New NHL Schedule Heightens Canadian Rivalries
18/07/2008 03:15
The puck will drop to begin the NHL season in Europe for the second consecutive year, as the league announced its full 2008-09 slate on Thursday.
Daniel Alfredsson will return to his native Sweden as the Ottawa Senators open in Stockholm on Saturday, Oct. 4, against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The New York Rangers will play the same day in Prague against Vincent Lecavalier and the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose roster includes No. 1 draft pick Steven Stamkos and a host of new players the team has acquired in the off-season.
For the first time since before the 2005 lockout, every team in the league will play all others at least once next season. The teams had been meeting inter-conference foes once every three seasons.
Canadian teams in opposing conferences will face each other twice, once in each club's rink.
More from CBC Sports.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
While the new NHL schedule is certainly an improvement, it’s still a long way from a full-interlocking schedule SWIVEL HIPS has been advocating for a couple of years now. Why should Oiler fans be robbed of the opportunity and pleasure of seeing Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in Edmonton this coming season?