Fed up with those catchy Christmas jingles? Ready to eat something other than turkey? Time to get back to business? The NHL is ready to dive into 2023 in spectacular fashion and continue where an intriguing 2022 left off. Some teams will be enjoying a happy new year, some will be keeping to new resolutions, while others will be hearing alarm bells ringing in 2023.
Bidding farewell to the festive fixtures, today (2 January) sees the playing of the NHL Winter Classic. Evoking memories of the 2010 Winter Classic – which was also held at the iconic Fenway Park – this time the Boston Bruins will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Bruins go into the game as leaders of the Atlantic Division while the Penguins are sitting in the middle of the Metropolitan Division.
The other 2022-23 outdoor game – the NHL Stadium Series – will see the Washington Capitals take on the Carolina Hurricanes at Carter-Finley Stadium on 18 February. Both teams compete in the Metropolitan Division and both have performed strongly in the first half of the regular season, but an outdoor game certainly tests the skills and hardiness of the players.
Some of the teams that have enjoyed a great start to the season in 2022 include the Bruins and the Hurricanes as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference. While the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche are just 2 of the favourites in the Western Conference. At the other end of the scale, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and even the Montreal Canadiens have been struggling.
Although some will not make the playoffs, some will only reach the first or second rounds, and some will be Conference Champions, only one will lift the famous Stanley Cup.
The playoffs will start after the end of the regular season which has its final games on 13 April. Of the 32 regular season teams, 16 qualify for the playoffs made up of 8 from each conference - Western Conference (split into Central and Pacific Divisions) and an Eastern Conference (split into Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions): the top 3 teams in each division plus the 2 conference teams with the next highest number of points. The playoffs consist of 4 rounds of best-of-seven series – First Round, Second Round, Conference Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals – to determine the league champion and Stanley Cup winner.
You can take a look at the 2023 NHL regular season fixtures here!