NHL to open 2008-09 season in Europe

NEW YORK, July 17, 2008 (AFP) - The National Hockey League will launch its 2008-09 season with four games in Europe, including The New York Rangers clash with Tampa Bay in Prague.

The Rangers join the Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators as the four clubs who will open the NHL´s 91st campaign with doubleheaders in Europe.

The Rangers and Lightning play a pair of games in Prague on October 4 and October 5, while the Penguins and Senators square off twice in Stockholm on the same days.

The NHL had hoped to showcase 36-year-old former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr, a Czech native. But the 17-year veteran and future Hall of Famer signed with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Continental League earlier this month.

Tampa Bay´s game against the Rangers on October 4 marks Barry Melrose´s return to the NHL as he succeeded John Tortorella as Lightning coach.

A television analyst for the past 13 years, Melrose has not coached in the NHL since 1995.

The Northern American portion of the schedule begins with four games on October 9, when the Detroit Red Wings raise their Stanley Cup banner and host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The regular season concludes with four games on April 12 and the Stanley Cup playoffs get under way on April 15.

The NHL´s 1,230-game season will see a new format in which all 30 teams will face each other for the first time since 2003-04, the season before the lockout.

Each team will play six contests - down from eight - against each of its four division opponents (24 games) and four games against the non-division teams within its conference (40 games).

To complete the 82-game schedule, each club with play all 15 teams in the other conference once and three home-and-home series against non-conference opponents.

The Red Wings also will contest the third Winter Classic, taking on the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field, the home of Major League Baseball´s Chicago Cubs, in an outdoor game on January 1.

The Montreal Canadiens, who are celebrating their centennial season, will host the NHL´s All-Star Weekend on January 24-25.