Let the games begin.
In January.
Fifty-six of them in total for each team, ending in May.
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Yes, the 2020-21 NHL season will be highly different, unprecedented and unusual compared to ones in years past as plans for the upcoming campaign have been approved by the league's board of governors and the full NHLPA membership.
The details were announced Sunday by the NHL. The safety protocols, transition rules and critical dates calendar will be announced in the coming days. The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported key dates here.
Let's take a look at what Flyers fans need to know for 2020-21:
• The regular season, consisting of 56 games for each team, will commence Jan. 13 and wrap up May 8. The schedule has yet to be announced.
NHL
• Flyers training camp will begin Jan. 3 and there will be no preseason games.
• There will be four realigned divisions called the North (all Canadian clubs), West, Central and East. The Flyers will play in the East with the Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Penguins and Capitals.
The Flyers will play those seven teams eight times each. The top four teams from each division will advance to the playoffs.
Last season, the Flyers went a combined 13-5-3 against the clubs in their 2020-21 division.
Here's a look at Carter Hart's career numbers against those clubs:
• The playoffs will consist of 16 teams and best-of-seven series over four rounds, with the Stanley Cup Final finishing up around mid-July.
The opening two rounds will be divisional with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed facing the No. 3 seed. Come the semifinal round, the teams will be reseeded by regular-season points total.
• As for the location of games and fan attendance, here was a section of the NHL's press release:
"It is the current plan to play games in the home arenas of participating teams while understanding that most arenas will not, at least in the initial part of the season, be able to host fans. However, depending on prevailing conditions both in local markets and across North America, the league will be prepared to play games in one or more 'neutral site' venues per division should it become necessary."
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