NHL releases 2021 season schedule

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs are scheduled to host the Montreal Canadiens, while the Edmonton Oilers are slated to face the visiting Vancouver Canucks on the opening night of the NHL season next month.

The all-Canadian clashes are part of a five-game opening night schedule on January 13.

The five provinces with NHL teams still have to approve plans for the seven Canadian teams to play at home during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Winnipeg Jets open January 14 against the visiting Calgary Flames, while the Oilers and Canucks meet again that day in Edmonton.

The Ottawa Senators start their season January 15 against visiting Toronto, the first of two games in as many days between the Ontario rivals in the nation's capital.

Baseball-style series are common as the league attempts to reduce the travel. For example, the Canadiens and Senators each are scheduled to play three straight games in Vancouver in January.

The NHL realigned its divisions for the 2021 season so that the North Division -- which features all seven Canadian teams -- would not have to cross the U.S.-Canada border, which remains closed to non-essential travel until at least January 21.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published December 23, 2020