PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Blame it on Seattle. It seems to be the excuse for a Penguins schedule short of rivalries.
Apparently because Seattle is in the league, for not its inaugural season, but for its second season. Its forcing big changes in the schedule.
Remember during the COVID year when the Pens just played the local teams. We saw a lot of the Caps, Flyers and New York. Yeah, there was a desire to play other teams, but really, was it so bad. I want to see Edmonton and Colorado as much as anyone, but what is happening now is stupid.
This coming season the Pens play their chief rival THREE times. They play their secondary rival THREE times. How does the NHL create an 82-game schedule with the Pens and Flyers playing THREE times? How does the NHL create an 82-game schedule with the Pens and Capitals playing THREE times?
It’s a league built on rivalries, yet a couple of the biggest will barely play. How does a league allow that?
Flyers make their first trip to Pittsburgh on March 11 and their only other trip for a Sunday evening game on April 2. That’s it. The Pens play in Philadelphia only one time, November 25. There needs to be more matchups if only to hear new Flyers coach John Tortorella's postgame comments.
We have precious few Sidney Crosby-Alexander Ovechkin matchups left, there will be ONE in Pittsburgh this year on Saturday, March 25. ONE.
The Rangers and Pens play four times, two months into the season is the first matchup (December 20). The Islanders and Pens play four times, the first in Pittsburgh on February 20. The Flyers and Caps, THREE times.
Season opens on Thursday, October 13 at home against the Arizona Coyotes. Nothing like getting the fan base pumped up with Arizona in town to start a year. Now this could change if the Coyotes select Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley in the first round, otherwise. Dud. The first month of the season, ONE Eastern Division team plays at PPG Paints Arena—Tampa Bay on Saturday, October 15.
The first home division game is that Rangers matchup 68 days into the season. There is a run of games at home from March 9-14 where the Pens host the Islanders, Flyers, Rangers and Montreal. There is the Winter Classic at Fenway Park on January 2. There is the Thanksgiving Eve home game against Calgary.
That’s it. This schedule sucks. Even the end of the year sucks, the last four games to which the entire season could come down to, the Pens play Minnesota, at Detroit, Chicago and at Columbus.
Listen, the schedules never work out perfectly. There is always complaining, but who wants to play Ottawa the same number of times as the Flyers and Caps.
If it’s really that hard to schedule now with Seattle in the league. Here’s an idea, instead of playing the Kraken, how about the Pens two more games against opponents people want to see?
They could play them in Seattle, if it makes it easier.