The Penguins will play in the NHL's first game of the 2021-22 season, opening the season on the road in Tampa Bay in a game that will be preceded by the Lightning's banner-raising ceremony.
The NHL released the full 2021-22 schedule on Thursday evening. The schedule returns to a full 82-game slate, with every team having at least one home and one away game against every team in the league. The breakdown is as follows:
Games Within Division:
5 teams x 2 home / 2 away (Subtotal 10 home / 10 away)
1 team x 2 home / 1 away (Subtotal 2 home / 1 away)
1 team x 1 home / 2 away (Subtotal 1 home / 2 away)
Games Within Conference (Non-Division):
4 teams x 2 home / 1 away (Subtotal 8 home / 4 away)
4 teams x 1 home / 2 away (Subtotal 4 home / 8 away)
Non-Conference Games:
16 teams x 1 home / 1 away (Subtotal 16 home / 16 away)
The schedule will no longer feature the baseball-like series with two teams meeting several times in a row in one city as we saw in the 2020-21 season.
The Penguins' home opener is Oct. 16 against the Blackhawks, and their regular season will end April 29 at home against the Hurricanes.
The Seattle Kraken will play their first game in franchise history on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas, and open at home on Oct. 23 against Vancouver. The Penguins will make their first visit to Seattle on Dec. 6, and the Kraken will make their first visit to Pittsburgh on Jan. 27.
The Penguins' full schedule is below and can also be found here:
Other highlights from the schedule:
• The Lightning and Canadiens will first play each other on Dec.7 in Montreal.
• Jan. 1: Winter Classic (Blues vs. Wild) at Target Field in Minnesota
• Feb. 4-5: NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas
• The schedule included an extended break after the All-Star Game, Feb. 7 through Feb. 22, to accommodate the Olympics. In the event that NHL players do not participate in the Olympics, the schedule will be revised. The NHL has yet to officially decide whether players will participate.
• Feb. 26: Stadium Series (Lightning vs. Predators) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
