Start marking your calendars today – the Dallas Stars (and the rest of the NHL) have released the full regular-season schedule for the 2016-17 regular season.
As we suspected yesterday, the Stars will open the season at home with a 7:30 p.m. game against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, Oct. 13. They then head on a brief, two-game Central Division road swing to play the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators before returning home for a three-game homestand.
It’s a road-heavy start to the season with 10 of the first 16 games on the road, including a tough five-game swing in early November where they visit the Blackhawks, Jets, Flames, Oilers and Canucks over eight days. March will be the other road-heavy stretch, with just four of 14 games at the American Airlines Center.
December, meanwhile, will feature a very long home stretch. After starting the month with four of six games on the road, the Stars will host eight of the next nine games, including a big five-game stretch leading up to Christmas against the Ducks, Rangers, Flyers, Blues and Kings.
The longest homestand is six games from the end of January into Feburary, with high-profile games against the Capitals, Maple Leafs and Blackhawks sandwiched around games against the Wild, Sabres and Jets.
Dallas will close out the reuglar season with a relatively favorable stretch, starting with a five-game road swing to the Eastern Conference and wrapping up with a season-ending three-game homestand. The Avalanche will be the final regular-season opponent on April 8.
All teams are getting a “bye week” of sorts during January and February this season, with the Stars coming in a five-day stretch off from Feb. It’s relatively late in the stretch, but it may prove beneficial to allow players to heal up heading into the trade deadline.
Here is the official release from the team:
The Dallas Stars will open the 2016-17 National Hockey League regular season at home on Thursday, Oct.13 against the Anaheim Ducks. The team will then travel to Colorado to kick off its road schedule on Saturday, Oct. 15 against the Colorado Avalanche.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE 82-GAME SCHEDULE
The Stars are scheduled to play 82 games during the 2016-17 campaign, with 41 contests at home and 41 on the road. Dallas plays in the NHL’s Central Division of the Western Conference along with the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets. The Stars will play a total of 29 games against their division foes, with 14 games taking place at home and 15 on the road.
The majority of the team’s weeknight home games are currently scheduled to start at 7:30 pm, however times are subject to change to accommodate television broadcast needs when necessary.
The home portion of the schedule features 16 weekend contests (4 Friday, 11 Saturday, 1 Sunday).
Dallas’ longest homestand of the season is six games, which will take place from Jan. 21 – Feb. 4. The Stars open the homestand against the Washington Capitals (Jan. 21), followed by the Minnesota Wild (Jan. 24), Buffalo Sabres (Jan. 26), and Toronto Maple Leafs (Jan. 31). The six-game homestand concludes with matchups against Central Division rivals, facing the Winnipeg Jets (Feb. 2) and Chicago Blackhawks (Feb. 4). Six-straight contests in Dallas marks the team’s longest homestand since the 2010-11 season when the club had six consecutive games at American Airlines Center from Oct. 23 – Nov. 5, 2010.
Dallas has two five-game road trips during the 2016-17 campaign from Nov. 6 – Nov. 13 and March 26 – April 2.;
The Stars conclude the road portion of their season on Sunday, April 2 at Tampa Bay, and will wrap up the regular season at home on Saturday, April 8 against Colorado.
This season, the Stars have a five-day break without any games from Feb. 19 – 23. All NHL member clubs this season will have a five-day break in their schedule between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28.
The Stars schedule breaks down in the following format:
vs. Division Opponents (29 Games)
Five games vs. five teams (2 home/3 away) vs. Chicago, Nashville and Winnipeg; (3 home/2 away) vs. Colorado and Minnesota.
Four games vs. one team (2 home/2 away) with teams rotated on a yearly basis (St. Louis this season).
vs. Western Conference Opponents (non-division, 1 Games)
The Stars will play their other non-division Western Conference opponents 21 times (Anaheim, Arizona, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver), facing off against each club three times (2 home/1 away vs. four teams; 1 home/2 away vs. three teams).
In total, Dallas plays 50 games against their Western Conference foes.
vs. Eastern Conference Opponents (32 Games)
Dallas will face off against each Eastern Conference team two times this season (1 home/1 away), ensuring that every team will play in every building at least once this season.
In total, Dallas plays 32 games against their Eastern Conference opponents.
STARS SCHEDULE NOTES
Home Games by Day: Mon. – 2, Tues. – 9, Wed. – 2, Thurs. – 12, Fri. – 4, Sat. – 11, Sun. – 1
Road Games by Day: Mon. – 4, Tues. – 11, Wed. – 1, Thurs. – 9, Fri. – 2, Sat. – 7, Sun. – 7
Home Games by Month: Oct. – 4, Nov. – 7, Dec. – 9, Jan. – 7, Feb. – 7, Mar. – 4, Apr. – 3
Road Games by Month: Oct. – 4, Nov. – 9, Dec. – 5, Jan. – 6, Feb. – 5, Mar. – 10, Apr. – 2
Opponents’ Visits to Dallas (41)
Anaheim-2, Arizona-2, Boston-1, Buffalo-1, Calgary-1, Carolina-1, Chicago-2, Colorado-3, Columbus-1, Detroit-1, Edmonton-1, Florida-1, Los Angeles-2, Minnesota-3, Montreal-1, Nashville-2, New Jersey-1, NY Islanders-1, NY Rangers-1, Ottawa-1, Philadelphia-1, Pittsburgh-1, St. Louis-2, San Jose-2, Tampa Bay-1, Toronto-1, Vancouver-1, Washington-1, Winnipeg-2.
Stars’ Visits to Road Cities (41)
Anaheim-1, Arizona-1, Boston-1, Buffalo-1, Calgary-2, Carolina-1, Chicago-3, Colorado-2, Columbus-1, Detroit-1, Edmonton-2, Florida-1, Los Angeles-1, Minnesota-2, Montreal-1, Nashville-3, New Jersey-1, NY Islanders-1, NY Rangers-1, Ottawa-1, Philadelphia-1, Pittsburgh-1, St. Louis-2, San Jose-1, Tampa Bay-1, Toronto-1, Vancouver-2, Washington-1, Winnipeg-3.
1st Half/2nd Half
The Stars will play 21 of their first 41 games at home, while finishing the second half with 20 of the final 41 games at home.
Back-to-Back Series
Overall: 10 sets (20 games total)
Back-to-back games at home: 3
Back-to-back games on the road: 17
Road game followed by home game next day: 1
Home game followed by road game next day: 2
Home game followed by home game next day: 0
Road game followed by road game next day: 7
Full and Half Season Ticket packages are now on sale by calling 214-GO-STARS or by visiting our tickets page. Ten-Game Packages and Individual Game tickets will be available for purchase at a later date. For the most up-to-date ticket information, become a Stars Insider.