The puck drops on the 2013-14 National Hockey League season this week starting with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Washington Capitals. This season will see a number of differences from last year. First, this is an Olympic year, so the NHL will take a two week break in February to allow for Olympic play and skip the All-Star Game. Also, this year will see the inaugural Coors Light Stadium Series which will feature four outdoor contests. This is in addition to the January 1, 2014 Bridgestone Winter Classic, featuring Toronto at Detroit, and the Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, which will feature two Canadian teams, Vancouver and Ottawa. Finally, the NHL has realigned its teams, producing two seven-team divisions, the Pacific and Central, in the Western Conference and two eight-team divisions, the Metropolitan and Atlantic, in the Eastern Conference. Qualification into the NHL playoffs also will change and will be division-based with the top three finishers in each division making the playoffs, along with two wild cards which are the next two highest finishers in each conference. With so much changing this year, and an Olympic break to contend with, this season promises to be full of surprises. Tune in throughout the season for five weekly games as NHL action takes center stage on FOX Sports.
All times in GMT
00:00 (LIVE) & 16:00 October 2
NHL: Washington Capitals at Chicago Blackhawks
10:00 & 18:30 October 3
NHL: Buffalo Sabres at Detroit Red Wings
7:00 & 15:00 October 4
NHL: New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins
09:30 & 17:30 October 4
NHL: New York Rangers at Phoenix Coyotes
07:00 October 6
NHL: Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes
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