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Sizing Up The 1st Half of the Canucks' 2022-23 Schedule: Road, Sweet Road |
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Lots of buzz over the weekend about LeBron James' visit to Vancouver. Maybe, like us regular folk, he just has the travel bug and wants to see some different sights?
Sounds like he had a good time. And maybe he came for Sunday's Kendrick Lamar show at Rogers Arena?
I bring this up because Vasily Podkolzin and his wife also posted on social media from the concert on Sunday. In other words, they're also now back in town after spending the summer in Russia.
We're down to 25 days before training camp opens in Whistler on Sept. 23. And after that two-day affair, it'll be straight into the fire. Preseason begins on Sunday, Sept. 25 with the usual split-squad games against the Calgary Flames, and they're not leaving much time to get everybody into place. The home game at Rogers Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT, and the game in Calgary will go at 5 p.m. PT.
All told, the Canucks will play seven preseason games this fall. Following the Calgary contests, they've got a home-and-home against Seattle — Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 at Rogers Arena, then Saturday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 in Seattle. After that, it's off to Edmonton on Monday, Oct. 3, for a 6 p.m. PT start. The second half of that home-and-home will be played in Abbotsford on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Then it's back to Rogers Arena to finish off against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, Oct. 7.
Now, let's take a peek at the first part of the regular-season schedule:
OCTOBER: 3 home games, 6 road games
Much like last year, it's straight into the fire, as the Canucks will start the year with a five-game road trip.
They'll open the regular season on Wednesday, October 12 in Edmonton — most likely with Jack Campbell making his debut in net for the Oilers. After two travel days, there's a 3-in-4 set out east — against Philadelphia on Oct. 15, then back-to-backs in Washington on the 17th and Columbus on the 18th. Two days later, the trip wraps up in Minnesota.
The home schedule kicks off with a Saturday night game against Buffalo on Oct. 22. Then, the imposing Carolina Hurricanes come to town on the 24th.
October wraps up with a back-to-back with travel: in Seattle on the 27th, then opening a four-game homestand against Pittsburgh on the 28th.
After a lot of talk about how the NHL will be back on a 'normal' schedule this year, the second-week-in-October opening is actually quite similar to last season. In 2021-22, the Canucks played their first game on Day 2 of the season, Oct. 13. This year, the regular season officially kicks off with a pair of games in Prague between Nashville and San Jose on Oct. 7-8, as the NHL Global Series returns. But once again, North American games will begin on the Tuesday after Canadian Thanksgiving, and the Canucks will see action for the first time on the second day of the schedule.
Last year, they survived their opening road trip, going 3-2-1, but then lost their first three home games, whick kicked off their downward spiral. Their last game before Jim Benning and Travis Green were fired was the 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 4
NOVEMBER: 6 home games, 8 road games
November is a busy month, with another big eastern road trip and nearly one game every two days.
The homestand continues at the beginning of the month, as New Jersey, Anaheim and Nashville come to town.
Then, the Canucks get two days off before heading to Eastern Canada. The trip kicks off with back-to-back games in Ottawa and Montreal, then lands in Toronto for a prime-time date on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, Nov. 12 — to coincide with the Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend for Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Roberto Luongo.
But there won't be time to hang around and celebrate. The Canucks will play Boston on Sunday, then finish off the trip on Tuesday in Buffalo.
After that, it's home for two Pacific Division games, as L.A. and Vegas come to town. Then, the Canucks head out for a three-game western road trip that will touch down in Colorado before back-to-backs in Vegas and San Jose.
November closes out with a home date against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Nov. 29, starting another four-game homestand.
By the end of November, the Canucks will have knocked off 14 of their 41 road games — more than a third — while playing just nine at home. Theoretically, there should be an advantage to playing on the road while they're fresh at the beginning of the season — assuming they can stay reasonably healthy. And I think those big road trips can also be good bonding experiences. The Hall of Fame weekend in November could be particularly galvanizing, especially with Daniel and Henrik expected to be spending lots of time around the players this season.
DECEMBER - 8 home games, 5 road games
The balance tips back in December, where the Canucks will stay close to home. Only one of the five road games is in the U.S. — a single-game trip to San Jose on Dec. 7. And they won't fly further east than Winnipeg, as part of a two-game set after Christmas that will also include a visit to Calgary on New Year's Eve.
To begin the month, their homestand will continue with games against Florida, Arizona and Montreal. Then, they get their first real break of the year — just five games over 16 days.
They play the Sharks in San Jose on Dec. 7, come home to play the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 10, visit Calgary on the 14th, then return to Rogers Arena on the 17th. They'll play three home games before Christmas — against Winnipeg, St. Louis and Seattle, then head into the holiday after a back-to-back in Edmonton on Dec. 23.
After the three-day Christmas break, the Canucks will host the Sharks on Dec. 27 before visiting Winnipeg and Calgary to close out 2022.
By year's end, they'll have completed 36 of their 82 games — not quite half the schedule. And they'll be through 19 road games, and 17 at home.
I'll dig into the 2023 portion of the schedule in the next blog. Spoiler alert: the Winter Classic will be played on Monday, Jan. 2, in a new wrinkle.
All-Star weekend will be held in South Florida on Feb. 3-4, and this year's other outdoor game will be a Stadium Series event in Raleigh on Feb. 18.
Most importantly, circle March 21 on your calendar: the 2023 NHL trade deadline.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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