NHL schedule: Rangers to open '14-'15 season on the road, then at home against the Maple Leafs
The Rangers will play the first two games of the '14-'15 season on the road before playing their home opener against Toronto.
A two-game road trip to open the season will be nothing but a breeze for the Rangers and the 2014-15 season. After playing the first nine on the road this past season to accommodate renovations being done to Madison Square Garden, the Rangers will open up the following season twice as the visitors, first traveling to St. Louis October 9 for the season opener, and then concluding the brief road trip October 11 in Columbus.
The team's home-opener will be played October 12 against the Maple Leafs, a team the Rangers went 2-0-1 against last season. According the Rangers' website, this marks the third time since the 2010-11 season the Blueshirts have opened up the season at home against an Original Six foe.
All three meetings a season ago against Toronto provided a certain level of intrigue. The first matchup ended in a 2-1 Rangers shootout win after the Maple Leafs scored a late tying goal where the Rangers felt Cam Talbot had the puck covered. A few weeks later, New York traveled to the Air Canada Center and thumped the Leafs 7-1, matching their highest goal-scoring output of the season. And in the final contest of the season, a 3-2 Toronto overtime win in New York, Martin St. Louis played his first game as a Ranger.
The full NHL schedule is expected to be released on Sunday.
