A few musings about the 2013 schedule

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla —

So, finally, a week after it was announced the lockout is over, the league finally — finally — released the schedule. It’ll be yours truly’s first season in South Florida during an NHL season, just one year after spending an entire NHL season in the Philly market.

So here, then, are a few musings about the schedule that stand out a bit:

— Not sure this has ever happened before, but the Devils will play two consecutive games against the Capitals in Washington — with no games in-between — on Feb. 21 and Feb. 23.

— The Devils make but one trip to South Florida. Ugh. They play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, March 29 and then the Panthers in Sunrise on Saturday, March 30 — both at 7:30 p.m. ET.

— Of the 48 total games, a big number — at least in Devils’ standards — are on national TV. Two will be on NBC — both flex games against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden — on April 21 and April 27. Seven games are on the NHL Network. And, finally, six are on NBCSN. That’s a total of 15 games. In April, only four games aren’t nationally televised.

—  The Devils play but one game outside the Eastern time zone — an 8 p.m. ET tilt v. Winnipeg.

— Of the 48 games, seven begin before 3 p.m.

—  The longest home stand is three games — Feb. 5 v. the Rangers, Feb. 7 v. the Lightning and Feb. 9 v. the Pens.

— The team has two, three-game road trips, the longest they’ll be away all season.

— Evening games at the Prudential Center begin at 7 p.m., unless they’re televised by NBCSN, when they’ll begin at 7:30 p.m.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of a shortened season is Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild won’t make a trip to New Jersey this year. Nor will the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

Of course, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Devils and the Wild did get to play each other this season. And it could only happen under one scenario — and that is, in the Stanley Cup Final.

Wishful thinking.

The team hasn’t yet released information on local TV or radio, but this will mark the first season Devils games — at least on a regular basis — will be aired on FM radio, with WFAN’s new simulcast at 101.9 on the dial.

Of course, no one has discussed what will happen when the Nets and Devils play on the same day and at the same time — or when the Mets begin play. When the Devils and Nets play simultaneously, the Devils have priority on WFAN — and the Mets have priority over both. In past seasons, when there’s a conflict, the bumped team would play on WBBR 1130 or AM 970. But with WFAN on two dials now, it’s possible one team could have its play-by-play on the AM dial while the other is on the FM dial. WIP did this with the Flyers and Phillies in April and early May 2012.

More on radio information as it becomes available.