Boston Bruins 2012-13 Schedule Released: Season To Open October 11th in Philly

The NHL has released its schedule for the 2012-13 season, and the Boston Bruins will kick things off against (shocker!) the Philadelphia Flyers on October 11th. They'll continue their season-opening road trip at defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey and finish at Montreal before beginning a six-game homestand.

Home-and-homes with Ottawa and Montreal highlight the schedule, as does the three-game Canada road trip from December 29th - January 1st. A seven-game road trip from February 15th - 28th is the longest of the season for the Bruins, who wrap up their campaign at Buffalo on April 13th.

There will, of course, be far less pomp and circumstance surrounding the home opener this time around than there was last year, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of reasons - Tim Thomas not among them - to be excited about the start to another season.

Here are some of the key dates from the schedule:

October 16th @ Montreal Canadiens

October 18th vs. Montreal Canadiens (Home Opener)

October 30th vs. Buffalo Sabres

November 2nd @ Washington Capitals

November 23rd (Black Friday) vs. New York Rangers

December 22nd vs. Washington

November 24th vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

December 17th vs. Los Angeles Kings

January 21st vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

March 9th vs. Philadelphia

The full schedule can be found here.