2021-22 Schedule Released

The Devils today put out a press release from their PR department discussing the 2021-22 regular season schedule. The NHL’s entire season was released today on ESPN SportsCenter.

Some important dates include: the season/home opener versus the Chicago Blackhawks on October 15 at Prudential Center. They will also close at The Rock this season, taking on the Detroit Red Wings on April 29.

The opening homestand will extend to Tuesday, October 26 (against the Calgary Flames as per the press release) and will be the team’s longest of the season. The Devils will face the Seattle Kraken for the first time on this homestand on October 19.

Amanda Stein on the “Inside the Devils Blog” said that the Devils will also play their first road game of the season against the Blackhawks in Chicago on October 24. The final road game of the season will be in Carolina on April 28, 2022.

The Devils will travel to Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on April 16, 2022.

Stein reports that the Devils’ longest road trip of the season will be “between April 7, 2022 and April 18, 2022. The trip makes six stops; in Ottawa, Dallas, Arizona, Colorado, Seattle, and Vegas.”

Closer to home, the Devils will face the Rangers for the first time on October 28 when they will visit Newark. The Devils will travel to Madison Square Garden for the first time in 2021-22 on November 16.

The Devils will visit the Islanders’ new UBS Arena (located in Elmont, New York) on December 11 according to Stein. This will also be their first meeting of the year.

The day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday, November 24) will see the Devils host the Minnesota Wild. The day before the Christmas Break (Thursday, December 23) will see the Devils host Montreal at Prudential Center. New Year’s Eve (Friday, December 31) will see the Edmonton Oilers visiting The Rock.

Stein also mentioned that February will feature just three games. There will be a 22-day (February 2-23) “for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.”

There was no official word, however, about if the NHL will be participating in the Games. The press release put out by the Devils did say that “[n]o final agreement or decision has been made to this point regarding the possible participation of NHL players in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Talks remain ongoing.” The release did say that, should “COVID-19 conditions worsen or otherwise pose a threat to the health and safety of NHL Players, or for any other reason that may warrant such decision” the league will opt out and certainly not go.

The Devils will play at home against Toronto on Tuesday, February 1 and pick back up on Thursday, February 23, as the Penguins make a visit to Prudential Center.

A breakdown of the schedule sees the Devils with three three-game road trips, as well as nine two-game trips. The season ends with a game in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 26 and then the game in Raleigh, North Carolina.

NHL scheduling will see the Devils play 26 games versus Metropolitan Division rivals (two at home and two on the road). This will be the setup for games against the Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Islanders, Rangers and Penguins The Devils will face the Flyers for two home and one on the road for a total of three games and Washington as the Devils will play the Caps for three games (one home and two at the Capitals).

There will be 24 games against the Atlantic Division teams the Sabres, Red Wings, Panthers and Canadiens. There will be one home and two road games against the Bruins, Senators, Lightning and Maple Leafs.

The Devils will face each team in the Western Conference two times (once at home and once on the road). This will total 32 games against 16 teams.

The 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend will take place February 4-5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Devils will make their California trip from Tuesday, November 2 (at Anaheim Ducks) to Saturday, November 6 (at San Jose Sharks). They will hit Western Canada in March (Tuesday, March 15 versus the Vancouver Canucks to Saturday, March 19 at Edmonton Oilers).