2022-23 Bruins schedule released: Season opens Oct. 12, Winter Classic set for Jan. 2
MONTREAL — Jim Montgomery’s first game as Bruins coach will be Oct. 12 in Washington (7 p.m.), according to the 2022-23 schedule the NHL released on Wednesday.
The Bruins’ 82-game slate ends in Montreal on April 13, a return to normal after two-plus seasons of pandemic-related delays.
The schedule features a home-friendly first half and strays from home in the second half. Boston has a stretch of 14 home dates in 20 games from Nov. 7 to Dec. 22. That essentially flips after the new year. The Bruins play 19 of 26 on the road from Jan. 18 to March 19.
Like all teams, the Bruins play five of their in-division opponents twice at home and twice away (Toronto, Buffalo, Florida, Tampa Bay, Ottawa). They also have Detroit twice at home and once on the road, and Montreal twice on the road and once at home.
Boston’s first Atlantic Division game is Oct. 17 against Florida at TD Garden. That’s the start of an Atlantic back-to-back, which ends the following night in Ottawa.
The first extended road trip of the season begins Oct. 28 in Columbus, passing through Pittsburgh, New York (Rangers), and Toronto over a nine-day stretch.
Dec. 3 and 5 at TD Garden should be hot tickets. That’s when the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche and Bruce Cassidy’s Golden Knights come to town. The Bruins quickly return the favor in Denver (Dec. 7) and Las Vegas (Dec. 11).
NHL teams play their eight non-division, intra-conference opponents twice at home and once away, or vice versa. They also play a home-and-home with every non-conference opponent.
The Bruins have 13 back-to-backs.
The traditional Black Friday matinee will be 1 p.m. on Nov. 25 against the Hurricanes. That begins a critical four-game homestand, with Carolina, Tampa Bay, Colorado, and Vegas in town, that should tell the Bruins a lot about their playoff hopes. Injured star Brad Marchand should be close to returning, and Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk could be in the lineup by then.
After the Jan. 2 Winter Classic at Fenway Park against Pittsburgh, Boston visits California for a three-game swing through Los Angeles (Jan. 5), San Jose (Jan. 7), and Anaheim (Jan. 8).
All-Star Weekend is Feb. 3-4 in Sunrise, Fla.
The traditional Western Canada swing now features Seattle (Feb. 23), plus Vancouver (Feb. 25), Edmonton (Feb. 27), and Calgary (Feb. 28).
The longest road trip of the season is a nine-day, five-city odyssey that starts Jan. 24 in Montreal and travels through Tampa (Jan. 26), Florida (Jan. 28), Carolina (Jan. 29), and Toronto (Feb. 1).
The second-longest packs five games into eight days, including Detroit (March 12), Chicago (March 14), Winnipeg (March 16), Minnesota (March 18), and Buffalo (March 19).
Here’s the full schedule:
OCTOBER
Wednesday, Oct. 12 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. Arizona, 7 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 17 vs. Florida, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 20 vs. Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22 vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 25 vs. Dallas, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 27 vs. Detroit, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 28 at Columbus, 7 p.m.
NOVEMBER
Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 3 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5 at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 7 vs. St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 10 vs. Calgary, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12 at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 13 vs. Vancouver, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 17 vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 19 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 21 at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 23 at Florida, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 25 vs. Carolina, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 29 vs. Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
DECEMBER
Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. Colorado, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 5 vs. Vegas, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Colorado, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9 at Arizona, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 11 at Vegas, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 13 vs. N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 15 vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. Columbus, 1 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 19 vs. Florida, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 22 vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 23 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 27 at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 28 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 31 vs. Buffalo, 1 p.m.
JANUARY
Monday, Jan. 2 vs. Pittsburgh, 2 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 5 at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 7 at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 8 at Anaheim, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 12 vs. Seattle, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14 vs. Toronto, 7 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 16 vs. Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 18 at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 19 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 22 vs. San Jose, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 24 at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 26 at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 28 at Florida, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 29 at Carolina, 5 p.m.
FEBRUARY
Wednesday, Feb. 1 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Washington, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16 at Nashville, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 20 vs. Ottawa, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23 at Seattle, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 27 at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Calgary, 7 p.m.
MARCH
Thursday, March 2 vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 4 vs. N.Y. Rangers, 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 vs. Detroit, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 12 at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 14 at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 16 at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 18 at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 19 at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 21 vs. Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 23 vs. Montreal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 25 vs. Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 26 at Carolina, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, March 28 vs. Nashville, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 30 vs. Columbus, 7 p.m.
APRIL
Saturday, April 1 at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m.
Sunday, April 2 at St. Louis, 2:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 6 vs. Toronto, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 9 at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11 vs. Washington, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 13 at Montreal, 7 p.m.
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