Bruins Rumored to be part of the NHL’s Opening Night
By Scott Roche
If things go as planned, and right now that’s a big IF, but the Boston Bruins could be part of the NHL Opening Night schedule on Jan. 13.
Let’s just start by saying nothing is set in stone and official for the upcoming NHL season. There are still no official details for the 2020-21 NHL season, but rumors of new regionalized divisional alignments to limit travel amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have three divisions in the United States and one in Canada. Again, those are just rumors, but there have been some leaks in the media recently and one involved the Boston Bruins.
According to Frank Seravalli of TSN Sports, the league might have its Opening Night schedule in place on Jan. 13. One of the six teams rumored to be playing that night is the Black and Gold. According to Seravalli, the NHL designed an Opening Night schedule that has the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning host the Chicago Blackhawks, while the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche also facing off.
The Bruins are also reportedly on the schedule, playing the New York Rangers. That would be quite the Opening Night against the Rangers.
As #NHL and #NHLPA work tirelessly on protocol and logistics, hearing #NHL has designed 🇺🇸3xheader for Opening Night, centred around Bolts banner ⬆️ (vs. CHI?) w/ big East clash (NYR/BOS?) first and marquee West matchup late (COL/STL?).
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 16, 2020
Question is: Can they pull it off Jan. 13?
The Rangers are one of the teams that will be interesting this year. They have good forwards, a young defense, and young goaltending, but if they put it all together, then they could one of the more dangerous teams in the league.
The Bruins on the other hand could be a little shorthanded without the services of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak who are both recovering from offseason surgeries in September, along with Torey Krug leaving in free agency to the St. Louis Blues. Captain Zdeno Chara is still up in the air on whether he is returning for a 15th season in Boston, or with another team as he is an unrestricted free agent.
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Playing the Rangers on Opening Night is a no-brainer for the NHL, getting a New York/Boston game right out of the gate. Regardless of who the Bruins play, it will be great just to have hockey back, and having possibly schedule leaks come out is hopefully a sign we will have it back soon.