St. Louis Blues 2011-12 Schedule and Analysis

The 2011-12 NHL schedule has finally been released. The Blues will get things started at home on October 8th against the Nashville Predators. We still have several months before the puck officially drops, but it’s never too early to start looking ahead to some key matchups that await us.

October 2011

The Blues will open with two games at home – a great opportunity to jump out to a solid start in front of their fans. Overall, the majority of the month will be spent on the road as eight of the team’s 11 games in October will be away from the Scottrade Center. It is also worth noting that aside from one contest against Nashville to start the year, the Blues won’t skate against an opponent within their division throughout the rest of the month.

November 2011

Cue the division. The first meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks looms on November 8th while the first time to see the Detroit Red Wings comes just one week later on November 15th. Eight of the month’s 13 games are at home. November 23rd will also feature a fun contest in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. You can also add a trip to Washington to see Alex Ovechkin on November 29th.

December 2011

Not including preseason, December 2nd will be the first time fans will see Erik Johnson and Jay McClement take on their old team. The Blues then host a five-game series at home. The month concludes with two contests at Joe Louis Arena against the Red Wings.

January 2012

If you’re a season ticket holder, get ready to attend a wealth of home games in January. Out of the team’s 11 games, nine of them will be within the friendly confines of the Scottrade. January 24th will see the Penguins, and assuming he is healthy, Sidney Crosby come to town.

February 2012

February should be an interesting month. Not only is the season starting to hit its final stages, but the Blues will have some pretty fun matchups to watch. The Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins come to town on February 22nd, and then the Blues travel to Winnipeg to take on the newly relocated nameless team on February 25th.

March 2012

Hopefully the road is friendly to the Blues in March. Out of the busy 15 game schedule, the Blues will be the road team for 10 of them. This month also features the only “home and home” contest, first March 10th at home against the Blue Jackets with a contest the next night down in Columbus.

April 2012

Long before we get to the season’s last few games in April, we will likely know if this team is a contender or not. However, if things remain in a deadlock, the Blues will have three games in April against Western Conference opponents, two of which are at home. The 2011-12 regular season concludes on April 7th.