On what turned out to be a pretty busy Tuesday, the NHL announced its full schedule for the 2014 preseason.
Highlighting the 15-day, 105-game slate is the 2014 Kraft Hockeyville game from Sylvan Lake, Alta., on Wednesday, Sept. 24. The people of Sylvan Lake, winners of the Canada-wide Kraft Hockeyville competition, will celebrate the grand prize when the Arizona Coyotes and Calgary Flames visit their community and face off at the Sylvan Lake Multiplex. The game will be broadcast live on CBC in Canada and NHL Network in the United States at 7 p.m., ET/5 p.m., MT.
Preseason games also are scheduled in Bridgeport, Conn. (Boston vs. NY Islanders, Oct. 3); Brooklyn, N.Y. (New Jersey vs. NY Islanders, Sept. 26); Colorado Springs, Colo. (Colorado vs. Los Angeles, Oct. 2); Kansas City, Mo. (Dallas vs. St. Louis, Sept. 27); Las Vegas, Nev. (Colorado vs. Los Angeles, Oct. 4); London, Ont. (Philadelphia vs. Toronto, Sept. 22); Quebec City, Que. (Colorado vs. Montreal, Sept. 26); St. John’s, Nfld. (NY Islanders vs. Ottawa split-squad doubleheader, Sept. 22); Saskatoon, Sask. (Chicago vs. Edmonton, Sept. 28) and Stockton, Calif. (San Jose vs. Vancouver, Sept. 23).
The preseason will officially get underway on Sept. 21 -- yes, just 33 days from now -- with five games on the slate. Well, sort of a five-game slate -- Columbus will utilize a split squad (one will host St. Louis, the other will play in Carolina), while the Oilers and Flames will both ice split squads for simultaneous games in Edmonton and Calgary. But hey, it’s still five games!
The exhibition campaign will wrap up on Sunday, Oct. 5 when the ‘Canes travel to Washington to take on the Capitals. The regular season will open three nights later, on Oct. 8.
