NEW YORK, NY – An historic number of NHL clubs playing international games highlights the National Hockey League’s 2010-11 pre-season schedule, the dates and start times of which were announced Monday. Six clubs — the Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets — will play a total of seven games throughout Europe as they prepare to open the regular season overseas in the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere.
The Bruins, making their first overseas appearance in 50 years, will play pre-season games in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Oct. 2 and Liberec, Czech Republic on Oct. 5 in advance of the their two-game regular-season opener against the Coyotes in Prague Oct. 9-10. The Coyotes will tune up for their showdown with the Bruins by traveling to Riga, Latvia for a game against Dinamo Riga on Oct. 6.
Pro Hockey News will report from Belfast on the game between the Bruins and the Giants.
The Wild and Hurricanes, who start the regular season with a two-game set in Helsinki, Finland Oct. 7-8, will prepare with pre-season games in nearby cities Oct. 4. The Wild travel north to Tampere, Finland to take on Ilves, while the Hurricanes head east to St. Petersburg, Russia for a match against SKA St. Petersburg.
The Sharks and Blue Jackets, who launch the regular season in Stockholm, Sweden with games on Oct. 8-9, each will play one pre-season contest in Europe. The Sharks visit Mannheim, Germany (vs. Adler Mannheim, Oct. 2); the Blue Jackets go to Malmo, Sweden (vs. Malmo/Rogle, Oct. 5).
The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks open their pre-season schedule Sept. 22 with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the hometown of Blackhawks captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP Jonathan Toews.
Also that evening, the Pittsburgh Penguins open their pre-season schedule with the first hockey game ever played at the 18,087-capacity CONSOL Energy Center when they face the Detroit Red Wings.
The people of Dundas, Ontario, winners of the Canada-wide Kraft Hockeyville contest, will celebrate the grand prize when the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators play a pre-season game in their community Sept. 28.
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