The Rangers’ 88th season features two games in the NHL Stadium Series including one against Hudson rival New Jersey at Yankee Stadium. Could it be an epic meeting between Henrik Lundqvist and hockey legend Martin Brodeur? espn.com

It will be another challenging start to the season in 2013-14 for the Rangers. They open in Phoenix on October 3 at 10 ET. It’s part of a nine-game road trip which includes a tough three games in four nights at Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim. They’ll also visit St. Louis before headed East for Washington. The first meeting against Hudson rival New Jersey is on Saturday, Oct.19 at the Prudential Center. They then visit Philadelphia and face new Eastern Conference addition Detroit to conclude a record trip.

Finally, they return to MSG Oct.28 to host Montreal. The game doesn’t start till 7:30 with NBC Network airing it. The Rangers visit the Islanders the following night. Of the five meetings, it’s the only time they’ll visit Nassau Coliseum with the Islanders hosting the second game of the Stadium Series Jan.29 at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night at 7 PM on NBC Network. The Islanders come to the Garden for the first time on Dec.20.

The Devils and Rangers also meet five times with New Jersey hosting Game One of the Stadium Series on Sunday, Jan.26. The first game will air on NBC at 12:30 PM. The Rangers host the Devils twice at MSG including Nov.12 and Dec.7 a day before my birthday. It kicks off a season long nine-game home stand that stretches to Dec.23 with Toronto the final opponent. The final meeting against the Devils is Mar.22 in Newark.

The Rangers and Penguins play four times including the first meeting at MSG on Nov.6. Of course, Sidney Crosby’s first visit is on NBC Network at 7:30 PM. The rematch is Dec.18 at a special start time of 8 PM also on NBC Network. The Rangers visit Pittsburgh on Jan.3 and Feb.7 right before the Olympic Break. Twenty days later, the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks are at MSG.

With the additions of the Blue Jackets and Red Wings to the East, the NHL shockingly changed the Atlantic. It includes Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto. The Rangers now play in the oddly named Metropolitan Division. It features Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington. How they decided on this is mystifying. They couldn’t just honor history. As was noted yesterday, there will be 30 games against your own division and 24 against the other inside the Conference. The remaining 28 are versus the West.

It’ll be interesting with Columbus now in the Metro. Rangers Ohio includes former Blueshirts Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon, Marian Gaborik and Fedor Tyutin. Rick Nash’s return to Columbus is Thursday, Nov.7 at 7 PM on NHL Network. How will he be received? It’ll be a great storyline along with Derrick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and John Moore also coming back. The Jackets visit MSG on Dec.12. Will Gaborik get cheered? What about Dubinsky and Anisimov? There’s no doubt that a new rivalry will evolve with the teams playing in the same division. The final two meetings are Jan.6 at MSG and Mar.21 in Columbus.

Two games you won’t want to miss are against Vancouver. Former coach John Tortorella returns to the Big Apple on Saturday, Nov.30 at 2 PM. The battle of ex-coaches with Alain Vigneault facing the Canucks will be broadcast on NHL Network. In a twist, they’ll also meet on April Fool’s Day in Vancouver at 10 PM. It’s part of a tough four-game Northwestern swing for the Rangers with stops in Calgary, Edmonton and Colorado before returning to host three of the final four games against Ottawa, Carolina and Buffalo. The Sabres visit MSG Apr.10. The Rangers also host them on Halloween and visit Buffalo Dec.5.

Breaking it down further, the schedule isn’t too bad once you get past the nine-game trek and late four-game trip. Perhaps due to the renovation, they only have 13 sets of back-to-backs. That’s not bad compared to the Devils’ league high 22. If the Rangers can hang in there early, they should be alright.
The final game of the season concludes at the Bell Centre against Montreal on Saturday, Apr.12 on Hockey Night In Canada.

National TV: The Rangers are on national TV 28 times. The breakdown is 16 on the NBC Sports Network, 10 on NHL Network and two on CBC. They appear twice on NBC including Black Friday when they visit the Bruins at 1 PM on Nov.29. The other is against Hudson rival New Jersey on Jan.26 at Yankee Stadium. The remaining 14 are on NBCSN.

10/16 @ Capitals 7:30 PM NBCSN
10/26 vs Red Wings 7 PM NHL Net
10/28 vs Canadiens 7:30 PM RDS, NBCSN
11/2 vs Hurricanes 7 PM NHL Net
11/4 vs Ducks 7:30 PM NBCSN
11/6 vs Penguins 7:30 PM NBCSN
11/7 @ Blue Jackets 7 PM NHL Net
11/16 @ Canadiens 7 PM CBC, RDS, NHL Net
11/19 vs Bruins 7:30 PM NBCSN
11/29 @ Bruins 1 PM NBC
11/30 vs Canucks 2 PM NHL Net
12/10 vs Predators 7:30 PM NBCSN
12/18 vs Penguins 8 PM NBCSN
1/4 @ Maple Leafs 7 PM CBC, NHL Net
1/8 @ Blackhawks 8 PM NBCSN
1/12 vs Flyers 7 PM NBCSN
1/18 @ Senators 2 PM CBC
1/19 vs Capitals 7:30 PM NBC, NBCSN
1/26 @ Devils 12:30 PM CBC, NBC
1/29 @ Islanders 7 PM NBCSN
1/31 vs Islanders 7 PM NHL Net
2/27 vs Blackhawks 7 PM NHL Net
3/2 vs Bruins 7 PM NBCSN
3/9 vs Red Wings 7:30 PM NBC, NBCSN
3/13 @ Wild 8 PM NHL Net
3/26 vs Flyers 8 PM NBCSN
4/5 vs Senators 7 PM CBC
4/12 @ Canadiens 7 PM CBC, RDS, NHL Net