Penguins will open in western Canada

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

The Pittsburgh Penguins will open the 2011-12 season with a three-game road swing across western Canada, beginning Oct. 6 against the Vancouver Canucks, the Western Conference champions.

Pittsburgh will also play in Calgary (Oct. 8) and Edmonton (Oct. 9), before playing host to Florida in the home opener on Oct. 11 at Consol Energy Center.

The home schedule also includes two visits from the defending Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins: Dec. 5 and March 11. The Bruins will begin defense of their Stanley Cup title against the Philadelphia Flyers as part of an opening night tripleheader.

On Nov. 17, the Penguins will meet the Lightning in Florida for the first time since Pittsburgh blew a 3-1 series lead to Tampa Bay in the first round this past season.

Pittsburgh, playing primarily without injured stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, finished with 106 points last season and lost the Atlantic Division title on a tiebreaker to Philadelphia.

Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS

The Columbus Blue Jackets will begin their 11th season in the NHL at home on Oct. 7 against the division rival Nashville Predators.

The Blue Jackets follow their season opener with a game at Minnesota the next night before returning home to Nationwide Arena for games against defending Western Conference-champion Vancouver, and then Colorado.

Stanley Cup-champion Boston visits on Dec. 10.

Columbus hosts Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Eve. The season winds up at home on April 7 against the New York Islanders.

Another highlight is that the Blue Jackets will provide the opposition for the first exhibition game played by the new Winnipeg franchise, which moved from Atlanta during the offseason.

In split-squad games for both teams, they will square off in Winnipeg and Columbus on Sept. 20. The teams meet Nov. 12 in Columbus in their only regular-season meeting.

Winnipeg returns to the NHL on Oct. 9 when the still unnamed team hosts the Montreal Canadiens.

The Blue Jackets face Central Division opponents Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis six times each, along with four games against each of the rest of the Western Conference teams.

The Toronto Maple Leafs make only their fourth appearance to Nationwide Arena on Nov. 3.

The New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks will start their seasons over two days in Europe.