Metropolitan Division (NHL)

NHL Season Expected to Begin in January

The 2020-2021 NHL Season is expected to begin sometime in January on either the 13th or the 15th. This means, training camps will probably most likely start around the end of the December. Their will most likely not be any preseason games.

Teams are going to have to get creative and use scrimmages within training camp. The regular season will be anywhere between 50-56 games. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin sometime in May. It will also be played in June and end in July right before the Olympics begin. With this in mind, how does it affect the Pittsburgh Penguins?

Well, they most likely be playing games without fans at PPG Paints Arena until government officials tell them it is safe to do so. Pittsburgh was one of four teams along with the Boston Bruins, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Los Angeles Kings in looking towards playing games outdoors. The Penguins would play home games at either Heinz Field or at PNC Park.

With the schedule as well, it would most likely mean that they would only play games in the Eastern Conference and I expect the division alignment to be the same this season. The Pittsburgh Penguins will most likely face either the Philadelphia Flyers or the Washington Capitals to start the regular season as well.

With training camp not far away, their are going to be some interesting names to keep an eye on other than the super stars: Anthony Angello, Sam Lafferty, Nathan Legare, Samuel Poulin, and Pierre Olivier-Joseph will be five of those players. All five of those players could see some ice time this season if injuries occur and they usually plague the Pittsburgh Penguins year in and year out.

With a new coaching staff in place other than Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Todd Reidren is going to have to fix the power play and Mark Recchi was horrible at it. In the NHL, you have to score on the power play. As for Mike Velucci, he will be replacing Jacques Martin and Sergei Gonchar.

Lastly but not least, this is the final season in the contracts of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. This maybe the final season the Pittsburgh Penguins compete for a Stanley Cup Title in the Sidney Crosby era before they enter a full rebuild. General Manager Jim Rutherford should put all of the chips on the table and see whatever it takes for them to win it all this season along with players like Kasperi Kapenen, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust.

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