The 2009-2010 regular season schedule was released for all NHL teams today, which signals the time for all puck-heads to go through it with a fine-toothed comb. Obviously, they have to fall within the guidelines: 6 games against each divisional opponent, 4 games for conference opponents, and 1 game for each out-of-conference team. Three out-of-conference teams will be played twice.

That said, here is the Sharks’s schedule, since that’s the one I care about the most:

The Sharks open at Colorado on October 1, which will be Joe Sakic night, with the retirement of his #19 after he retired earlier this summer. Following that will be a Socal road trip, visiting the now Pronger-less Anaheim Ducks (don’t worry, you can still boo Correy Perry) and the much-improved Los Angeles Kings. Surprisingly enough, this is the first time the Sharks have visited both Socal teams in succession on a road trip in several years.

The Sharks’s home opener will be against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 8, where you can expect to see a ceremony where the Sharks reveal their Pacific Division Champions and President’s Trophy banners.

The three Eastern Conference teams that the Sharks play twice this season are the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and Philadelphia Flyers (who the Sharks played twice last year, as well).

The Washington Capitals have not beaten the Sharks at the Tank in 13 years, one of, if not the longest streaks of its kind in the NHL. Last season it wasn’t any different, the Sharks beating the Caps 7-2. The Sharks are one of the three teams that Ovechkin hasn’t scored a goal against (the Wild and the Kings being the two others). Will these two factoids hold up?

Last season, when the Sharks met up with the Sabres, a plane had just crashed in Buffalo the previous day, creating a somewhat somber atmosphere. The Sharks went down by 3 before battling back and eventually taking the lead, 5-4, into the final few seconds. After a somewhat blatant non-call on an elbow on Marc-Edouard Vlasic (he was bleeding afterwards), the Sabres tied the game and took it in a shootout.

The two Flyers games last season had the Sharks sweep the series, but both after regular expired. One was a 7-6 goal-fest (the score was 4-3 after the first period), and the other was 6-5 (Boyle scored the OT goal). This season, the Sharks’s former backup net-minder and part-time Russian Brian Boucher returned to the team that drafted him and backs up Ray Emery. Sharks fans also get to boo Captain Elbows Alternate Captain Elbows 7-Year Contract Elbows, aka Chris Pronger, who was traded from Anaheim on draft day.

National Television Targets

Last season, the Sharks graced national television a grand total of three times, despite being the points leader for most of the year. And even then it was only Versus, with NBC refusing to pick up the New Jersey Devils-San Jose Sharks game in February. However, the Boston-San Jose Versus game last year was the highest-rated regular-season broadcast in Versus history, hopefully prompting more national broadcasts. So here are some games that could be picked up by either Versus or NBC, limited only to the days they can broadcast (Monday and Tuesday for Versus, Sunday for NBC). Also thrown out are the teams they likely wouldn’t show (i.e. LA and Phoenix).

Versus:
October 19, New York Rangers – Its the Rangers, so there’s a 99% chance that Versus will broadcast this.
December 21/March 16, at Dallas Stars – There was a Stars-Sharks games broadcast last year, so I could concievably see this happening.
December 22, at Chicago Blackhawks – Chicago is a young, dynamic team that went to the WCF. And they have Campbell. It could happen.
February 2, Detroit Red Wings – The last time the Wings and Sharks played together at the Tank, it was the greatest regular season game played in Sharks history. Why not?
March 2, New Jersey Devils – Its an Eastern Conference team, isn’t that usually enough?
March 23, at Minnesota Wild – Unlikely, but Todd Richards is now the coach, so Vs might want to play that up.

NBC: (yeah, right)
October 25, at Philadelphia Flyers – NBC probably wants to promote the Flyers in preparation for the Winter Classic, plus now they have Pronger.
November 1, at Carolina Hurricanes – The game is early enough (10:30am, PST), so moving it back an hour won’t be any hardship.
November 15, at Chicago Blackhawks – Young team, has Campbell, blah blah blah.
As LadyStanley has just informed me, NBC does not start broadcasting games until January. So, since it is highly unlikely that games against the Ducks, Oilers, and Avalanche will be picked up by NBC (those being the remaining Sunday opponents), no network broadcasting for the Sharks this year.

Month by Month Breakdown

October
5 home, 9 road – 8,949 miles

You can almost describe the Sharks’ first month by listing the draft order: Islanders, Tampa Bay, Colorado x2, Atlanta, LA x2, and Phoenix. There are some decent playoff teams in the mix (Washington and Anaheim most notably), but if the Sharks don’t come out with a winning record, I’ll be shocked and a little worried about them.

