The NHL officially released the 2021-22 regular season schedules of the 32 teams on Thursday evening, including the schedule of the Philadelphia Flyers. Their regular season will run from October 15th to April 29th. We’ll take a look at 13 key games on the Flyers’ 2021-22 schedule and what they mean for the club as they look to embark on the journey to end their 46-year Stanley Cup drought.
OCTOBER 15TH – FLYERS VS. CANUCKS
The Flyers will open a season in Philadelphia for the first time since 2013-14 when they host the Vancouver Canucks on October 15th. They were technically the home team for their season opener in 2019-20 against the Chicago Blackhawks, but that game was played in Prague, Czech Republic for the NHL Global Series. The season-opening matchup against Vancouver signals the beginning of a four-game home slate before finally hitting the road.
OCTOBER 17TH – FLYERS VS. KRAKEN
Philadelphia will play host to the league’s newest franchise when the Seattle Kraken visit Wells Fargo Center on October 17th. It will also mark former Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol’s first visit to Philadelphia as an opposing head coach and it could also mark Carsen Twarynski’s return to Philadelphia should he make Seattle’s final roster out of training camp.
OCTOBER 27TH – FLYERS @ OILERS
The Flyers will start their three-game Western Canadian road trip on October 27th against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. They will follow it up with games at Vancouver (10/28) and Calgary (10/30) before returning home for a date with Shayne Gostisbehere’s Arizona Coyotes.
NOVEMBER 2ND – FLYERS VS. COYOTES
Shayne Gostisbehere’s return to Wells Fargo Center will be a matchup that attracts all eyes as the Arizona Coyotes take on the Flyers on November 2nd. Gostisbehere was drafted by Philadelphia in 2012 and was traded to Arizona on Thursday afternoon after a seven-season tenure with the club. It will surely be an emotional return for fans and for Gostisbehere, who was the team’s longest-tenured defenseman before the trade.
NOVEMBER 4TH – FLYERS @ PENGUINS
The Flyers will take on their intrastate rivals in the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time on November 4th when they visit PPG Paints Arena. They won 5 of their 8 matchups this past season against the Penguins and will look to continue that trend in 2021-22. This is also the Flyers’ first game of the season against a Metropolitan Division rival as well.
NOVEMBER 18TH – FLYERS VS. LIGHTNING
Philadelphia will host the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions in the first of three meetings when the Tampa Bay Lightning roll into town on November 18th. This will be the Flyers’ first game against the Lightning since the 2020 Eastern Conference Round-Robin in the Toronto bubble, a game that they won 4-1 to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs.
DECEMBER 6TH – FLYERS VS. AVALANCHE
The 2021 Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche will face the Flyers in Philadelphia for their first meeting on December 6th. It will be a tall task for Alain Vigneault’s club as they look to knock off the mighty Avalanche at Wells Fargo Center.
DECEMBER 29TH – FLYERS @ KRAKEN
The Flyers will make their first ever trip to the newly-renovated Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle to face the Kraken just a few days before they ring in the New Year. This game will be the second and final meeting between the two teams this season.
JANUARY 6TH – FLYERS VS. PENGUINS
The Penguins will make their first appearance of the season at Wells Fargo Center on January 6th. It will be the third of four meetings on the season between the two rivals. Expect a chorus of jeers whenever Sidney Crosby touches the puck that night.
FEBRUARY 1ST – FLYERS VS. JETS
The Flyers will host the Winnipeg Jets in their final game before the two-week Olympic break in February. They will have a slew of players that could potentially make the trip to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics and this will be their final NHL contest until February 23rd at Detroit.
MARCH 8TH – FLYERS VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Nolan Patrick will face the Flyers for the first time in his NHL career when his Vegas Golden Knights play at Wells Fargo Center on March 8th. Patrick’s return will be met with a mixture of cheers and boos after a rocky tenure with the franchise. Patrick was shipped off to Nashville in the Ryan Ellis trade before being immediately dealt to Vegas for Cody Glass.
MARCH 17TH – FLYERS VS. PREDATORS
The Nashville Predators will visit the Flyers in Philadelphia on March 17th and it will mark Phil Myers’ first game as an opponent at Wells Fargo Center after spending three seasons with the club. Myers was traded to Nashville along with Patrick for Ryan Ellis, who will also be facing his former Predators teammates for the first time in this game.
MARCH 22ND – FLYERS @ RED WINGS
This game is the first of a five-game Central Division road trip to close out the month of March for Philadelphia. Their trip to Detroit is followed up by dates at St. Louis (3/24), Colorado (3/25), and Nashville (3/27) before the last game of the bunch at Minnesota (3/29). This will be the their longest road trip of the season and it starts at Little Caesars Arena on March 22nd.