THREE THINGS: The 2020-21 Devils Schedule

We're just days away now from seeing the New Jersey Devils hit the ice for the first day of training camp. The schedule will look a lot different, given the exceptional circumstances, so we break it all down for you in Three Things: The 2020-21 Schedule.

1. Kicking Things Off

Let's start with the most exciting part of the schedule, opening night. For the Devils, that will be on January 14th against the Bruins and they'll get to do it at home at Prudential Center.
When the season ended last season, the Devils had just concluded a game it was March 10th, 2020 - that will be 311 days between that date and puck drop for Game 1 of this new 56-game season.
We can break it down even more for you.
That's 10 months and 5 days or perhaps you prefer 44 weeks and three days. Why not break it down even more? That's 7440 hours or 446, 4000 minutes, or 26,784,000 seconds.
Break it down however you want, the best part is that we're back!
Tweet from @NJDevils: We're ready. 💪 pic.twitter.com/RctaTxaiJL

2. Who, What, Where?

The Devils will only visit seven cities this season with a realignment for the 2020-21 season agreed to, to minimize travel as much as possible. Along with the Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Capitals, Bruins, Sabres, Penguins and Flyers will make up the East Division.
The longest road trip this season will be five consecutive games on the road, between March 23rd and March 30th. The road trip will have a stop in Philadelphia, followed by two games in Pittsburgh and two games in Boston.
The longest stretch of home games will be fice games, between February 20th and March 1st.

3. Countdown to 1000

When the season was canceled last season, Travis Zajac was on the verge of hitting the 1000 games played mark (all with the Devils, might we add!) but the season ended with Zajac sitting at 991 NHL games played.
Under the new 2020-21 schedule, Zajac is expected to hit that milestone moment on January 31st when the Devils visit the Buffalo Sabres. When he hits that mark, he will become just the fourth player in franchise history to appear in 1000+ games as a Devil. He will join Patrik Elias (1240), Martin Brodeur (1259), and Ken Daneyko's 1283 games with New Jersey.