More details on Kings’ schedule

Going a little deeper into the Kings’ 2011-12 schedule, which can be found by clicking here.

The first item of note, as season-ticket holders probably discovered a while ago, is that there will only be 39 regular-season games at Staples Center, as the Kings are the designated “home” team for both games in Europe. Why? I don’t yet know, and I haven’t received a concrete answer from the Kings. It likely has something to do with AEG ownership of the European venues, and monetary guarantees, etc. The Rangers benefited from this — at least in terms of scheduling — as they are the road team for both of their European games.

Which Eastern Conference teams are coming to Staples Center? New Jersey (Oct. 25), Pittsburgh (Nov. 5), Florida (Dec. 1), Montreal (Dec. 3), Washington (Jan. 9), Ottawa (Jan. 23) and Boston (March 24).

Which Eastern teams are the Kings playing on the road? New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Winnipeg, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and the NY Islanders.

There are 15 sets of back-to-back games — including Europe — with a couple particularly tough ones in the mix. The Kings will have to play in Long Island on Feb. 11, then in Dallas the next night. [EDIT: I did, however, notice that the Islanders game is in the afternoon, which will mitigate some the travel issue.] The Kings play at Edmonton on March 30 and at Minnesota on March 31, a brutal set that they had two years ago, brutal because of the time change and customs.

The good news is, there aren’t any ridiculously long road trips. The Kings’ longest trip is the annual Grammy Trip in early February, which takes them through St. Louis, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida, New York and Dallas in 11 days. Spending part of February in Florida sounds just fine, although it’s offset by being in Winnipeg on Dec. 29. Brr.

Here’s the home/road breakdown of the schedule by month…

October: 3 home, 6 road (plus 2 in Europe)
November: 9 home, 4 road
December: 7 home, 8 road
January: 8 home, 3 road
February: 4 home, 10 road
March: 6 home, 9 road
April: 2 home, 1 road

Finally, since the Kings-Ducks games are also schedule highlights, the teams will meet at Staples Center on Nov. 16, Dec. 22 and March 3, and at Honda Center on Nov. 17, Dec. 6 and March 16.

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