Rangers get breaks in schedule

The Rangers open the season at home, close the season on the road, and have 11 back-to-back games, the fewest of any team in the Eastern Conference.

Guess that’s what you get for participating in the Winter Classic.

As the Blueshirts’ 91st regularseason schedule was announced Thursday, it seemed almost palatable compared to last season’s grind. That was partially because of the late start to the season due to the World Cup of Hockey in September, and also because this schedule comes unimpeded by the Olympic break in February, as the NHL decided not to participate in the games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

There is still a five-day bye for every team between January and February, and the Rangers get theirs from Jan. 8-12 — as do the Islanders and Devils. The Blueshirts’ break comes oh-so-conveniently after their first game in Las Vegas against the expansion Golden Knights on Jan. 7, and they return to play host to the Islanders on Jan. 13.

The Blueshirts open with 10 of their first 13 games, as well as 13 of their first 18, at the Garden, starting with the season-opener against the Avalanche on Oct. 5. They will play the Winter Classic at Citi Field against the Sabres on New Year’s Day, the fourth outdoor game they will have taken part in. They will celebrate the exact 50-year anniversary at the current Garden with a game against the Flyers on Feb. 18, and they will finish the season with four games on the road, concluding April 7 in Philadelphia.

All teams in the East will play their seven interdivisional rivals four times (two home, two away), while playing the eight other in-conference division teams three times. They will play a home-and-home with each of the 15 Western Conference teams.

The Islanders will open their season Oct. 6 at Columbus. They then have to turn around and play their home opener the next night, Oct. 7, against the Sabres.

How much longer they call Barclays Center their home is in question, but for now, the two highlights will be when the Rangers come in on Feb. 15 and April 5, the latter being the Isles’ penultimate game of the season. They then finish the schedule in Detroit at the new Little Caesars Arena on April 7.

They also have a few home dates around holidays, including a Columbus Day matinee on Oct. 9, a game on the night before Thanksgiving on Nov. 22 and a Presidents’ Day matinee on Feb. 19.

The Devils open their season when they get the Avalanche in Newark on Oct. 7, just two days after Colorado takes on the Rangers at the Garden.

They have 18 weekend games at home, and 16 back-to-back games, just two fewer than last year’s condensed schedule.