The Colorado Announced their 2010-11 schedule today, confirming that, indeed, they will open at home vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.

Once again the Matt Duchene and the Avs start at home and then embark on a long road trip to start the season, a five game trip that includes Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers, rival Detroit Red Wings, Martin Brodeur (if he's not traded), John Tavares and the New York Islanders and ends with a trip into MSG to face the New York Rangers.

While it is not the seven game road trip that the Avs had last year that had every Avs fan worried about the season's prospects, it is a tough trip and an immediate test for the Avs out of the gate.

This season, the Avs will play fourteen back-to-backs, and only two home-and-home series, one against Chicago in December and another against the Dallas Stars on successive nights near the end of the season.

Overall, this schedule is one of the more balenced the Avs have had. After the first month, there's a pretty equal split of home and road and the back-to-back games are usually near one another travel wise, at least until late December

The Avs won't be doing hardly any travel from late December to February. From Dec. 17 to Feb. 1, the Avs are on the road for a total of six days (four games) while the rest of the time (15 games) they are at home.

Because the schedule is the way it is, the Avs will have to be at their best during January, as it will be their make-or-break month. If they are down in the standings, that'll be their chance to climb up. If they are near the top of the division, that's their chance to grab the upper hand in the division. Conversely, if the Avs don't play well during that stretch, it basically guarantees a drop in the standings and missing the playoffs, as the Avs did in 2009 when they languished in January.

From the East, the Avs will play the Rangers, Islanders and Atlanta Thrashers twice- once at home, once on the road- and will also host Boston, Buffalo, Toronto, Penguins, Senators and Canadiens.

In total, the Avs have 37 opportunities to be put on National TV, just by looking at their schedule. Whether on Versus (Monday or Tuesday) or CBC (Saturday) or NBC (Sunday), the Avs will have plenty of opportunities to possibly play on national TV.

Overall, this isn't an easy schedule but it is not as hard as the one last year and it has a lot of potential for some great NHL hockey games.

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