The Devils and the National Hockey League have released the team’s 2015-16 schedule. Here are a few highlights of next year’s schedule of games.
The Devils open their season at home on Friday, October 9 against the Winnipeg Jets. In fact, their first four home opponents are against Western Conference teams: Winnipeg, Nashville, San Jose and Arizona. They do not see an Eastern Conference rival until the Columbus Blue Jackets come into Prudential Center on October 27.
The Devils meet the Rangers for the first time in 2015-16 at Madison Square Garden on October 18. They play the Flyers for the first time in the regular season on October 29 in Philadelphia. Their first meetings at the Rock come on December 4 for the Flyers and the Rangers do not come into town until February 2. The Devils play the Rangers three times in the month of February (at home on the 2nd, at MSG on February 8 and at Newark on February 23). They will visit the Islanders at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time on November 3 on the back end of a home-and-home series. The Isles come to town first on Halloween, in the first half of the home-and-home.
The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks come to town on November 6. The Devils then travel to Chi-town on November 12. They will face the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning on home ice on February 26 and then in the Sunshine State on April 2 (before facing them a third time five days later back in New Jersey on April 7).
New Jersey makes its annual Western Canadian road trip from November 17 to November 22, hitting Calgary on the 17th, Edmonton on the 20th and Vancouver on the 22nd. The California road trip comes from March 10 to March 14. They face San Jose on the 10th, Los Angeles on the 12th and Anaheim on the 14th.
The Devils visit the St. Louis Blues and their new Assistant General Manager Martin Brodeur on January 12 as part of an extended western road trip that also takes them to Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona. The Blues and Brodeur visit New Jersey on November 10.
The Devils end the season on April 9, 2016 at Toronto in a game broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada. In all the team will appear on HNIC three times, including the season finale against the Leafs. They will also face Montreal on November 28 and Winnipeg on January 23 on that show. They are all away games.
The schedule looks very interesting upon first glace. Once promotions and other things are announced, things should heat up even more for Devils fans. Here’s hoping the team can retire Martin Brodeur’s number and honor his career on a dedicated night this coming year.