The Stars are scheduled to play 82 games during the 2021-22 campaign, with 41 contests at home and 41 on the road.
Dallas plays in the NHL's Central Division of the Western Conference along with the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets. Arizona rejoins the Central Division after having played in the Pacific Division since the 1998-99 season. The 2021-22 season marks the first time Dallas and Arizona will play in the same division since the Stars moved back to the central for the 2013-14 season. The Stars will play a total of 26 games against their division foes, with 13 games taking place at home and 13 on the road.
The home portion of the schedule features 17 weekend contests (six on Friday, nine on Saturday and two on Sunday).
Dallas' longest homestand of the season is four games, which occurs twice. The club faces the Washington Capitals (Jan. 28), Boston Bruins (Jan. 30), Calgary Flames (Feb. 1) and Winnipeg Jets (Feb. 23). In April, the Stars will close out the 2021-22 season with a four-game homestand against the Seattle Kraken (April 23), Vegas Golden Knights (April 26), Arizona Coyotes (April 27) and Anaheim Ducks (April 29).
This season, the Stars have a 21-day break without any games from Feb. 2-22 for the Olympic break, which immediately follows the NHL's All-Star Break from Feb. 3-6. In regards to the Olympics, no final agreement or decision has been made to this point regarding the possible participation of NHL players in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Talks remain ongoing. Subject to reaching agreement with the NHL Players' Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation on all outstanding issues, including appropriate COVID-19 insurance for NHL players, the league has agreed, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, to pause from Feb. 7-22, 2022 to accommodate NHL player participation in the Olympic Games. The NHL and the NHL Players' Association will retain full authority to decide not to participate should COVID-19 conditions worsen or otherwise pose a threat to the health and safety of NHL players, or for any other reason that may warrant such decision. In the event NHL players participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics, the NHL regular season will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 23. If, for whatever reason, there is no NHL player participation in the Olympics, a revised regular season schedule will be released which, to the greatest extent possible, will adopt the dates and games reflected in the schedule contemplating Olympic participation.
Dallas' longest road trip of the 2021-22 season is four games, which occurs on four different occasions. The team opens the campaign in October by traveling to the New York Rangers (Oct. 14), Boston Bruins (Oct. 16), Ottawa Senators (Oct. 17) and Pittsburgh Penguins (Oct. 19). In January, Dallas will face the Buffalo Sabres (Jan. 20), Detroit Red Wings (Jan. 21), Philadelphia Flyers (Jan. 24) and New Jersey Devils (Jan. 25). In March, the team travels to the Toronto Maple Leafs (March 15), Montreal Canadiens (March 17), New York Islanders (March 19) and Washington Capitals (March 20). The final four-game road trip features two games against the Anaheim Ducks (March 29 and March 31), followed by games against the San Jose Sharks (April 2) and Seattle Kraken (April 3).
The Stars wrap up the road portion of the regular season with a three-game trek through Western Canada, facing off against the Vancouver Canucks (April 18) and Edmonton Oilers (April 20) before their regular-season road finale against the Calgary Flames (April 21) at Scotiabank Saddledome. The team will conclude the 2021-22 regular season against the Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center on Friday, April 29.
