A very weekend-heavy home slate headlines this year's schedule.
The National Hockey League on Thursday announced its 2015-16 season schedule, and for the Carolina Hurricanes, the schedule maker was rather kind.
Of the 41 home games, 26 will fall on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Sixteen of those games - more than a third of the home schedule - will be during the months of November and December, and that number does not include the return of the New Year's Eve game on Thursday, December 31 against the Washington Capitals.
The Canes will have their typical State Fair road trip in October, following home games against the Red Wings and Panthers on October 10 and 13, but other than a five game trip in March as the Canes vacate PNC Arena to allow it to host the NCAA Tournament, there are mostly short road trips through the rest of the schedule.