Canucks 2023-24 schedule has tough run of October road games again

The NHL released its 2023-24 regular season schedule today, and the Vancouver Canucks might not be pleased with what they see.

The Canucks have stumbled out of the gate in three consecutive seasons, sinking their playoff chances by the second month of the season each time. The schedule was seen as a contributing factor in each of the last two years.

Needless to say, the pressure will be on to have a much better start.

The pressure was on last year too, when the Canucks started with five straight road games. They lost all of them. The season went off the rails so fast that the Canucks were booed off the ice and a fan threw a jersey on the ice in disgust at the home opener.

The 2021-22 season also saw the Canucks start on the road, with a brutal six-game trip.

This year’s schedule is kinder to the Canucks, but not by much.

Vancouver will start at home for the first time since 2018, against the Edmonton Oilers on October 11. But that’s followed up with a five-game cross-continent road trip with stops in Edmonton, Philadelphia, Tampa, Florida, and Nashville.

The Canucks then return to Vancouver with a rare back-to-back set of home games, against the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

The Canucks will play 10 of their first 17 games on the road, which is slightly better than last year, when 11 of their first 17 games were away from Rogers Arena.

Vancouver Canucks

The longest stretch of home games is in March, when the Canucks play nine straight games at Rogers Arena. If they’re still in playoff contention by then, that’ll be welcome news.

The Canucks also have a pair of five-game home stands, December 5-14 and January 18-27. Their longest road trip of the season is a seven-game eastern road swing from January 4 to 15, with stops in St. Louis, New Jersey, New York, Long Island, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Columbus.

Fans wanting to watch the Canucks play in Seattle will get two opportunities, on November 24 and February 22.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of reception Bo Horvat gets when he makes his return to Vancouver on November 15. The Toronto Maple Leafs make their always-interesting visit to Vancouver on Saturday, January 20, which will probably be a 4 pm PT start.

Connor Bedard is scheduled to play an NHL game at Rogers Arena for the first time on January 22. The Boston Bruins visit February 24 and the Montreal Canadiens play at Rogers Arena on March 21.

The last home game of the season is April 16 against the Calgary Flames. The Canucks wrap up the season two nights later in Winnipeg on April 18.

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