2002-2003 schedule + "hidden nuggets"

[Terryray]

link here to team and day-by-day schedules


http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/skeds/index.htm



and got this story from dankicho



Wednesday, July 10
Updated: July 11, 10:06 AM ET

Season includes some hidden gems

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By Rico Longoria
ESPN.com


The NHL is sometimes criticized for having a regular season that is too long, an 82-game grind that takes nearly six months to play out and, some say, results in disinterested players at midseason and teams on cruise control at the finish. But there are some hidden nuggets along the way this year, games that take on a special flavor because of offseason movement, intense rivalries and leftover bad blood.

Here's a quick look at some of the most intriguing games on the newly minted 2002-03 NHL schedule.

Maple Leafs at Stars, Nov. 8: Ed Belfour had a subpar season, which he blamed on change within the Dallas organization, yet still got a huge bump in salary to replace Curtis Joseph in Toronto. Belfour led the Stars to a Stanley Cup in 1999, but at times feuded openly with former coach Ken Hitchcock and even walked out on the team at one point. Belfour will no doubt be looking to show Dallas it made a mistake by letting him go in favor of Marty Turco.

Red Wings at Maple Leafs, Nov. 16: Curtis Joseph heads back to his hometown to face the Maple Leafs, whom he spurned for a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. Joseph was beloved in Toronto for his charity work and made an emotional farewell speech after signing with Detroit. Fans may not be so nice when CuJo returns to American Airlines Arena, though, since Joseph signed with the Red Wings for less money than he requested from the Leafs.

Rangers at Devils, Nov. 21: Bobby Holik, the biggest prize of this year's free-agent market, comes back to the Meadowlands to take on the team he played for the last 10 seasons and helped lead to two Stanley Cups. Holik jumped the river and signed the richest free-agent contract of this offseason with the division-rival Rangers, barely giving the Devils' offer a second look after trying to work out a longterm deal with New Jersey the previous 13 months.

Maple Leafs at Islanders, Dec. 6: The Islanders and Leafs played one of the roughest and most contentious playoff series in recent memory in last year's Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and the teams were trading words and punches by the time Toronto won Game 7. The Islanders might like to exact some revenge for a season-ending hit on Michael Peca, while the Leafs will be out to prove they are clearly better than the Isles when healthy.

Red Wings at Avalanche, Jan. 16: Not only will this be another chapter in what is the NHL's best rivalry over the last few seasons, it will also be the first time Patrick Roy faces the Red Wings since Detroit torched him for six goals in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. This game will give Roy a chance to ease some of the sting from losses in Games 6 and 7 of the conference finals, and it will give the Red Wings a chance to prove they are still best in the West despite the loss of Dominik Hasek.






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all ready a few good pics here to take a whack at da man!

 

[Tiger]

Thanks for posting this Terryray.......not so much because the rest of us couldn't access it, but because I think we could get one hell of a discussion going on this.

I, like most sports fans find "Schedule release day" to be one of the most exciting days of the sports calendar.

However, when the NHL schedule is released, I find myself constantly let down. How can the NHL CONTINUE to use an unbalanced schedule that appears to be made up by some mad-man in a Frankenstein basement?

For reasons of "regional rivalries", some teams continue to NOT play in other cities for up to 5 years!! For example, Toronto has not played the California teams on the road for 5 consecutive years now, because they "need" to play extra games on the road against their Canadian brethren....Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. One year OK, 2nd year....you're pushing it............but 5 years.....what a joke.

It reminds me of my inital feelings about baseball interleague play.........

When I first heard about it, I was intrigued by the possibilities...............but after, what was it, 4 years of playing the same teams year after year after year, it became silly.

Geezus, in hockey, if you're going to play 82 games, I think you can at least make 1 trip to every arena so that the fans have one chance per year to see ALL the stars.

Just a rant.

Tiger