NEW YORK -- The NHL will open its 2001-2002 season on Wednesday, Oct. 3 and take a 12-day break in February to allow its players to compete in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

	Many happy returns
	Nov. 10 -- Red Wings at Kings (Robitaille in L.A.) Dec. 21 -- Capitals at Penguins (Jagr in Pittsburgh) Dec. 27 -- Islanders at Senators (Yashin in Ottawa) Dec. 28 -- Flyers at Coyotes (Roenick in Phoenix) March 10 -- Red Wings at Sabres (Hasek in Buffalo)

Opening night will feature Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in a game televised by ESPN.

The Ottawa Senators visit the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Calgary Flames host the Edmonton Oilers in the other games on Oct. 3.

The 1,230-game regular season schedule will take a winter break Feb. 14-25, when dozens of NHL players will represent their homelands in the Olympics.

Because of the February break, the regular season will not conclude until April 14. The Stanley Cup playoffs will begin April 17 and conclude no later than June 17. The 52nd All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Los Angeles and will be televised by ABC.

ABC will begin its third season of coverage on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 5 with three regional broadcasts.

In another opener of interest, the Dallas Stars will host the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 5 in the first regular-season game at their new home, American Airlines Center.

The first rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals will be on Saturday, Nov. 18 when New Jersey hosts Colorado. The teams meet in Colorado on March 4.

The Avs don't have it easy to start their season. They play 20 of their first 31 games on the road.