In a year unlike any other, the Rangers will see games back against the Islands to start the season, endure a four-game stretch against the Devils in mid-April and end the truncated 2020-21 season with games against Capitals and Bruins.
The rangers are in the middle of what is probably the most competitive of all four divisions, which have been realigned to minimize travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic, joining the islands, devils, Bruins, Sabers, Flyers, Penguins and Capitals from the East. .
And with the condensed program of 56 games, there are almost no easy stretches.
To kick off the 2020-21 season, the Rangers will host the Islanders in back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden on January 14 and 16. It will be the third time in the franchise’s history that the Rangers open the regular season against the Islands.
With teams from the east, center and west that will face the other teams in its division eight times, the Rangers and Islanders will meet six more times throughout the season. Teams in the Northern Division, which consists of all Canadian teams, will play all other teams nine or 10 times.
The Rangers will host the Islanders again on February 8 before traveling to the Nassau Coliseum – in its final season as the home of the Islands before opening its Belmont Arena – for three games in April. The Islands will return to MSG on April 29 before meeting with the Rangers for the last time on May 1 on Long Island.
While most games are scheduled in single blocks or in two games, the Blueshirts will play four times against the Devils on April 13-18, with both teams hosting twice. The four-game game against New Jersey is the longest in the Rangers program.
To end the regular 2020-21 season, the Rangers will play two games against both the Capitals and the Bruins.
The Islanders are set to play seven of their first nine games on the road in January. Similar to the Rangers program, most games in the Islands are arranged in stretches of a single game or two games.
At the end of March, the Islands will face what is probably the hardest part of their program in terms of competition and travel. After flying to Washington for back-to-back games on March 15 and 16, the Islanders then host the Flyers for two games a few days later.
The Islanders are then set to split four consecutive games on the road against the Bruins and Penguins, two teams that have won at least 40 games in the 2019-20 regular season.
With the start of the 2020-21 regular season on Jan. 13, the NHL has released a five-game roster that will include Lightning raising the second Stanley Cup banner before facing the Blackhawks in Tampa Bay.
The NHL is aiming for this coming season to end on May 8, finishing the playoffs by July 9. The ultimate goal of the league is to return to a “normal” hockey calendar for the 2021-22 season, starting in October.