Blackhawks announce 2015-16 regular-season schedule

The Chicago Blackhawks, in conjunction with the National Hockey League, announced Thursday their 2015-16 regular-season schedule. The organization’s 88th regular season will begin when the team host the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the United Center.

The Hawks are 2-2-1 in home openers following a Stanley Cup winning season, with the latest being a 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals in 2014. Chicago is 2-0 when playing their season opener at home in their Cup defense, winning 6-1 against the New York Americans (1938-1939 season) and the win against the Capitals.

The Detroit Red Wings were the last NHL team to repeat as champions in 1997 and 1998.

The NHL also announced the Hawks have been chosen to participate in the 2016 NHL Stadium Series, which they will play in Minneapolis at TCF Bank Stadium, home of the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers, against central division rival Minnesota Wild. This marks the fourth outdoor contest for the organization.

The Hawks will play Friday, Oct. 9 against the New York Islanders, the organization’s first regular-season home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. since moving from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Twenty of the Hawks’ 41 home games will take place on weekends, including two Fridays, four Saturdays and 14 Sundays. The Hawks have four seperate, four-game home stands: Oct. 17-26; Dec. 11-17; Jan. 6-14; and Feb. 9-15. Their annual Circus Trip will be a six-game swing from Nov. 18-28.

Under the NHL’s current schedule format, the Hawks will play the other six teams within their division for a total of 29 games. Chicago will play five games each against Dallas, Minnesota, St. Louis and Winnipeg. They will play four games against Colorado.

Chicago will play the remaining seven Western Conference teams three times each for a total of 21 games. The Hawks will meet each Eastern Conference team once at home and once on the road for a total of 32 out-of-conference games.

The complete television broadcast schedule will be released at a later date.

Additionally, the Hawks announced its six-game preseason schedule, which includes three home contests: Detroit Red Wings (Sept. 22), St. Louis Blues (Sept. 26) and Dallas Stars (Oct. 3). Chicago will also play three road games: Red Wings (Sept. 23), Montreal Canadiens (Sept. 25) and Blues (Oct. 1). All three home preseason games will begin at 7:30 p.m. CT.

In the meantime, here’s the full 2015-16 regular season schedule:

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