Five things to know about Sharks' 2022-23 schedule
The Sharks and new general manager Mike Grier began setting the course of the team's long-term future Thursday night during the NHL Draft, but the near future came into a bit more focus this week when the 2022-23 schedule was released. San Jose will be looking to bounce back from a third straight season outside the playoffs — and outside the late-season hunt for a postseason spot.
Here are five things to know about the schedule:
OPENING ABROAD: The Sharks will open their regular season in Prague one week before their first stateside home date, as the NHL previously announced. They face the Nashville Predators in back-toback games Oct. 7 and 8 in Tomas Hertl's hometown (and Radim Simek's home country). Both games are set for 11 a.m. PT, which is 8 p.m. local time.
The North American opener will be Friday, Oct. 14 at the SAP Center against the Hurricanes. The following night, the Sharks will play Chicago at home, then embark on a four-game trip to the East Coast to play both New York teams, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
23-DAY TRIP (WITH A PAUSE):
The Sharks won't play a game in San Jose for nearly a month after a Jan. 18game against the Stars. They head on a five-game trip to the Eastern Conference before the All-Star break, then return from the recess with a tough three-game swing through the Southeast Division (at Tampa Bay, Florida and Washington). The nine-day All-Star break between games provides some relief and the chance for players to travel home, but it's still likely the most grueling stretch of the season. Fortunately for San Jose, the longest home stretch comes shortly thereafter. A Valentine's Night home game with the Penguins will be followed by a quick trip to Vegas, then a seven-game homestand against the Sabres, Kraken, Predators, Blackhawks, Canadiens, Blues and Capitals.
TOUGH FINISHING KICK: Another difficult section of the schedule is the month of April. The Sharks open the month with the second of their two visits to the Coyotes' tiny temporary home in Tempe, Arizona (the other is in early January), then have two home dates with the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche, plus one against Edmonton, the other Western Conference finalist from last season.
The final road trip of the season is in Canada: at Winnipeg, then an Alberta back-to-back facing the Flames and Oilers to close things out.
CALIFORNIA SHUTTLE: Several intrastate flights are booked for mid-December after the Sharks return from their second East Coast trip. They host the Canucks Dec. 7, then visit the Ducks two days later. On the 13th, they host the Coyotes, then it's back to SoCal four days later to face the Kings.
The night after that Los Angeles date is a home game against Calgary, starting a three-game homestand. In total, the Sharks will play seven consecutive games in California but travel four times within the state over the middle of the month.
QUICK TURNAROUNDS: The Sharks also have 14back-to-back sets over the course of the season, including only two after the All-Star break. Twelve of them involve travel and the two non-travel sets come in the first four games of the season: The dual Predators games in Prague and the Carolina-Chicago set to open at the Shark Tank.
San Jose plays the same team in consecutive games three times over the season, in that opening series, as well as a Sunday-Tuesday series with the Flames in December and a Tuesday-Thursday pairing against the Avalanche in April.