by Bob Herpen
The Phanatic Magazine
The "Vengeance" returns Saturday, October 11, as the Philadelphia Flyers open up their 42nd season with a home game against the hated New York Rangers.
As part of the new NHL schedule matrix, the next generation of Bullies will play every team in the NHL at least once, including all Western Conference opponents. Division matchups have been reduced from eight per team to only six. In addition, they will face the Avalanche, Sharks and Kings twice each.
Unlike last season, the Flyers will have no less than seven matinee home contests, from a Sunday, November 2 tilt against the Edmonton Oilers until a Saturday, March 14 game with the Rangers. Included in that package is the traditional Friday-after-Thanksgiving matchup - this year on November 28 with Carolina. Also, a 5 pm start is planned for the season finale, Sunday, April 12 with the Broadway Blueshirts.
Other key matchups over the course of the 82-game schedule:
October 14 at Pittsburgh - only three games into the season, the Flyers return to Mellon Arena to face the club which knocked them out of the playoffs in the East Finals.
October 24 at New Jersey - the club's first trip to the Rock, where they will have three shots to break a four-year losing skid.
November 8 vs Tampa Bay - The radically revamped Lightning make their first visit to the Wachovia Center.
December 27 at Columbus - the Flyers' one and only look at recently-departed R.J. Umberger and former head coach Ken Hitchcock.
December 30 at Vancouver - First game there since 2001, part of a six-game holiday road trip.
March 17 at Detroit - No Flyers team has won at Joe Louis Arena in the regular season or playoffs since November 4, 1988. It is the franchise's single longest current losing/winless streak against any one club. Philly dropped its last game there in January, 2006 by a 6-3 count.
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