The sports betting NHL online season begins on October 7th highlighted by the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks opening the season in Colorado against the Avalanche. There are five games on the offshore sports betting schedule for opening night in the NHL on October 7th including a game in Helsinki, Finland between Carolina and Minnesota.
Online sports betting NHL online action will get some International exposure with the games in Finland. The Wild and Hurricanes play on October 7th and October 8th. San Jose and Columbus will play in Stockholm, Sweden on October 8th and 9th while Boston and Phoenix will play on October 9th and 10th in Prague, Czech Republic.
The NHL wasted no time in getting next season’s schedule out. Normally it is at least July before the league announces the schedule but this year they didn’t wait. There are some interesting games on the schedule including the debut for rookie head coach John MacLean as the New Jersey Devils host the Dallas Stars on October 8th. Tampa’s rookie head coach Guy Boucher opens his coaching career against the Atlanta Thrashers.
The defending Stanley Cup champions open on the road so they will have to wait to unveil their first Stanley Cup banner since 1961. It will be worth the wait though as they will put up the banner in their home opener against divisional rival Detroit. A rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals occurs on January 23rd in Chicago as the Blackhawks host the Flyers.
The busiest day of the NHL season will be on October 30th when 28 of the 30 teams are in action. An offshore sports betting highlight in the NHL will be the Winter Classic on January 1st as Washington and Pittsburgh play at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Canada gets an outdoor game this season as well called the Heritage Classic. It will match up Calgary and Montreal from McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta on February 20th. The NHL All-Star game will be played on January 30th.
Other schedule highlights indicate that Tampa Bay has the league’s longest home stand stretching 12 games. The Los Angeles Kings have the longest road trip at 10 games in February. The NHL season ends on April 10th with the playoffs beginning on April 13th.