NHL schedule release: Kings to open 2019-20 season against Oilers
Kings coach Todd McLellan won’t have to wait long to see his former team.
The Kings will open next season on Oct. 5 at the Edmonton Oilers, the team that McLellan coached for three seasons before he was fired. He was subsequently hired by the Kings in April, and his assistant coach Trent Yawney followed him to L.A. this month. The game is the first of a three-game western Canada trip for the Kings before they play their home opener Oct.12. McLellan will also face his former San Jose Sharks team for the first time as Kings coach in a matinee game Nov. 29 in San Jose.
The full NHL regular season schedule released Tuesday has the Kings playing on New Year’s Eve for the second straight year, this time at home against the Philadelphia Flyers. As previously announced, the Kings have an outdoor game against the Colorado Avalanche in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb.15.
The Kings and Ducks are typically road-heavy early, and the coming season follows suit. The Ducks will play eight of their first 13 games on the road, following a season-opening home stand against the Arizona Coyotes and San Jose.
The Ducks’ traditional Black Friday, or day after Thanksgiving home game, will be against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 29, and they also play on New Year’s Eve at the Vegas Golden Knights.
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The Kings’ and Ducks’ bye weeks will lead into the All-Star break, which gives them a nine-day break between games in late January. The Kings and Ducks don’t play each other until Dec. 2, the first of five matchups that will conclude April 3. The teams only played four times last season.
Jack Hughes, the No.1 pick in last week’s draft, could appear when the New Jersey Devils play the Kings on Feb. 29 and Ducks on March 1.
Twitter: @curtiszupke
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