After announcing an agreement for the season to begin on January 13 on Sunday, the NHL released its 56-game schedule for its 31 clubs three days later.
As has been the custom the past seven years, the Canadiens open up their campaign on the road, with a six-game stretch away from Montreal. And for the ninth time since 2009, the Habs face the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first game of the year, on January 13. They then travel out West for a pair of games against the Edmonton Oilers on January 16 and 18, and finish up with a three-game series against the Canucks in Vancouver.
The Canadiens get a five-day break following their return, before embarking on a seven-game homestand where they will welcome the Calgary Flames (twice), Canucks (twice), Ottawa Senators, Maple Leafs, and Edmonton Oilers to the Bell Centre from January 28-February 11.
Joining the North Division for the season, the Habs play the Leafs and Senators a total of 10 times each, and play the four Canadian teams hailing from the Western Conference nine times apiece.
There are nine back-to-back sets for Montreal this season. Last year, the Canadiens went 5-6-2 in the first game of a back-to-back and 4-6-3 in the second.
In terms of multi-game series, Montreal has one four-game stretch against the Senators from March 28-April 3, with the first and last game of that run at home and the middle two in the nation's capital. The Habs will also have four three-game series in 2020-21, including the one in their first road trip of the season. The other three-gamers are on March 22-26 at home against Edmonton, April 22-26 in Calgary, and on May 3-8 to wrap up the season against Toronto.
Don't forget, training camps for the 24 teams to play in last season's Return To Play format - including the Canadiens - begin on January 3. Be sure to follow @CanadiensMTL on
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