2026-27 NHL Schedule: Key Dates And Storylines

The NHL schedule was released for all 32 teams on Thursday. There will be a total of 1,344 games played this year, a notable 32-game increase, as the regular season schedule will increase from 82 games to 84, with the preseason being shortened. This marks the first 84-game season since 1993-94, with the two added games built into divisional play, giving every team a balanced home-and-home split against its seven division rivals for the first time since the Seattle Kraken joined the league in 2021.

The season will open on Tuesday, September 29, with a five-game slate. ESPN will air a tripleheader: a 4:00 PM CT opener with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Florida Panthers, an 8:00 PM Original Six matchup between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins at TD Garden, and a 9:00 PM nightcap featuring the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights hosting the  Chicago Blackhawks. Additionally, two all-Canadian games round out the night, with the Montreal Canadiens visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks visiting the Edmonton Oilers.

There’s plenty to unpack between now and September 29. Below are some key dates and matchups from the 2026-27 schedule, plus a few notable scheduling stats to close.

Key Dates

All 32 Nights: The two dates on the regular-season schedule when all 32 NHL teams will be in action are set for October 13, the NHL Frozen Frenzy, and April 10, the final day of the regular season.

Outdoor Games: The 2026-27 slate features three outdoor games. The first comes on Oct. 25, when the Winnipeg Jets host the Canadiens in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic. The Utah Mammoth will play their first outdoor game on Dec. 31, hosting the Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah, in the Discover NHL Winter Classic. The season’s final outdoor date lands on Feb. 20, when the Dallas Stars host the Golden Knights in the 2027 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Sid & Ovi: With the Capitals signing Alex Ovechkin to a one-year deal back on July 2, NHL fans get another year of the coveted matchups that have defined a generation of hockey. The two legends Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin will face off four times during the course of the regular season on the following dates:

• Wednesday, October 7 in Washington, D.C. at 6:30 PM
• Monday, January 18 in Pittsburgh at 3 PM
• Saturday, March 13 in Pittsburgh at 2 PM
• Sunday, April 4 in Washington, D.C. at 6 PM

International Games: The NHL heads overseas twice during the 2026-27 season. The Hurricanes and Kraken will play a pair of games in Helsinki on Nov. 12 and 14 in the Global Series Finland. The following month, the Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators will meet in Dusseldorf on Dec. 18 and 20 in the Global Series Germany.

Stanley Cup Rematch: The first rematch of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Golden Knights and the Hurricanes will take place on December 21 in Las Vegas. The two teams will meet again in Carolina a few weeks later on January 17.

Brady Returns To Ottawa: One of, if not the biggest, player storylines of the offseason was when the Ottawa Senators traded Captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers on June 21. Brady and the Panthers are scheduled to face off against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre for the first time this season on October 21.

The Offer Sheet Matinee: Seldom are there out-of-conference matchups that warrant being penciled in on fans’ calendars. However, the relationship surrounding the Anaheim Ducks and the Philadelphia Flyers over the past few seasons has turned this out-of-conference matchup into must-see TV. As if the drama last season surrounding Cutter Gauthier‘s desire to leave the Flyers organization and Trevor Zegras‘ somewhat disgruntled departure in Anaheim was not enough, the Flyers added fuel to the fire, sending an offer sheet to Ducks’ forward Leo Carlsson for $18MM AAV, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL and forcing Pat Verbeek‘s hand to match the deal. The two teams will see each other for the first time in Philadelphia on October 24 and again in Anaheim on January 3.

‘Bob’ Back in Florida: The two-time Vezina Trophy winner with the Columbus Blue Jackets and two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky, signed with the divisional rival Maple Leafs as a UFA earlier this month. While ‘Bob’ will see his former team in Toronto for the first time on December 13, he will have to wait until March 6 to return to Sunrise, a place he called home for the previous seven years.

Signoff of the Saddledome: On April 10, should the Calgary Flames fail to make the 2026-27 postseason, their matchup against the Vancouver Canucks will mark the final matchup held at the Saddledome, which has been home to the Flames since the 1983 season.

Schedule Stats

Beyond the key dates, a few scheduling quirks and numbers stand out across the 2026-27 slate:

• Most back-to-back games: Pittsburgh Penguins (15 games), as reported by Jason Gregor with Sports 1440.
• Fewest back-to-back games: Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights (8 games).
• Longest road trip: Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks (7 games).
• Longest homestand: Anaheim Ducks (10 games).
• Most games against opponents playing the second night of a back-to-back: Montreal Canadiens (19 games), as reported by Jason Gregor with Sports 1440.
• Fewest games against opponents playing the second night of a back-to-back: Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets (5 games).
• Furthest miles traveled: Seattle Kraken (51,335 miles), per Bill Speros.
• Fewest miles traveled: Boston Bruins (30,924 miles).

With the expanded 84-game slate now set, headlined by the most games in league history at 1,344, the season is officially on the clock. For the first time, NHL hockey in North America gets started before October, with puck drop in Raleigh on September 29. The offseason still has a few chapters left to write, but the 2026-27 season is bound to be a memorable one, and it’ll be here before you know it.