NHL pre-season start date announced

MOSCOW, Aug 4 Pre-season matches in the National Hockey League (NHL) start September 24 Canadian derby between “Ottawa” and “Toronto”, according to the official website of the league. The pre-season part of the preparation includes 108 games that will run until October 8. Matches will be played at 45 NHL venues in North America as well as Europe. Games are scheduled in the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Germany. The first meetings of the NHL regular season will be away and will take place on October 7-8. The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks will play two games in Prague. The US season kicks off October 11 in New York, where the Rangers will host the Stanley Cup finalists Tampa Bay Lightning. A day later, the reigning Stanley Cup winners, the Colorado Avalanche, will kick off the regular season at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.