Hockey is practically here. The World Cup of Hockey is a distant memory and preseason games don’t count. Shortly the talking stops and the games begin. That also means it’s time for the last in our series of schedule previews. Today we’ll be looking at the the road trips that the teams in the Pacific division will be facing. As always we’ll start alphabetically:

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks’ performances on the road have dipped over the last few seasons, and that might not improve with the season opener that this team has to contend with. The Ducks start the season with a five game road trip to Dallas, Pittsburgh, the New York Islanders, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Bringing home serious points will be tricky. After that the Ducks get to spend more time at home, including a six game home stand. Mid December brings a difficult six game road trip to take on Dallas and five Atlantic division foes. Anaheim must face off against Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Not an easy ask. February sees another mighty six gamer with Anaheim playing both Florida teams, the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Carl’s Washington Capitals and finally the Minnesota Wild.

Arizona Coyotes

Last season, the Coyotes’ road win percentage hit .350, its lowest since 2006. Fortunately the team is better at home as this season has a few difficult road trips. Starting in October with a six game trip to take on the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers. Two of those teams may have made Joel’s worst teams list, but that won’t make the Coyotes’ job any easier. A four game trip to Pittsburgh, Detroit, Toronto and Minnesota may offer some points (well not in Pittsburgh), but nothing is guaranteed as law of averages says even the Maple Leafs will win some games. As the season dwindles and the golf course looms large, the Coyotes have a difficult five gamer, traveling to P.K. Subban‘s Nashville Predators, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues.

October has been kind to the Flames, but November opens with a four game road trip to do battle with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks. November then closes out with a six gamer to Detroit, Buffalo, Columbus, Boston, Philadelphia and New York’s Islanders. The Flames had one of the worst road win percentages in the NHL last season (0.362), that’s a massive drop from last season’s high of .561. December and January are somewhat unremarkable, but February brings a cross-continental expedition from Vancouver to Carolina, via Nashville and both Florida teams. March brings few road games, while the team sees out he season with a three game road trip to play the California Three.

Edmonton Oilers

It’s been eight years since the Edmonton Oilers had a positive road game percentage (.524) and despite a small spike in 2012 (.479), it’s been downhill from there. Edmonton’s serious road trips don’t start until November, when the team has a five gamer against the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Islanders, Red Wings and Penguins. There’s potential there for the Oilers to pick up some loser points, but not many. Edmonton’s road games are then restricted to shorter trips of two or three games until February when the team faces six of last season’s playoff teams. Chicago, Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington, Nashville and St. Louis will all be hoping to deny the Oilers any points when the team is welcomed into their respective houses. Things calm down after that and the Oilers finish the season with a Vancouver double.

LA Kings

The 2013-14 Stanley Cup champions have fallen on tough times recently, although this season’s schedule will certainly go far to helping the team back to playoffs. The Kings don’t have a serious road trip until November, which sees the team take on Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Colorado. The Kings travel well and last season had the league’s 10th best road win percentage of .551. December brings a hefty nine game road trip which has the early potential to be a stumbling block in the Kings’ path to the playoffs. LA will face Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston, Columbus, Nashville, Dallas, Vancouver and Edmonton in a 16 day tour. January’s five gamer to take on the New York teams, New Jersey, Carolina and Arizona may salvage some points, but February brings four game trip to Philadelphia, Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida. That’s a tricky little group to play against. What’s left of the season calms down with the team mostly at home.

San Jose Sharks

The jury is still out on whether or not the Sharks have enough in tank to make it to successive Stanley Cup finals. The team’s playoff spot is pretty much guaranteed by virtue of being in the Pacific division. October and November both bring challenging road trips for the Sharks; October has a five game trip taking in the Blue Jackets, Rangers, Islanders, Penguins and Red Wings. November’s six gamer has the Sharks playing the Capitals, Panthers, Lightning, Hurricanes, Blues and Coyotes. That shouldn’t put up too much of a challenge for the team that had the best road win percentage last season with .697. Apart from a few four gamers, the rest of the season is much more sensible.

The Canucks have four road trips of at least five consecutive games. Even the scheduling computer hates the Canucks. The team opens the season with a four game home-stand, although for the team that finished the 2015-16 with the worst home win percentage (.397), this probably doesn’t bring much excitement. November brings a five gamer to take on the Canadiens, Senators, Maple Leafs, both New York teams and the Red Wings. December’s five game trip takes the Canucks to New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington and Carolina. February and March are pretty much just as bad. The team finishes the season with a double against Edmonton. At least January isn’t too bad. That’s something.