Everything you need to know about the Blue Jackets 2021-22 schedule

You've seen it on plenty of sports broadcasts. Anytime a notable NFL or MLB game is held in Seattle, a camera crew will head to Pike Place Fish Market and gather some footage of fishmongers famously flinging their catch through the air before it's sold to customers.
The Blue Jackets' first-ever fish-flying moment will come Dec. 11, as the Jackets' inaugural trip to take on the expansion Seattle Kraken was announced today along with the rest of the 82-game slate.
The games will begin Oct. 14 as Columbus opens at home against Arizona for the first time ever -- its 14th season opener at home in 21 seasons -- before a Saturday game in Nationwide Arena against Seattle two days later to serve as the first-ever meeting between the squads. The season will end April 29 with a home game against Tampa Bay.

In total,
the 82-game slate -- 41 home, 41 road
-- includes a potential Olympic break, to be held after the All-Star Weekend Feb. 4-5 in Las Vegas, should all sides come to an agreement on NHL players' participation, with talks ongoing. After two seasons impacted (and shortened) by the COVID-19 pandemic, the slate returns to its usual October through April schedule, and the divisions will return to normal with Columbus again in the Metropolitan Division after a year in the Central.
Highlights from the upcoming campaign follow.

Standout Home Games

Of the 41 home games, we already mentioned the home opener, plus Seattle's first visit to Nationwide Arena. Which other games stand out?
Dec. 27 vs. Toronto: Two days after Christmas, one of the NHL's most storied franchises will visit Columbus to kick things off after the holiday break.
Jan. 1 vs. Carolina: There's no New Year's Eve game this year, but the Blue Jackets do kick off 2022 with a New Year's Day game against the Hurricanes.
Jan. 4 and April 29 vs. Tampa Bay: Anytime the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs come to town, it's a big deal, and that's especially true given the history between the Bolts and Jackets.
Jan. 21 vs. Pittsburgh: Any game against the Penguins on a weekend is sure to be fun, and this one will take place on a Friday night. What a way to start a weekend.
March 17 vs. Washington:Get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit as the Jackets will host the Caps on a day you'll see plenty of green in Nationwide Arena.

Hit The Road, Jackets Fans

Columbus fans are noted as some of the best traveling supporters in the NHL, showing up in arenas far and wide across North America all season. We already mentioned the first game in Seattle as an attraction, but where else should CBJ fans go?
The fun trips:Two party cities stand out from among the rest in the league -- Nashville and Vegas. The trip to the Music City is a popular one for CBJ fans, as it's just a six-hour jaunt down the highway to Tennessee. Blue Jackets fans can take in that trip just after Thanksgiving as Columbus visits Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Vegas, meanwhile, is a flight, but it's Vegas, after all. The Jackets play a Saturday night game in Sin City on Nov. 20 -- throw in a Thursday night game in Arizona two nights before and you've got a fun trip.
Western Canada:The swing through Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver is something CBJ fans should do at least once, as you can check out the Stampede in Calgary, sneak in some time in the Canadian Rockies and also visit the beautiful scenery of Vancouver. This year's trip includes games Dec. 14 in Vancouver, Dec. 16 in Edmonton and Dec. 18 in Calgary -- make it a Christmas present to yourself this year.
Car trips: The closest stops on the NHL circuit are Detroit and Pittsburgh, so if you're in the mood for a day trip, these are your best bets. You can visit the Motor City early in the year on Oct. 19 or late in the campaign April 9, while the games in Pittsburgh will late in the season -- March 22 and April 12.
Fun in the Sun:Florida and California trips are always popular as well, especially if you want to get away from the gray Columbus winter. The Blue Jackets will take on the Panthers twice in the cold months, visiting the Miami area for games Jan. 15 and Feb. 24, while the lone trip to Tampa Bay takes place April 26. The annual California trip will include games April 16 at Los Angeles, April 17 at Anaheim and April 19 at San Jose. It might be warm in Columbus by then, but you never know, right?

Metro meetings

With the addition of Seattle to the league, two games had to come off the schedule somehow, and they will be in the Metropolitan Division. Whereas in the past the Blue Jackets would play each Metro foe four times apiece, instead they will face Philadelphia and the New York Rangers three times and the other Metro opponents four times.
Carolina:The Hurricanes have become one of the toughest teams to play against in the NHL, and the teams will meet in Columbus on Oct. 23 and Jan. 1 while playing the final two games of the season series Jan. 13 and Feb. 25 in Raleigh.
New Jersey Devils:The Devils continue to try to build a young core toward a return to the playoffs. New Jersey will host the Blue Jackets on Oct. 31 and Jan. 6 before tripping to Columbus for games Jan. 8 and March 1.
New York Islanders: Barry Trotz's Isles have made it to the conference finals each of the past two years. Columbus will make its inaugural visits to the Isles' new arena at Belmont Park on Jan. 17 and March 31, while the Jackets will host the squad on Oct. 21 and March 29.
New York Rangers: Columbus will visit the world's most famous arena just once, doing so early with an Oct. 29 visit to Madison Square Garden to take on Artemi Panarin and the Rangers. New York will then visit Columbus on Nov. 13 and Jan. 27.
Philadelphia Flyers: The teams won't meet until 2022 with a game in the City of Brotherly Love on Jan. 20. The teams will meet again in Philly on April 5, then complete a home-and-home with a game in Nationwide Arena on April 7.
Pittsburgh Penguins:There will still be four games against the rival, as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co. visit Columbus on Jan. 21 and Feb. 27, while the Jackets visit the Steel City on March 22 and April 12.
Washington Capitals:Alex Ovechkin (assuming he re-signs) and the Caps show up four times on the slate, including home games for Columbus on Nov. 12 and March 17. The Blue Jackets trip to our nation's capital Dec. 4 and April 28 in the penultimate game of the season.

Home ... and Home

Oddly enough, the schedule features seven instances where the Blue Jackets will have face opponents in back-to-back games, and all are home-and-homes. The first one will be in November when the Jackets play at Colorado on Nov. 3 then returns to Columbus to take on the Avs on Nov. 6.
Next up are back-to-back games vs. Buffalo on Dec. 20 and 23, then the Jackets play New Jersey on both Jan. 6 and 8. The middle one is a bit wonky, though, as Columbus takes on Florida to head into the break on Jan. 31, then faces the Panthers to restart the schedule Feb. 24.
Things get hot and heavy from there when it comes to back-to-backs, as the Jackets play three straight such series -- vs. the Islanders on March 29 and 31, against Boston on April 2 and 4, and vs. the Flyers on April 5-7.

Homestands, Road Trips

Columbus won't have to do much traveling in late February/early March as the Blue Jackets host seven straight games in Nationwide Arena from Feb. 27 through March 12. The homestand begins with a game against Pittsburgh before the Blue Jackets host New Jersey, Los Angeles, Boston, Toronto, Minnesota and Vegas.
The Blue Jackets also start with five of six at home and play five of six in Columbus around the holidays, starting Dec. 23 vs. Buffalo and ending Jan. 4 vs. Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, a five-game road trip in early December will be the longest of the season, as Columbus goes out west to visit Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary before returning east to play Buffalo, a swing that will last from Dec. 11-20. That trip will end a stretch in which 10 of 12 games and 13 of 17 contests will be away from home.
Columbus also has a pair of four-game trips, including one inside that stretch as the Blue Jackets will take on St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas and Washington on the road from Nov. 27 through Dec. 4. The Blue Jackets also have a four-game trip from Jan. 13-20 that will skip across the east coast, as the Jackets face Carolina, Florida, the Islanders and Philadelphia.