Oilers announce 2016-17 schedule

 

The Edmonton Oilers will open their inaugural season at Rogers Place with a home-and-home series against the Calgary Flames. The historic Battle of Alberta kicks off in Edmonton on Wednesday, October 12 before the Oilers travel south to face off against their provincial rival, the Calgary Flames, on Friday, October 14.

The Oilers October home schedule is loaded with marquee matchups. In addition to Opening Night, the Oilers will travel to Winnipeg to face off against the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™ on Sunday, October 23, at Investors Group Field. The Oilers will also host Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres on October 16, the Carolina Hurricanes on October 18, the St. Louis Blues on October 20 and Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on October 26. Additionally, the Ottawa Senators will make their lone visit to Rogers Place on October 30.

To begin the month of November, the Oilers host the Dallas Stars on November 11, New York Rangers on November 13, Chicago Blackhawks on November 21 and Arizona Coyotes on November 27. The Oilers will finish off the month when they host one of the historic, Original Six teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs, for the first time at Rogers Place on November 29.

Edmonton will also play host to several other exciting match-ups to round out the inaugural season at Rogers Place. The Vancouver Canucks will face the Oilers in the first-ever New Year’s Eve game in the new building on December 31, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins will make their sole visit to Rogers Place on March 10 and the iconic Montreal Canadiens will visit on Sunday, March 12.

The Oilers will play 29 games against their Pacific Division rivals (Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks). Edmonton will play each divisional opponent five times, with the exception of the Calgary Flames, who they will face four times.

The Oilers will play three games against each of the remaining teams in the Western Conference for a total of 21 games. Edmonton also plays in 10 back-to-back games this season and four afternoon games.

Rounding out their 82-game schedule, the Oilers will play 32 games against Eastern Conference opponents, which will see the teams play one home and one away game.

The Oilers will make a six-game road trip from February 18 to February 28 where they will face off against the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

The team will play their longest homestand of the season with eight games at Rogers Place from March 4 to March 20. During the course of the Oilers homestand, they will face five Eastern Conference opponents, two Pacific Division teams and one Central Division opponent.

The Oilers will close out their 2016-17 schedule with an exciting back-to-back set of games against their division rival, the Vancouver Canucks, in a home-and-home series. Edmonton will visit Vancouver on April 8 before hosting the Canucks for the final regular season home game during their inaugural year at Rogers Place on April 9.