With lots of questions to answer this offseason, one thing just became clear for the New York Rangers. The NHL released its full 1,312-game regular season schedule Tuesday afternoon, and the Rangers have a unique one, featuring a road-heavy start to the year and an outdoor game in February.
The Rangers will start their 2023-24 season with seven of their nine October games and eight of their first 11 total games on the road.
The Rangers open the regular season in Buffalo against the Sabres on Thursday, Oct. 12, before flying to Columbus to battle the Blue Jackets on Saturday, Oct. 14. The home opener at Madison Square Garden will be on Monday, Oct. 16 against the Arizona Coyotes.
An outdoor hockey game will highlight the schedule, as the Rangers will battle the New York Islanders on Sunday, Feb. 18 at MetLife Stadium in the NHL Stadium Series. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The Rangers and Islanders will play three more times in 2024 — on Sunday, March 17 and Saturday, April 13 in Manhattan, and on Tuesday, April 9 on Long Island.
The Islanders will begin their 2023-24 season with a three-game homestand, starting on Saturday, Oct. 14 against the Sabres. The Islanders will have another homestand from Dec. 5 until Dec. 15 — their longest of the season at six games.
In all, five of their first six games and nine of their first 13 games will be played on home ice in Elmont.
The Islanders will play the New Jersey Devils four times next season. The teams will face off on Friday, Oct. 20 and Sunday, March 24 at UBS Arena. The Devils will host the Islanders on Tuesday, Nov. 28 and Monday, April 15 at Prudential Center.
The Devils open their season on Thursday, Oct. 12 at home against the Detroit Red Wings. They will finish a four-game homestand before playing their first road game of the year against the Islanders on Oct. 20.
The Devils will be home in Newark during both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, hosting the Blue Jackets on Friday, Nov. 24 and Sabres on Saturday, Nov. 25. The Devils will also host the Red Wings on Saturday, Dec. 23 and Blue Jackets on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
Like the Rangers and Islanders, the Devils will play an outdoor game in 2024. They will battle the Philadelphia Flyers at MetLife Stadium in the Stadium Series on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m., in the first outdoor NHL game ever played in New Jersey. The second will be a day later when the Rangers and Islanders take the ice.
Last season was the first time all three New York-area teams made the playoffs since 2007, and just the fourth time that has happened in NHL history.