By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
COVID-19 cases are increasing in metro Las Vegas and that sense of normalcy is slipping away as Clark County commissioners mandated that all workers in the county wear masks because Las Vegas has too much COVID.
But there’s something on the horizon that might just motivate people of all stripes to pull together and regain that normalcy that they want back so badly — the Vegas Golden Knights schedule for 2021-22 that has a regular full season after the pandemic created the coronavirus playoff bubble in 2020 and the 56-game COVID schedule in 2021.
Yes, there it was in its full glory — the VGK sked for Season 5 with the Oct. 12 season/home-opener against the newly minted Seattle Kraken; the Jan. 6 game at home when the Rangers and the ol’ VGK coach Gerard “Turk” Gallant come back to Vegas; and the Feb. 4-5 NHL All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas.
The schedule ends April 29, 2022 in St. Louis.
From the VGK: The Golden Knights will have two season-high, six-game homestands and the first will begin against Seattle (11/9) and continuing against Minnesota (11/11), Vancouver (11/13), Carolina (11/16), Detroit (11/18) and Columbus (11/20). The second six-game stretch at T-Mobile Arena will start against Anaheim (12/31) and continue into the new year against Winnipeg (1/2), Nashville (1/4), New York Rangers (1/6), Chicago (1/8) and Toronto (1/11).
The longest road trip of the season for Vegas will happen in March as the Golden Knights will play five straight away from The Fortress, starting at Philadelphia (3/8), at Buffalo (3/10), at Pittsburgh (3/11), at Columbus (3/13) and at Winnipeg (3/15).
The team’s 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinal rematch with the Montreal Canadiens will take place on November 6 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The two teams will also meet in Vegas on January 20. The Golden Knights will host the defending Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning, on December 21 and will travel to Tampa, Florida on January 29.
Just in case you haven’t read enough on the topic today, here is your Golden Knights schedule. Subject to change, of course. We’re still dealing with the virus and lots of unvaccinated fans are still out there.