Need to Know: The Bruins' 2020-21 Schedule

The Bruins' 2020-21 season is presented by TD Bank.
BOSTON- The wait is almost over. After nearly four months of uncertainty, the Bruins finally know when they'll be back on the ice with the 2020-21 campaign set to kick off against the New Jersey Devils on January 14 in Newark, as announced by the National Hockey League on Wednesday afternoon.
The Black & Gold kick off their 56-game schedule with back-to-back games against the Devils at Prudential Center as part of a three-game, season-opening road trip that also includes a contest at the New York Islanders.

The two-game set against the Devils is one of 25 "mini-series," which are a staple of the NHL's 2020-21 calendar in an effort to limit travel due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 50 of the 56 games will be consecutive against the same opponent.
The league's divisions have also been re-aligned with the Bruins competing in the newly named East Division along with the Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Sabres, Penguins, and Capitals. The teams will play eight games against each other.
"Yeah, I don't think it will take long to get those rivalries built up," said Bruins president Cam Neely. "Obviously, there's history between Boston and the Rangers for years. When they play here, we play there, there's a lot of fans of both teams. I think the recent history we've had with Philly in the playoffs, that will spark some rivalry. Playing these teams that many times, guys will be sick of each other in a hurry."
Here are some of the games to circle on your calendar:

Thursday, January 14 at New Jersey

The Bruins will take on the Devils in their first regular-season contest since last season's 2-0 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia on March 10, which brought them to the 100-point mark. Two days later, the NHL's 2019-20 campaign was put on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thursday, January 21 vs. Philadelphia

The Bruins' home opener against the Flyers will mark their first game in Boston since March 7 - a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Wednesday, February 3 at Philadelphia

The B's will return to Wells Fargo Center for the first time since that infamous March 10 meeting as part of a two-game set in the City of Brotherly Love.

Saturday, May 8 vs. New York Rangers

The Bruins close out the 2020-21 campaign against the Blueshirts with the second game of two-game set on Causeway Street.
Link to the full 56-game schedule.
Here are some notes and highlights from the 97th season in Bruins history:
- Perhaps the most notable part of this year's schedule is that it will mark the first time in franchise history that the Bruins will not take on the rival Montreal Canadiens. It is the second time in history that Boston will not play regular-season games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were part of the Western Conference during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. - Per NHL PR, Boston and Buffalo will be intra-divisional opponents for a 50th consecutive season dating to 1970-71, the longest such active streak in the NHL. - The Bruins and Rangers will play in the same division for the 20th time in their histories, but for the first time in nearly 50 years, according to NHL PR. The Original Six rivals were American Division foes for each of New York's first 12 seasons (1926-38) and in the original East Division for the first seven of the League's expansion era (1967-74). - This is the first time since the NHL's 1966-77 expansion that the Bruins will play a division-only schedule. Boston played a conference-only schedule in the lockout-shortened seasons in 1994-95 and 2012-13. - The East Division will be the eighth different division the Bruins have competed in after the Six-Team League (1924-26), American Division (1926-38), Original Six Era (1938-67), East Division (1967-74), Adams Division (1974-93), Northeast Division (1993-2013), and Atlantic Division (2013-20). - The upcoming season will be the first since 2007-08 that divisional opponents play against each other eight or more times. The NHL played an unbalanced schedule from 1981-92 and again from 2005-08, playing eight games against division foes. - There will be eight traditional back-to-backs (games played on consecutive days). - The Bruins' longest road trip of the season is four games - from Jan. 30-Feb. 5 (Washington and Philadelphia), March 15-20 (Pittsburgh and Buffalo), April 5-11 (Philadelphia and Washington), and April 22-27 (Buffalo and Pittsburgh). The longest trip by distance will be Pittsburgh, a nearly 600-mile trek. - Boston's longest homestand of the season will be a six-gamer from March 25-April 3 (Islanders, Devils, Penguins). - Since the NHL switched to an 84-game schedule in 1992-93 and then an 82-game schedule in 1995-96, the Bruins have played less than 82 contests in the regular season just three times. Boston played 48 games during the lockout-shortened seasons in 1994-95 and 2012-13, and 70 games last season, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 NHL Key Dates

The NHL also announced this week its initial 2021 critical dates calendar:
Dec. 31 -Training camps open for seven Clubs that did not participate in the resumption of play for the 2019-20 season (Anaheim, Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose)
Jan. 3 -Training camps open for the remaining 24 teams
Jan. 13 -2020-21 regular season begins
April 12 -Trade deadline (3 p.m. ET)
May 8 -Last day of regular season
\May 11 -Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
\July 9 -Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final
July 17 -Deadline for Protection Lists for Expansion Draft (5 p.m. ET)
July 21 -Expansion Draft for Seattle Kraken (8 p.m. ET)
July 23 -Round 1 of NHL Draft
July 24 -Rounds 2-7 of NHL Draft
July 28 -Restricted Free Agent/Unrestricted Free Agent signing period begins (12 p.m. ET)
*subject to adjustment