The NHL released the 2011-2012 regular season schedule today, and it looks like the Panthers will start the season on the road against the New York Islanders.
The Cats schedule looks to be a pretty tough run in October, with seven of their first eleven games against playoff teams from a season ago. Also notable: the Panthers will play against their new division rivals (!!), the Winnipeg NoNames at home on October 31, and in Winnipeg on November 10. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Winnipeg travel will affect Southeast teams this coming season… Winnipeg included.
The NHL has some pretty big featured games to roll out the new season in October, including a triple-header on opening night, October 6: Flyers vs. Bruins, Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens, and Penguins vs. Canucks. Should be a great night for all hockey fans as those should be some exciting games to start a new season.
NOTE: The Cats preseason schedule is not yet available as of the time of the original post; however, I will update as soon as it’s available. We know for sure that at least two games are against Tampa Bay, as shown by the preseason schedule over at Raw Charge, but we’ll have to wait a bit to see the rest.