last year's horrendous record? Maybe. But then, March 1st and 2nd, then the 15th and 16th, are back-to-back Sat-Sun road games which will be picked up by NBC depending on which day they choose to air games. Also, the regular-season finale is April 6th at home against Pittsburgh, which is guaranteed to be on if something (division, playoff berth, Crosby 200th point) is on the line.

Due to the goofiness of the current schedule system (whose three-year window is up after this season), the Flyers still play each division team eight times and the other 10 conference teams four times. The Flyers will not play any team in the Central Division, while playing all teams in the Northwest on the road and all teams in the Pacific at home.

There is no New Year's Eve game this year, with a huge break coming between December 30 and January 4 because, let's face it, even with modern technology it takes five days to go 1,200 miles by the most powerful steam locomotive from South Florida to North Jersey.

The All-Star Game is scheduled for Saturday, January 26th. Hopefully the ratings will crack a million with a weekend game slated for NBC. I've never been a fan of the game played in January like it was for most of the 1990's, but with the NFL now taking control of the first weekend of February for the Super Bowl, the NHL isn't stupid enough to try and compete.

The team is scheduled for 10 games in 27 days in October, but 14 games in 28 days in February. The first eight home games come in two four-game blocks, one in mid-October and one in mid-November. There is an eight-game road trip which bridges the first two months, and the team doesn't travel West of the Mississippi.

Looks like the first 20 games won't be so much an indicator of how the team has improved on the ice so much as it will be a test of responding to adversity. Even so, with 62 more games after, don't bank on the first 20 being either a grim indicator of a failed experiment or the positive result of a vastly-improved year. It is what it is, despite Lance Crawford on SportsNite this week attempting to draw a comparison between the Flyers' opening road trip and an Eagles three-game road trip to begin a football season.