November
5 home, 9 road – 11,859 miles

For the second consecutive year, the Sharks play the Stanley Cup finalests in consecutive games, with the winner being second. Its basically Central Division month with Canada, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina thrown in. Don’t expect a November like last year’s, where it was dominant from start to finish.

December
9 home, 4 road – 6,747 miles

Lots of home games, but not a lot of inter-conference play (Ottawa and Washington being the only exceptions). A lot of playoff teams, but they are also teams that the Sharks should beat – it’ll be a fun month, I can tell you that much.

January
11 home, 3 road – 2,489 miles

Most home games and least number of miles traveled – already a good month is my book. Factor in that the Sharks will be playing both Detroit and Boston, and its definitely going to feature some great hockey. A little on the rough side with Edmonton visiting twice and Calgary and Anaheim once, but still. This will probably be my favorite month.

February
1 home, 6 road – 3,320 miles

Because of the combined effects of the SAP Open and the Winter Olympics, the first and last time the Sharks will be in San Jose in February will be the 2nd against Detroit. Otherwise, its a study in Central and Eastern timezones. USA! USA! USA!

March
8 home, 7 road – 10,308 miles

This is largely “San Jose Showcase” month, what with the relatively large number of Eastern Conference teams coming to San Jose (including Montreal, the self-proclaimed center of the hockey universe). The Sharks also do their Northwest Division swing, except for Colorado, who visits at the end of the month.

April
2 home, 3 road – 3,484 miles

The season ends with teams that the Sharks should beat most days, but we saw how that worked out last year. Let’s just say that I hope they beat them. Oh, and the fact that the Sharks only play five games, all in the Western Conference, but still manage to travel over 3,000 miles amazes me.

Games of Note

October 1, @ Colorado – Season opener, Joe Sakic day, and the first chance to see how the team works together when it actually counts (last season, the pre-season record was barely over .500, but then the regular season started and they set an NHL record). Starting against a rebuilding team could also build team morale, I don’t know.

October 8, vs. Columbus – Home opener, where the aforementioned banners will be raised. I expect a raucus, sold-out Tank, even if it is against Columbus (no offense, just not a team that has any history with the Sharks).

November 5 and 7, @ Detroit and vs. Pittsburgh – Playing the Stanley Cup Finalists in consecutive games is always fun; last season’s set had the Sharks dominate (or “out-Wing”) both teams. Plus, it’s always fun to see Sid and Geno at the Tank.

November 20, vs. Philadelphia – The return of Brian Boucher, a completely awesome guy who sings Jingle Bells like a Russian and was voted most likely to be a politician by his Shark teammates. Oh, and the guy that we like to boo – Chris Pronger? Stompy McElbowface? Yeah, that’s going to be fun. Also features the first time Matt Carle plays the Sharks after being traded the summer before last season.

January 14, vs. Boston – The re-match between Joe Thornton and his former team, which tends to be all that people promote. The game itself should be a fun one to watch as well, what with the two highest point-getters last season matching up again.

March 4, vs. Montreal – Watch as a swarm of hockey media descends onto San Jose, crowding the small locker rooms and bewildering everyone. Also, we’ll be able to see the shortest line in the NHL, which is cool.

April 10, vs. Phoenix – The last game of the regular season, and likely Fan Appreciation Night. Not something to be missed.

In Conclusion…

This schedule features 13 back-to-back games, only one of which will be two home games in a row – the rest require at least 164 miles of travel (distance between Columbus and Detroit, a back-to-back situation that happens twice).

With the Winter Olympics this year, there is no All Star Game, and therefore no ASG week-long break. However, there will be a two-week-long break from February 14-March 1 to accomodate the Olympics. I fully expect at least three Shark representatives to be participating in the Games, although there could be more with the play next season and the smaller ice surface.

November and March suck in terms of travel, with 21,967 miles between the two of them, accounting for almost half of the total miles traveled over the course of the regular season.

There are three six-game roadtrips and three five-game homesteads.

The last time the Sharks play their California rivals in the Tank is in January.

There is one time where there is one month between home games; February 2 against Detroit to March 2 against New Jersey.

There is only one afternoon game this year (possibly because the Sharks are now the only tenant of the HP Pavilion, with the Stealth being relocated to Washington – yay for no more ice ruining! – and the AFL still cancelled, most likely defunct), which is against Edmonton on January 16 at 1:00pm.

However, there is also a morning (!!) game at Carolina, starting at 10:30am PST on November 1. Granted, that does start at 1:30pm east coast time, but still.

Total miles traveled? 46,956 miles, significantly decreased from last year, likely because Boston and Montreal (the two furthest teams) come to San Jose this year. And because the Sharks play the Islanders and Rangers consecutively, which is only 20 miles according to the distance calculator I found online.