Oilers open NHL season at home against Vancouver

The NHL schedule is out and the Edmonton Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks on backto-back nights to open the upcoming season.

The Oilers face the Canucks on Jan. 13 and 14 at Rogers Place, and then host the Montreal Canadiens in a double-dip on Jan. 16 and 18. The four games are part of a 56-game, all-canadian schedule for the Oilers, who will play 10 games against the Canucks and Calgary Flames, while facing the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Canadiens nine times each.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to delay the start of the season as cases surged in North America. Travel restrictions prevent teams from crossing the Canada-u.s. border without having to undergo a quarantine period.

All four divisions were realigned for the season with every Canadian team placed in the North Division, while U.S. teams were placed into regional divisions of eight teams. Teams will only play division opponents this season with the top four teams in each division qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The opening road trip of the season will take the Oilers to Toronto for two games on

Jan. 20 and 22, and then to Winnipeg with a pair of games on Jan. 24 and 26.

Edmonton and Calgary will play the first of 10 games against each other on Feb. 6 at Rogers Place. The two teams face each other in Calgary on Feb. 19 in the second game of the series.

The Oilers had a 7-7-2 record against Canadian opponents last season and were poised to qualify for the NHL playoff for just the second time since 2006 when the pandemic forced a pause in the NHL schedule.

The league returned in the summer with an expanded playoff format, featuring 24 teams. The Oilers, however, were eliminated in four games in the play-in series by the Chicago Blackhawks and did not qualify for the traditional 16-team playoff tournament.

The entire post-season was held in host cities Edmonton and Toronto, with the final two rounds of the playoffs held at Rogers Place. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars in the final to win the Stanley Cup.

NHL training camps open on Jan. 3, with teams who did not play in the qualifying tournament allowed to open on Dec. 31. There will not be any exhibition games.

The Oilers conclude their regular season on May 7 in Calgary against the Flames.