The Habs will open the 2005-06 season against the last team they beat under the old CBA, the Boston Bruins.
There should be no shortage of passion between the two rivals, that we know for sure. What we don’t know is who will be the favourite. Both teams are light in terms of bodies (what team isn’t?) and will have a lot of space to fill, the Bruins in particular.
Elsewhere, the Habs will meet the Rangers in New York the next night, before sliding into Toronto to play their old rivals in one of eight meetings to take place throughout the year.
The home opener will take place October 11th when the Senators come to Montreal. Sadly, Original Six opponents Detroit and Chicago will not play the CH in the upcoming season due to an emphasis on divisional and conference play.
The Habs will play against each Canadian team, despite there being a limited number of games against the Western Conference in general.
Stops in Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary will be joined by road games against Colorado and Minnesota. Meanwhile, the other five Western Conference games will see Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim come to the Bell Centre.
Sidney Crosby will make two stops in Montreal (wouldn’t it have been nice to see him 41 times?), the first being Tuesday, January 3rd and the next being on Saturday, March 18th.
Preseason will begin on September 18th, and will feature five home games against the likes of Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa.
It may seem like a long ways away, but before we know it Training Camp battles will be underway and the lineup will slowly be pieced together.
Habsworld will be looking forward to giving you all sorts of pregame and postgame coverage throughout what should be a great year to be a fan of the glorious bleu, blanc, et rouge.