Season opens against Flyers

First home game is against Capitals

When the NHL restructured its divisions for the shortened 2020-21 season, it decided to keep the Penguins close to two of their biggest rivals: Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals.

And they won’t have to wait long to see them.

The Penguins will drop the puck on the new season Jan. 13 at Philadelphia, the NHL announced on Wednesday. They will play a second game Jan. 15 at Philadelphia before traveling back to Pittsburgh for the home opener Jan. 17 against the Capitals. Game times have yet to be announced.

As a part of the unique season structure, the Penguins were placed into the new-look East Division. In addition to the Flyers and Capitals, the division includes the three teams in the New York City region (New York Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils) and two Atlantic Division clubs (Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres).

In the 56-game schedule, the Penguins play eight games against each of their division foes — four at home and four on the road. The

overwhelming majority of the games will be played in two-game blocks in one city in order to reduce travel. The Penguins play the same opponent twice in a row 26 times.

That means just nine road trips. The longest one occurs April 1-11 and spans just five games — two at Boston, two at the New York Rangers and one at New Jersey. The longest Penguins home stands are four games, which will occur five different times during the season.

The Penguins close out their season with a twogame set May 6 and 8 in Buffalo, N.Y. That will be followed by a 16-team postseason in which just four teams from each division qualify, unlike in the past when as many as five teams from one division could earn a spot.

Competition will be fierce in a challenging East Division. It features four of the seven best teams from last year in terms of points percentage (Bruins, Capitals, Flyers and Penguins). Plus, the New York Islanders are not in that group but had the most postseason success, advancing to the Eastern Conference final. At least one of those clubs will miss out on the 2021 postseason.

The Penguins will begin to ramp up for their season Jan. 3 when they open training camp at PPG Paints Arena.