NHL releases regular season schedules

...and the Pens open up with their homecoming banner-raising game on Friday, October 2nd against the New York Rangers. Personally, I'd have preferred the Capitals or Flyers, but the Rangers aren't a terribly team to bring in for such an historic event as a banner ceremony. Hopefully, the Rangers will be brought onto the ice to watch the celebration take place prior to the game.

The next night, Saturday, the Pens take their show on to the road to the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island to face the next "Next One," top overall draft pick John Tavares. That will be quite the show, as Tavares has a friendship with Sidney Crosby, who was in a similar spot to Tavares four years ago. Like Crosby, Tavares walks onto the worst team in the league, a team that also faces an uphill struggle to get a new arena deal done securing its long-term future in its region.

I'm excited for that one, and I hope Tavares has success in that game short of getting a "W."

Pittsburgh will meet Minnesota, Anaheim and of course, Detroit, two times apiece from the Western Conference. Some kind of a rivalry, as you might imagine, is developing between the Pens and Wings. Fortunately, this year, the Pens will be the ones with the Cup.

There is also a western Canadian swing with three games against Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The full schedule is right here. It's also screen capped below (read clockwise):